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Fried Doughnuts

17/11/2023

Fried doughnuts (or “graffe”) are one of the typical desserts of the Italian tradition, especially enjoyed during the Carnival period. Here is the recipe to prepare them:

Ingredients

  • 500 g of “00” flour
  • 25 g of fresh brewer’s yeast
  • 50 g of sugar
  • 250 ml of lukewarm water
  • 50 g of soft butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • Grated zest of one lemon (or orange if you prefer)
  • Oil for frying (seed or peanut)
  • Icing sugar for dusting

Preparation

  1. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in lukewarm water with a teaspoon of sugar and let it rest for about 10 minutes until it starts to form bubbles on the surface.
  2. In a large bowl, sift the flour and make a well in the center.
  3. Add the remaining sugar, soft butter, eggs, salt, and grated lemon zest into the center of the flour.
  4. Pour the activated yeast into the center and start to knead from the center outwards gradually incorporating the flour.
  5. Knead until you have a homogeneous mixture, then transfer it onto a lightly floured surface and continue kneading for another 10 minutes.
  6. Form a ball with the dough, place it in a bowl and cover it with a clean kitchen towel. Let it rise in a warm place free from drafts for at least 2 hours, it should double in size.
  7. After the rising time, take the dough and roll it out on a floured surface to a thickness of about 1 cm.
  8. Use a round pastry cutter (or a glass) to cut out circles from the dough. Then use a smaller pastry cutter or a bottle cap to make a hole in the center of each doughnut, like the classic doughnut shape.
  9. Let the shaped doughnuts rest, covered with a kitchen towel, for about 30 minutes.
  10. Heat plenty of oil for frying in a deep pan and when it reaches the temperature of 170 °C, fry the doughnuts a few at a time until golden.
  11. Drain them on paper towels to remove excess oil.
  12. Roll the still-warm doughnuts in powdered sugar.

Curiosity

In some variations of the fried doughnut recipe, boiled potatoes are used in the dough, which gives the doughnuts a unique softness and lightness. Depending on the Italian region, names and minor ingredients might vary slightly, making each doughnut a bit special!

Fried Doughnuts