Latkes are the best-known food of Chanukah — which begins the night of Tuesday, Dec. 20 this year — but puffy doughnuts called sufganiyot (which means “sponge,” describing the texture) certainly rival the formidable potato pancake. Especially in Israel.
Many food historians say that in the past, potatoes were not readily available in the Middle East and Africa. So, not surprisingly, when it came to celebrating Chanukah by cooking foods in oil, people fried what was easiest to get.
However, given Americans’ love of doughnuts, sufganiyot are growing in popularity stateside.
Tehiya Benezra, who along with her husband, Michael, opened the North Shore Kosher Bakery in Chicago after emigrating from Israel, says the numbers speak for themselves. For the week leading up to, and during the week of Chanukah, she says they sell 2,000 to 3,000 sufganiyot each day.
And that’s on top of numerous special orders, including one cultural organization that usually buys about 10,000 of the doughnuts.
Benezra says the yeasted doughnuts are most commonly filled with fruit jams or custard, but in recent years caramel and fudge have become popular as well.
Asked if the recent trend toward health consciousness has put a dent in sufganiyot sales, Benezra says the opposite seems to be true. People don’t generally buy and eat the doughnuts every day during Chanukah, but she says more people in general seem to be partaking of the latke alternative.
Dennis Wasko, a kosher personal chef and instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago, also has seen demand increase. He says many of his clients request the fried treats during Chanukah, and to satisfy them he offers both sweet and savory versions.
Sweet varieties usually are made in the traditional filled doughnut fashion, but savory versions are made with either a less sweet yeast dough or a light pâte à choux pastry stuffed with fillings such as seasoned pumpkin or sautéed Swiss chard with raisins and tomatoes.
Sufganiyot are delicious when served hot out of the fryer and Wasko offers some tips for success when making them:
• Be patient and give the yeast dough plenty of time to rise. Wasko says the texture as well as flavor will be better. He even recommends letting the dough rise slowly, wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator. This allows the yeast to develop a fruity flavor.
• Use cold-pressed canola oil, which Wasko likes for its neutral to slightly nutty flavor. But he says that if you want to be really traditional, use extra-virgin olive oil.
• Make sure to use a frying thermometer to monitor the oil temperature. Most people, he says, forget that when you add pieces of dough to the hot oil you need to adjust the temperature to keep the oil from cooling down. Cool oil will give you greasy results.
Buttermilk Sufganiyot
Makes 24 large or 48 small
41⁄4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface
1⁄2 tsp. baking soda
1⁄2 tsp. salt
1⁄2 cup whole milk
11⁄4 cups buttermilk
4 tsp. dry active yeast
3 Tbs. sugar
vegetable oil, for frying
powdered sugar, for dusting
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In small saucepan over medium, heat the milk until steaming but not boiling. Remove from the heat and add the buttermilk. Pour mixture into bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Whisk in the yeast and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Coat a large bowl with vegetable oil, then set aside.
Add flour mixture to milk mixture and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened and form a ball, about 3 minutes. Increase speed to medium and continue mixing for 2 minutes more. The dough will be quite sticky. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a draft-free spot.
Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Fill a deep sauté pan or large pot with about 3 inches of oil. Heat over medium to 375 degrees. Line a large plate or sheet pan with paper towels for draining.
Lightly flour a clean work surface. Turn the dough out onto surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, then press to flatten. Fold the dough in half and tuck the ends under to create a ball. Dust with flour again and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into roughly an 11-by-17-inch rectangle about 1⁄4-inch thick.
Using a sharp knife, cut the dough lengthwise into 4 equal strips, then cut horizontally, at an angle, to create 24 or 48 diamond-shaped pieces.
Working in batches, carefully drop pieces of dough into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pan. Fry, turning them often with a slotted spoon or tongs, until puffed and golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet to drain while frying the remaining sufganiyot. Fill or top as desired and serve warm (with a knife and fork, as needed), dusted with powdered sugar.
Fill ’er up
To fill your sufganiyot, use either a syringe-like pastry filling tool to inject them with jam, or simply slice open one side with a paring knife and use a spoon to fill them.
Here are some suggested fillings:
Fresh banana slices with a generous spoonful of hot fudge; jarred lemon or lime curd sprinkled with toasted sliced almonds; ricotta cheese mixed with chopped walnuts, golden raisins and a drizzle of honey; drained chunked or crushed canned pineapple with a few teaspoons of coconut creme (not coconut milk); thick-cut Seville orange marmalade and a smattering of dark chocolate chips; canned poppy seed filling and some finely grated lemon or orange zest; cream cheese topped with some chunky strawberry jam; Nutella topped with chopped peanuts and marshmallow spread; chunky peanut or almond butter and a few squares of dark chocolate; marzipan or almond paste with a drizzle of chocolate sauce; dulce de leche and chopped toasted pecans; mango chutney sprinkled with chopped salted cashews; or a few spoons of your favorite cheesecake.