New Orleans Style Beignets

Beignets, fried yeasted dough treats, are most famous in the U.S. as served by Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. They are presented generously dusted with powdered sugar along with a cafe au lait.

Did you know that beignets are the official state doughnut of Louisiana?

This is my first attempt at frying dough and I had no idea how easy it was! The dough gets all puffy and crispy in the hot oil, and the whole process takes about two minutes. No such thing as delayed gratification when frying dough!

Beignets can be fried plain, or filled with bananas or plantains. Because this was my first attempt, I decided to stick with the plain version.

This month, the Bread Baking Babes were challenged by Pat of Feeding My Enthusiasms to make Beignets. She was brave enough to be the kitchen of the month in August. Do you ask your fellow Babes to turn on their ovens or do you challenge them to fry in the heat of summer? While much gnashing of teeth and lamenting of various geographical heat waves ensued, we all agreed that frying was a great idea for August.

Some random reasons why:

1. You can refrigerate this dough and fry just enough for breakfast the next morning. 
2. You can freeze leftover dough, let some of it thaw, and then fry just enough for breakfast. 
3. You don't need a huge amount of oil. 
4. It only takes 2 minutes to fry! 
5. Our families loved these. 
6. We all got to flex some new bread baking muscles!

After the recipe, check out the links of the Babes who baked (or should I say fried) along this month. Check out Pat's post to find out how to bake along as a Bread Baking Buddy.

New Orleans Style Beignets

Ingredients

• 7 grams (one envelope) instant yeast
• 180 grams (3/4 cup) lukewarm water
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar
• 438 grams (3 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 28 grams (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 120 grams (1/2 cup) whole milk
• 1 large egg
• safflower, canola, or peanut oil, for frying
• powdered sugar

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of the ingredients, except the oil and powdered sugar.
2. Stir the ingredients together with a dough whisk, and then mix with the dough hook for about seven to ten minutes, until smooth.
3. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for about an hour. Deflate the dough, cover again, and place into the refrigerator over night.
4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on an oiled surface or a silicone baking mat.
5. Roll the dough out to about a 14 inch by 10 inch rectangle. Using a bench scraper, cut the dough into two inch squares. Let rise for about 30 minutes.
6. Heat about 3/4 inches of oil in a deep skillet to 360 degrees F. Cook the dough, 5 to 6 pieces at a time, in the oil for about 2 minutes, flipping two or three times throughout with a spider or spatula. When the beignets are golden, drain on paper towels.
7. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart with additional inspiration from King Arthur Flour

Check out the rest of the Babes' beignets:

A Messy Kitchen

Notitie Van Lien

Bread Experience
Feeding My Enthusiasms
Judy's Gross Eats
blog from OUR Kitchen
Thyme for Cooking