French Bakery Beignets
Unfussy, sugary and fried. French Bakery Beignets are nothing like what you’d expect from French pastries, yet they are quintessentially French. These plump buttery pillows rolled in sugar and filled with jams are found on most bakery stalls in France and are kids’ favorites at the time of the “goûter” ( mid-afternoon snack). They are also very popular during street fairs and carnivals across the country. And like most French, I often cave in to the temptation of grabbing one whenever I hit a street festival in France. What are…
- Prep time
- 3 hr
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 14 servings
- Difficulty
- EASY
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 Packet (8g) traditional yeast (active dry)
- 1 cup milk (2% or whole)¼ cup (50g) + 1 tbsp (15.g) sugar
- 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp (5.7g) salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 85 g or 3/8 cup or 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature & cubed
- For frying:
- 6 to 8 cups of vegetable oil
- ½ cup (100g) sugar
- For filling:
- About 1 cup raspberry jam (or any filling of your choice)
Instructions
- 1
Step 1 - In a small saucepan, over low heat, combine the yeast, milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Warm up the milk until it reaches no more than 105°F (40.5°C) - if you have a thermometer - or until it is barely just warmer than lukewarm. Turn off the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
- 2
Step 2 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and ¼ cup of sugar. Dig a well in the middle and add the two eggs and milk/yeast mixture. Stir to combine until you get a rough ball of dough that leaves the edges of the bowl clean. If using a stand mixer, use the hook attachment.
- 3
Step 3 - Start incorporating the cubed butter, in small additions (4-5 additions in total), kneading the dough well between each addition. The cubed butter should be well incorporated before you add more. The dough will be soft and quite sticky. Shape the dough into a ball, place at the bottom of the bowl and cover the bowl with a clean cloth. Let the dough rise at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- 4
Step 4 - After 2 hours, the dough should have doubled in size and be soft and elastic. Punch the dough to deflate it and turn it onto a clean and lightly floured working surface. Roll out the dough into a ½ inch thick rectangle. Use a 4-inch round cookie cutter to cut out discs. Place the discs onto lightly floured parchment paper. Keep some scraps of dough for testing the oil heat later. Cover the dough discs with a clean cloth and let rise for 30 minutes more. The dough circles will lightly rise again.
- 5
Step 5 – Preparation before frying. Pour ½ cup sugar onto a plate. Line another plate with paper towels to absorb the oil from the beignets. Using scissors, cut squares into the parchment paper with the dough discs – you need each disc to be on a paper square; this will make it easier to drop each them into the frying oil.
- 6
Step 6 – Fill a large heavy bottomed pot with the vegetable oil, about half the way up. Heat the oil to 350F or until a scrap of dough dropped in the oil immediately starts to bubble. Take the first discs of dough and flip them over into the oil (without the parchment paper attached). Work in batches of 3 beignets at a time max. Fry beignets until golden brown, flipping them half way (about 2-2.5 minutes on each side). Transfer finished beignets with a slotted spoon to the paper towel plate. Let cool about 30 seconds and transfer to the sugar plate, rolling the beignets into sugar until evenly coated. Transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- 7
Step 7 – For filling the beignets, poke a whole into each beignets using a chop stick and gently fill them with jam using a piping bag.