Forget the Rest. Classic Sufganiyot Are the Best Donuts You’ll Ever Have

How to get the most perfect beautiful sufganiyot / donuts every time.

I can handle the heat, the gallons of oil, and the sticky fillings. But what I can’t stand are misshapen donuts. Say goodbye to deflated, uneven, overworked, over-floured sufganiyot, and especially, an over-messy workspace. I received this recipe and hack from a friend who received it from Israeli Baker Yifat Regev. Skeptical but desperate, I gave it a try. It’s too good not to share! Chag sameach!

Sufganiot in time for Chanukah. Hanukkah sufganiot recipe

Place each doughnut balls onto its own square of parchment paper.

Note: Always check the hechsher on baking paper. It’s the only food packaging/baking item that does need a hechsher. Ours did, but it’s always good to check the packaging when you purchasing.

Preheat oil to between 340°F – 360°F. Place dough balls carefully in oil with the parchment paper square

Remove the paper with tongs once in oil.

sufganiot

Drain on baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Let cool and fill with desired fillings.

How to fill your donuts

Use either the Norpro Cupcake Injector or Wilton’s Dessert Decorator Plus to inject a filling into your donuts. Simply place the jelly or custard into the filler and pipe it inside. You can also use a traditional piping bag fitted with a bismarck tip. I use Henry Strawberry Pastry Filling—it’s the best jelly ever! Simply slip it right into the injector or piping bag. Note that the Amazon listing doesn’t note the hechsher, but I buy this in baking supply stores and it’s marked with an O-U. The certificate from the O-U is available here.

Yes! You can freeze the dough and fry fresh!

Place them (on the parchments) on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, place in freezer Ziploc bags. On the day that you want to fry, let thaw on the counter. To keep them from drying up, spray with nonstick cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap. It’ll take about 4 hours on the counter for them to fully thaw, rise again, and be ready for frying.

Print Recipe
4 from 1 vote

Sufganiyot

Ingredients

  • 1 kilo all purpose flour (Approx. 7 cups)
  • 2 tbsp rapid rise/ instant dry yeast
  • ¼ cup bread flour/ high gluten flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tbsp brandy
  • ½ cup oil
  • cups water

Special equipment:

  • Deep fryer (or fry in a pot using a candy thermometer)
  • Tongs
  • Parchment paper squares (or cut squares yourself)

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix for 10-12 minutes.
  • Turn the dough onto your surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into uniform balls. Weigh the pieces on a digital scale so you know they’re exactly the same size (30 grams is a good size for minis; 60 grams for regular). It helps to spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray or wear gloves.
  • Place each doughnut ball onto its own square of parchment paper (do not use wax paper!). Cover loosely and let rise for 1 – 1 ½ hours.
  • Preheat oil to between 340°F – 360°F. Place dough balls carefully in oil with the parchment paper square (hold the sides of the parchment paper as you lift it up and drop it in). Cook in batches of about 4 donuts at a time. Remove the paper with tongs once in oil. The donuts should fall off the paper on their own after a few seconds. Cook 2 minutes and then flip. Cook another 2 minutes and remove.
  • Drain on baking sheet lined with paper towels. Let cool and fill with desired fillings.
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Make your own vanilla sugar; check out my post.

Frydaddy Deep Fryer

Simple and easy to use and gives great, even frying results every time.

Fry Granpappy Deep Fryer

This is the larger version…

Simple and easy to use and give great, even frying results every time.

Naomi Elberg

After moving to Michigan with her family back in 2011, Naomi unpacked her stand mixer, started baking, and hasn’t stopped since. She specializes in gourmet challahs, babkas, and seasonal goodies for all dietary needs including vegan, gluten-free, and various allergies. She can be contacted via instagram @naomi_tgis.

17 responses to “Forget the Rest. Classic Sufganiyot Are the Best Donuts You’ll Ever Have”

  1. dassi Avatar
    dassi

    If freezing, do you let it rise before?

  2. Yehudis Avatar
    Yehudis

    Thank you for sharing your technique & recipe. Total game changer!!!

  3. henchy Avatar
    henchy

    Was checking thru her instastories to get the recipe… Tnx BCP … Will def try if

  4. Naomi Avatar
    Naomi

    Nope! Just put the pan straight into the Freezer:)

  5. Dalia Avatar
    Dalia

    Can I leave out the brandy ?

    1. Shoshana Avatar
      Shoshana

      I just made them for the first time, left out the brandy, and used watered down orange juice in place of the brandy. They were delicious!
      I was afraid to use cold water tho, I wasn’t sure if the yeast would dissolve, so I used warm water. I did mix it all at once in the bowl as instructed. Has anyone tried it with cold water, and it still worked? Thank you for a great recipe!! After 25 years of making donuts, I found a winner:)

  6. Brenda Avatar
    Brenda

    Love all your recipes!!
    Thanks

  7. Miryam Avatar
    Miryam

    I wanted to share that I made
    These last year without the eggs ( allergies) and they came out amazing

  8. Batya Avatar
    Batya

    What should be the temperture of water ? Excited to try this tomorrow

  9. Bena Avatar
    Bena

    This is the sickestt recipe ever

  10. Chava Avatar
    Chava

    How many will these make ?

  11. Chaya Avatar
    Chaya

    Do I have to do anything with the yeast before, or I just put it in with the rest of the ingredients?

  12. rivky Avatar
    rivky

    do you need to flip them?

  13. Arielle Avatar
    Arielle

    Hi! Is this filling available in all baking supply stores? Not only specifically Jewish ones?

  14. Leah Avatar
    Leah

    Just to protect you from the heartache I experienced – Be aware that the link above to the strawberry filling sold on Amazon is NOT KOSHER! I ordered it and it has no hechsher. I was told by the OU that only the ones that specifically have an OU are certified kosher. I reordered it from bakedeco.com and that one did have an OU certification.

  15. GM Avatar
    GM

    4 stars
    I threw out and remade this recipe 3x thinking I did something wrong before a friend told me you have to add about 2 more cups of flour than listed. Just wanted to share the PSA in case anyone else gets extremely wet dough when using 7 cups.

  16. Bella Avatar
    Bella

    Can this be made in the am. Put in fridge and fry when I come home later?

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