In honor of Mardi Gras I decided to try my hand at some beignets (pronounced bin-yay)-French for “fried dough”. They are the official state doughnut of Louisiana and are famously fried up in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Plus, I never pass up an opportunity to fry dough!
I adapted a recipe from chef Tyler Florence of the Food Network. It was easy to do and so delicious! First let the yeast proof with the water and a pinch of sugar.
Then add in the sugar, egg, soy milk, shortening, half of the flour and the salt.
Add in the rest of the flour until it comes together and is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. Form a ball and place in a bowl rubbed with oil.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 3 to 4 hours.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle. Cut the dough into rectangles and get ready to fry.
I used my deep fryer
After 1 1/2 minutes…flip!
After another minute and a half the beignets are done! Pile them up, sprinkle them with tons of confectioners sugar and dig in!
Here’s my non-dairy recipe–enjoy!
- ¾ cups warm water
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- ½ cup granulated sugar, plus a pinch
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup vanilla soy milk
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tbs. vegetable shortening
- vegetable oil, for deep frying
- 1 cup powdered sugar for dusting
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the warm water, yeast and pinch of sugar. Stir and set aside until the yeast has dissolved, about 10 minutes.
- Then add the ½ cup of sugar, salt, egg, soy milk, shortening and half the flour and mix on low until just combined.
- Gradually add the remaining flour until the dough forms and is no longer sticky.
- Transfer the dough to floured surface and form into a ball.
- Place the dough into a bowl greased with oil and cover with plastic wrap.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place for at least 3 to 4 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, set your deep fryer to 350°F or heat about 3 inches of oil in a large pot over medium heat to 350°F.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle a little more flour on top so you can work with the dough.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle so it can be cut.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into rectangles, (you should yield 16 large rectangles, depending on how thick you rolled the dough).
- Fry the beignets in batches, 3 minutes per batch. Carefully flip the beignets halfway through to make sure they fry evenly.
- After 3 minutes, transfer to a serving platter and generously sprinkle with powdered sugar.
