I once heard that there were no good beignets in South Bend. Chicory Cafe, a fine establishment that all you South Bend readers ought to patronize (they give away bags of coffee grounds to customers who garden), does a passable job. However, for a real Beignet with real depth of flavor, read on:
Ingredients:
1.5 Cup warm (100-120F) pasta or potato water
1Tbsp dry yeast
4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 cups whole wheat flour
Oil for frying
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
Combine the first two ingredients in a large bowl and let the mix get frothy.
Stir in the a.p. flour, cover and place somewhere warm.
Take your time (~20min) mixing up the ingredients in italics
Combine the early dough with the sugar mix, then add the butter.
Stir in enough wheat flour to make a soft dough.
Now chose "Make Soon" or "Make later"
Make Soon: Place bowl in a warm place for about 1hr until it approximately doubles in size
Make Later: Cover bowl and place in a cool, dry place like a refrigerator until 30min before you plan to start frying
Punch down the dough and roll it out on a well floured baking mat (or counter top) to about 1/4" thickness
Cut into 2" squares with a pizza cutter and fry in hot (350F) oil. Fry 3-5 at a time and flip once, ~2min per side or until golden brown.
Sprinkle with powered sugar immediately, ~1/2t per beignet. More just causes a mess.
1 comment:
Yum! I think I'd have to choose the "make later" option because I doubt my bowl would ever double in size. :P
Also, I assume that the "take your time mixing the ingredients in italics" is for the purpose of letting the flour mixture sit, as opposed to because the other ingredients really need that much mixing.
Post a Comment