French Beignets – baked or fried

Beignets – these French little treats are so delicious, airy and fluffy. A real pleasure for all your senses. After tasting them, you will never look at the store-bought donut the same way.

Beignets are loved by kids and they love watching how they turn golden brown and pop-up in the frying pan, waiting for them to be ready for eating.

Beignet is a French word for the English fritter. We associate the word with a piece of deep-fried dough dusted with powder sugar. But today we will share our option for baked Beignets for those of you who are trying to control the fried food in their homes.

Once you make the dough you will give it time to rise and then form the Beignets.

Fried: Roll out the dough about 0.5 cm in thickness. Cut the dough in round or strips to form squares. Let them rise again for 20 minutes and then fry in a 8 cm of oil to a deep frying pan. Before frying the beignets make sure the oil is hot. Fry the beignets, about 5 or 6 at a time until golden brown on both sides making sure to turn them on both sides to fry them evenly and then arrange on a paper towels to drain some of the excess oil. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Baked: If you are not into frying, bake the beignets in the oven. They will pop up in the oven nicely. Once you have cut your beignets, allow the dough to proof for a further 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Brush the beignets with a little milk before placing in the oven. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar and serve hot!

Fridge: You can refrigerate uncooked dough for up to 2 days if stored in an airtight container. Take it out of the fridge and allow to come back up to temperature before frying, Never add cold dough to a fryer.

Freeze: Form the beignets and line them up raw on a baking sheet, place this in the freezer and once frozen through move the beignets to an airtight container or freezer bag. Keep this in the freezer for up to 1 month. Allow it to defrost fully on the counter before frying up!

Tips:

1. You can fill the beignets with fruit jam before baking.
2. To speed up the dough rising process, heat your oven to 200 F degrees. Turn off the oven and place your dough as specified in step 4 in the oven with the door closed. This will ensure a warm environment for your dough and the dough will rise fairly quickly, assuming the yeast was good.

Beignets- soft, fluffy, and airy. Enjoy you Sunday Special breakfast, make it memorable!