Lemon & Sugar Beignets
Preparation time: 15 minutes plus resting time (2 hours or overnight)
Cooking time: 15 minutes
- 3.5 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Oil spray
- Oil for deep frying (they use Cottonseed oil)
- 1 cup sifted icing sugar
- Lemon zest or lemon juice (optional, not traditional)
Another idea: fill with Nutella! Because chocolate makes everything better :)
Step 1 - Place the flour, yeast and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook (or knead by hand). In a jug whisk the water, milk, oil, egg and salt. Place the machine on the lowest speed and add the wet mixture into the dry mixture adding a little more water if needed (I needed 1/8 of a cup more) and knead until it becomes an elastic dough - about 8 minutes by machine, 10-12 by hand.
Step 2 - Shape into a ball and spray the inside of the bowl with oil and place the ball of dough inside. Cover with cling film and allow to rise to two or three times its size in a warm area (I put it in a recently turned on oven) for at least 2 hours. Apparently they rest the dough at Cafe du Monde for 16 hours.
Step 3 - Roll out the dough to about 1/2 an inch thick and cut into squares about 2 inches wide. Do not reroll as this will make the beignets tough. Heat the oil until it reaches 187°C/370°F. If you don't have a thermometer put a wooden chopstick in the oil and if bubbles form around it then the oil is ready. Place the squares in the hot oil and fry on both sides making sure that they are golden. This takes between 3-5 minutes. They will puff up as they cook.
Step 4 - Dust with a generous amount of icing sugar and lemon zest or juice if using and serve straight away.