Loukoumades
Greek donuts
Ingredients
- 250 g AP flour (2 cups) some prefer bread flour
- 220 g water (7/8 cup)
- 12 g sugar (3 tsp)
- 10 g active yeast (1 tbsp + 1/4 tsp)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, or 1 whole scraped vanilla bean
- 30 g oil (2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp)
- 2 g salt (1/3 tsp)
Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 stick cinnamon
Instructions
- Activate the yeast by combining the water sugar yeast and a tablespoon of flour for 10 min.
- Once activated combine the rest of the ingredients, knead until smooth, and let it sit for up to 2 hours room temperature, covered, in a draft-free area.
- Using a wet tablespoon, scoop out some dough, and form into a ball in a very wet hand. Some people like using 2 spoons. Make sure to wet the spoons after each ball.
- Fry in a neutral oil, sunflower is best, canola or generic vegetable oil also work. 350F. Fry until golden brown.
- Typically drizzled or tossed in a simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water, honey is traditional), and dusted with cinnamon.
Syrup
- Add all ingredients to a pot.
- Bring to a boil, stirring occasioanlly.
- Reduce heat to med-low, and let simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Set aside and allow to cool.
Notes
Optional things - 1/2 tsp lemon zest, or some lemon extract, or 1 oz Grand Marnier work nicely in the dough.
Instead of the honey syrup, you can dip the loukoumades in melted Nutella, or chocolate, or both.
Tossing in chopped nuts, or dusting with powdered sugar is also an option.