Sourdough Surprises: Sourdough Beignets

 

I never make fried food. It stinks up your kitchen and it's always a waste of a quart or two of oil. If I deep fry something at home, it has to be something good.

 

I haven't been very good about participating in Sourdough Surprises lately. It's a great blog where other bloggers make awesome, unexpected things out of sourdough. I haven't been great about it, but that's another thing I want to do this year.

 

I knew I had to participate this month when I saw they were making beignets. Who doesn't love beignets? There's nothing better than when they're hot out of the fryer, covered in powdered sugar and served with a cup of chicory coffee. I've never been to Café du Monde in New Orleans, but I can just imagine how perfect they would be.

 

These beignets are good, but I think I like regular beignets better. These were chewy and did not have the same light quality that regular beignets have. I'll post a regular beignet recipe soon enough.

 

I used the recipe from Turnips 2 Tangerines for these beignets. Next time I'd make sure to include a little bit more softened butter, as a regular recipe calls for. I think that would improve the texture. I also used refrigerated sourdough starter, not revived, so maybe that was part of my problem (though I normally do the same think for waffles and they turn out fine)

 

Sourdough Beignets

Ingredients

• 1 tsp yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk (reduced by half) or 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups flour
• oil for frying
• powdered sugar for coating

Directions

1. Bloom yeast in water with a pinch of the sugar for 10 minutes
2. Mix yeast mixture, starter, salt, sugar, oil, egg, milk and 1 1/2 cups of flour together until smooth
3. Add remaining flour a little at a time until mass pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
4. Put dough in an oiled bowl covered in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight to ferment
5. The next morning, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut into rectangles.
6. Heat a quart of vegetable oil in a wok or dutch oven until 350 degrees. Fry beignets, a few at a time until puffed and golden on all sides (about 2-3 minutes, total)
7. Drain on paper towels and cover liberally with powdered sugar. Eat immediately.

 

Making beignets in the morning gives you the perfect excuse to make fried food at night time. I never make fried chicken because I hate to waste the oil, but if you have it anyway, you might as well use it all up.

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