Hanukkah in the United States traditionally has been celebrated with lighted candles in menorahs, spinning dreidels, chocolate coins and platters of the grated potato pancakes called latkes. But increasingly over the last 20 years or so, there has been a new guest at the holiday table: sufganiyot (SOOF-gan-ee-YOT), or jelly-stuffed doughnuts.
Like latkes, these golden pillows of puffed dough, showered in powdered sugar and perfumed with hot oil, serve as an edible reminder of the miracle that followed the defeat of the invading Syrians more than 2,100 years ago.
Seeking to rededicate the temple in Jerusalem, the Maccabees found only one day’s supply of oil–but that oil managed to last eight days until fresh supplies could be found. Thus the holiday is observed by cooking in oil, a tradition at least 900 years old.
Why have sufganiyot become so popular?
“People are always looking for something new,” said Howard A. Sulkin, president of Chicago’s Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, a center for Jewish education and culture. He’s got a point. Compared to sufganiyot, latkes can seem so, well, 5760 (1999 on the Gregorian calendar).
“People are really into doughnuts of all kinds,” Sulkin added. “And, thirdly, people have a growing awareness of links to Israel. A number of people see [sufganiyot] as a nice way to share in a tradition with Israelis.”
Israeli connection
Sulkin said sufganiyot is the ultimate Israeli “experience” because it joins foods from the two major branches of Judaism, the fritter of the Sephardic tradition and the jelly and sugar of the Ashkenazi.
Sufganiyot is wildly popular in Israel. Menachem Sabo, manager of Tel Aviv Kosher Bakery in Chicago, said the doughnuts “beat out latkes” when he was growing up in Israel. He reports a growing hunger for sufganiyot here, estimating the bakery sells thousands in the days leading up to Hanukkah, which begins this year at sundown Dec. 25.
Israel is where South African-born Thea E. Crook, executive/education director at Congregation Rodfei Zedek in Hyde Park, first encountered sufganiyot in the late 1970s.
“Every schoolchild got sufganiyot at Hanukkah,” she recalled, adding that it was in Israel where she learned the “cheap version and the cheating version” of sufganiyot.
“Take stale bread, cut into squares, dip into condensed milk and then fry it,” Crook said. “You didn’t have to make a dough and within 20 minutes you had it.”
The jelly could be injected into the fried bread squares with a bulb baster, she added.
Crook thinks sufganiyot may have become so popular because the doughnuts can be readily purchased at a bakery.
“There’s no shortcut for latkes,” she said. “You have to grate [the potatoes]. It takes a lot longer to make latkes than it does to buy sufganiyot.”
Her favorite source for store-bought?
“The best by far are at the Dunkin’ Donuts in West Rogers Park on Devon,” she replied. “They make the absolute best.” (And this franchise, at 3132 W. Devon Ave., is kosher too.)
Yet, for some, homemade is best.
Baking your own
“It’s worth it from the beginning to the end,” said Dorie Greenspan, the New York City-based author and baking expert. “They’re fresh. You’ll taste the freshness.”
Greenspan grew up eating latkes at Hanukkah but she knows a lot about doughnuts. Here are some of her tips to make the process easier:
– If your doughnut recipe calls for yeast, give the microorganisms time to do their job in the dough.
“Yeast rises in its own time,” Greenspan said. “You won’t be happy if you rush.”
– Use fresh oil for frying. Greenspan suggested a vegetable oil such as canola or peanut oil, which has a high smoking point. Don’t use olive oil.
– Cook the doughnuts in a thermostatically controlled deep-fat fryer if you have one. If you don’t have this appliance, use a deep pot and a deep-fat thermometer so you can monitor how hot the oil is. Too low and the doughnuts sop up oil and become leaden; too high and the doughnuts burn or aren’t cooked through.
– Don’t crowd the pot; give the doughnuts room to cook in the bubbling oil.
– Drain the doughnuts well as soon as you remove them from the oil on paper towels or another absorbent material. “My grandmother used brown supermarket bags,” Greenspan recalled.
– Deep-frying used to be an everyday thing for the cooks of old. Today, it’s usually a special project. Greenspan said that cooks need to be ready mentally for the task and have all their ingredients prepared and in place.
– Greenspan likes powdering doughnuts with two types of sugar: granulated sugar while the doughnut is hot to create a light glaze and then a dusting of confectioners’ sugar when the doughnuts have cooled.
Hanukkah doughnuts (Sfenz)
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6 doughnuts
This recipe for a Libyan version of this holiday treat comes from “Sephardic Israeli Cuisine: A Mediterranean Mosaic,” by Sheilah Kaufman. Orange flower water is available at Middle Eastern and specialty stores.
Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon each: lemon juice, orange flower water
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
Doughnuts:
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1/4 cup blanched almonds, finely chopped
2 tablespoons each: sugar, oil
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 teaspoon orange flower water, optional
4 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped almonds or walnuts, optional
1. For the syrup, heat the sugar, water, lemon juice, orange flower water and vanilla in a medium saucepan over low heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, for the doughnuts, combine the eggs, flour, almonds, sugar, oil, baking powder, zest and orange flower water in a large bowl to make a firm dough. Add 1 or 2 additional tablespoons of flour if needed.
3. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thick. Roll the dough into a log shape; cut the log crosswise into 2-inch pieces.
4. Heat the oil in a saucepan or deep-fryer over medium heat until hot; reduce the heat to low. Add the doughnuts a few at a time; fry until lightly browned on one side, about 2-3 minutes. Turn; fry until browned on other side, 2 minutes. The doughnuts will rise to the top when done. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
5. Dip each doughnut into the syrup; place in a colander or on a rack to drain. (If the syrup becomes too thick, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water.) Spread the doughnuts on a serving platter; sprinkle with chopped almonds or walnuts, if desired.
Nutrition information per serving:
474 calories, 22% of calories from fat, 12 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 89 g carbohydrates, 6 g protein, 147 mg sodium, 1 g fiber
Jelly doughnuts (Sufganiyot)
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 minute, 30 seconds, per batch
Resting time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Yield: 28
This recipe is adapted from one by Joan Nathan, an expert on Jewish cooking.The doughnuts are best eaten while warm.
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup warm milk
2 1/2 cups flour, sifted
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon, salt
1 1/2 tablespoons margarine, softened
1/3 cup strawberry preserves
6 cups vegetable oil
1. Dissolve the yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in the milk in a small bowl. Place the flour on a board; make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, egg yolks, cinnamon, salt and 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sugar. Knead well. Add margarine. Knead until the dough is elastic; cover. Set aside to rise until almost doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board. Cut into 2-inch rounds with a biscuit or cookie cutter. Cover; set aside to rise 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil to 350-375 degrees in a large saucepan or deep fryer. Add the doughnuts in batches of four or five to the oil; fry until brown on one side, about 45 seconds. Turn; fry until brown, about 45 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
4. To fill the doughnuts, insert a small spoonful of the preserves into the top of the doughnut; revolve the spoon to deposit preserves inside the doughnut. Roll the doughnuts in remaining 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
Nutrition information per serving:
124 calories, 50% of calories from fat, 7 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 14 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein, 31 mg sodium, 0.5 g fiber
