Baked, Not Fried....and a Mazon Giveaway

For those of you not familiar with this truly incredible food, soufganiyot are jelly-donuts, deep fried and usually doused in powdered sugar. What could be bad about such a delicacy? And not only a delicacy, but a mitzvah! In Israel, where potatoes are not really native, these jelly-filled-fried-dough-balls are the delightful alternative for latkes (levivot), a food fried in oil. And, since oil is really the heart of the Chanukah matter, oily foods rule the day.

This month's issue of Cooking Light had this recipe for Baked Soufganiyot.

Baked!? How can you bake something that's meant to be fried? I have no idea. But they sure were yummy.

Yield 8 servings (serving size: 2 rolls)
Ingredients

• 1 1/2  teaspoons  dry yeast
• 3/4  cup  warm 1% low-fat milk, divided
• 6  tablespoons  granulated sugar
• 1  tablespoon  butter, softened
• 1  teaspoon  grated orange rind
• 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1  large egg
• 14.5  ounces  all-purpose flour, divided (about 3 1/4 cups)
• Cooking spray
• 3/4  cup  strawberry jam
• 1  tablespoon  powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm milk in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until foamy. Add remaining 1/4 cup warm milk, granulated sugar, and next 5 ingredients (through egg); beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended (butter will not be completed melted). Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 9 ounces (about 2 cups) flour to yeast mixture; beat at medium speed until smooth. Stir in 4 1/2 ounces (about 1 cup) flour to form a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining 1 ounce (about 1/4 cup) flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky).
2. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough into 16 portions, rolling each portion into a ball.
3. Place dough balls on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until dough is doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 375°.
5. Uncover balls. Bake at 375° for 14 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.
6. Make a pocket in each roll using the handle of a wooden spoon, pushing to but not through the opposite end. Fill with about 2 teaspoons jam, using plastic condiment bottle or a piping bag. Sprinkle rolls with powdered sugar. (Don't sprinkle until you're ready to eat, though, or the sugar seems to disappear and you have to do it again. Not that I know.)

I did not use jam. My oldest child doesn't like fruit-filled sweets (I'm not the hugest fan either) and since I've had soufganiyot filled with chocolate, I know it can be done. I used chocolate pudding. Delish!!! Plus I served up some extra chocolate pudding on the side to dip the extra dough (each donut had a little more dough than filling) into.

A truly delightful, if time-consuming, new holiday tradition for our family!

Mazon, which means "food" in Hebrew, is an organization working to stop hunger in the world. They do so by particularly linking simchas, celebrations, with helping the hungry. This connection is not new in Jewish life, but Mazon has worked very hard to institutionalize the concept of giving 3% of the cost of life-cycle and other celebratory events to Mazon to help those in need.

In honor of the food of Chanukah, I will donate $1 for every comment on this post to Mazon!

Happy Chanukah!

P.S. Thanks to my colleage Rabbi Paul Kipnes for pointing out this post on the NY Times Well Blog: ReThinking the Latke....interesting roundup of the healthification (a word?) of Chanukah food