Puff-puff

These crispy spheres with a bit of nutmeg flavor are the perfect snack. Whether you enjoy them with a dip, coated in sugar or pure, they carry an amazing flavour.
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
Food in Nigeria is often fried. So are these. These fried yeast-dough spheres are found in variations all over the African continent. For my collection I chose the Nigerian variety because the ingredients are so simple and pure. Rolled in sugar and served as is or with a freshly prepared strawberry dip this is the perfect soul-food snack.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 250g Flour + extra for surface
  • 300ml Water
  • 1/2 package Fresh Yeast (notes)
  • 1tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 50g Sugar + 1Tbs for yeast
  • Oil for deep frying (notes)

Instructions

  1. Warm the water and stir in the sugar until disolved.
  2. Crumble the yeast into the water and stir well.
  3. Let the mixture proof for 5-10 minutes. (notes)
  4. Sift the nutmeg, salt, sugar and flour into a large bowl.
  5. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir with a fork until the texture thickens.
  6. Start kneeding with your hands.
  7. Tip the dough on a clean, slightly floured surface and continue kneeding until it is no longer sticky.
  8. Leave the dough to rise for 30-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
  9. Heat the oil and form little balls of dough before dropping them into the oil.
  10. Stir them well so that they get a nice colour on all sides.
  11. When the puffpuff are a golden-brown colour, use a ladle to remove them from the oil.
  12. Place them on a piece of kitchen paper to soak up the oil.
  13. Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

Fresh Yeast: When using fresh yeast, the package usually specifies the yeast to flour ratio. It can be different for different brands of yeast. The yeast I usually use comes in packages of 25g and is used for 500g of flour. If you prefer to use active dry yeast, check the back of the package. I usually use two packages of active dry yeast instead of one package of fresh yeast.

Deep Frying: You do not need any special equipment for deep drying. It is possible to just use a large pot filled with enough oil so the pastry is floating. You will be needing a ladle to pick the pastry out of the pot. The oil can be filtered after letting it cooled down. I usually use a coffee filter and store my oil in a closed bottle to later reuse when frying.

Yeast: First of all make sure the water is not too hot. It should not be burning. It should be merely warm not hot. If your yeast mixture is not puffy after you let it proof for five minutes, try leaving it for another five. If it still isn’t puffy, do not continue with that mixture!!! It will take less time to redo the yeast mixture and get it right than it will to remake the entire dough because it didn’t rise. Yeast is a tricky ingredient to work with and much can go wrong. This is a way of catching any mistakes early on and sparing yourself a lot of work.

Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

More goodness