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Babka Sufganiyot

This is what you get when two culinary cultures collide: sufganiyot with challah dough and Italian Nutella bombolini.  A new Hanukkah tradition!
Servings 16

Equipment

  • Pastry bag fitted with a piping tip or a squeeze bottle.
  • Slotted spoon.
  • 2-inch cookie cutter or 2-inch rim of a glass

Ingredients
  

For the Dough

  • 2 tsp quick-rise instant yeast
  • 465 g/16¼ oz  (3¼ cups) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup warm water (120ºF)
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil 
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1½ tsp salt

For Frying and Assembly

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • Enough vegetable oil to fill your pot 3 inches deep* 
  • 1  375 ml jar of Nutella

Instructions
 

Make the Sponge

  • In a large bowl (I like clay), mix the yeast with ⅓ cup of the measured flour, add the warm water and whisk to mix. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let this mixture rest for about 10-15 minutes.  It will puff up and become spongy looking.  This is called a sponge. 

Make the Dough

  • Add the oil, eggs, honey and salt to the Sponge. Stir until well combined; the sponge will remain lumpy.  I use a wooden spoon for this. Add the remaining flour and mix the dough in the bowl until the ingredients are combined; the dough will be very shaggy.

Knead the Dough

  • Turn the dough out onto your work surface; knead until the dough is very smooth, about 5-10 minutes.  Or you can do this in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook on speed 3.Transfer the dough to a warm, clean, large bowl, cover the top with a towel and place in a warm cozy area of your kitchen.  (See note*) Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size. This will take about 1½-2 hours.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Punch the dough down and roll the dough out until it is ½-inch thick.  Using a 2-inch cookie cutter or the rim of a drinking class, cut the dough into circles and place on the parchment paper, spacing 1" apart. Re-roll the scraps once and cut out more rounds. Cover dough circles loosely with a towel and let rise until not quite doubled in size, 30-40 minutes.

Frying and Assembly

  • Place sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl, mix.
  • Fit a large heavy saucepan with thermometer; pour in oil to come 3" up the sides and heat over medium-high until thermometer registers 350°F. 
  • Working in batches and adjusting the heat to maintain the oil temperature, fry doughnuts, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. As the doughnuts come out of the oil, drop them into the sugar-cinnamon mixture and toss, then transfer to a paper towel.  Repeat with all the doughnuts.  Let cool for a few minutes. 
  • Place the Nutella in a piping bag fitted with a 6 mm tip (I use a squeeze bottle with a 6 mm or so tip).  It helps to have the Nutella a little warm.  I do this by putting the whole jar in a bath of hot water, then I scoop it into the bag or squeeze bottle. 
  • Working one at a time, poke a small hole into the top of doughnuts and gently pipe in a generous amount of Nutella. Let cool or eat right away!

Notes

*I use a small pot to fry the doughnuts in so that I don’t use up so much oil.  You need the oil deep, so the smaller the pot is in diameter, the less oil you will need to have it come 3-inches up the side of the pot.