November 30, 2022

Sfenj Donuts

By Derek Bissonnette

Feature Image by Derek Bissonnette

These miraculous Moroccan confections pair perfectly with tea or coffee.

Print Recipe

Makes

small donuts

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 ½ cups lukewarm water 90°
Avocado oil as needed
Powdered sugar or honey for topping

Instructions

Place flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add egg yolks and slowly drizzle in water while mixing. Knead until the mixture comes together as a sticky, smooth, and soft dough. Spray dough with cooking spray and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
Coat a large baking sheet with avocado oil. Divide dough into 15 parts, roll each piece into a ball, and place them on prepared baking sheet. Cover balls of dough with a slightly damp linen towel and let them rise for 30 minutes.
Pour avocado oil into a large, deep skillet until it is one-third to halfway full and warm it to 375°. Using your forefinger and thumb, make a hole in the center of each dough ball and gently slip them into the hot oil. Fry until lightly golden brown all over, turning as necessary. Drain on a paper bag. Top sfenj with powdered sugar or honey and enjoy immediately.

About the author

Derek Bissonnette

When Derek Bissonnette was 16 he landed his first kitchen gig, at a bakery in Searsport, Maine. He went on to study baking and pastry at the Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 2000. He got hired as the pastry chef at Kennebunk’s estimable White Barn Inn, jumped to the renowned Inn at Little Washington in rural Virginia, and then joined the kitchen at an elegant English countryside hotel, The Summer Lodge Country House Hotel and Spa. In 2009, he returned to Maine and the White Barn. In 2015, he was promoted to executive chef. After Bissonnette took over the White Barn kitchen, he started toting a camera to work to create a visual record of dishes he and his staff came up with. Photography clicked with him. “Making food look great is something I’ve always strived for,” he says. “To do that through a fresh medium was exciting.” In 2017, he gave up his apron to pursue photography full time. Shortly after leaving the White Barn, Derek partnered with Cider Mill Press and Countryman Press to create five cook books: The Ultimate Books of Soups and Stews: Signed by the author Dumplings: Over 100 Recipes from the Heart of China to the Coasts of Italy The Maine Farm Table Cookbook: Signed by the author Soups: Over 100 Soups, Stews and Chowders On Board: Inspiration Ideas and Recipes for Exceptional Entertaining