Sweet yeasted Hanukkah doughnuts called Sufganiyot that are topped with a vanilla lemon glaze, then filled with jelly or jam
*This recipe was created in partnership with Domino Sugar. Thank you for supporting the work that makes Lion’s Bread possible.
What are Sufganiyot?
Sufganiyot are essentially fried round, yeasted doughnuts that are traditionally filled with jam or jelly. Lately, newer flavor combinations have become popular, but the jelly-filled variety are the classic.
They are enjoyed during Hanukkah, which is the Jewish festival of lights that takes place in wintertime, usually late November or December. The term ‘sufganiyot’ can be traced back to the Greek word sufan, meaning “spongy” or “fried,” as can the Arabic word for a smaller, deep-fried doughnut named sfenj.
Why do you eat Sufganiyot on Hanukkah?
The tradition of eating fried Sufganiyot on Hanukkah actually dates back to the 12th century, as recorded by Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef, the father of Maimonides. He notes that it was already a long practiced tradition at his time. The reason we enjoy jelly doughnuts during this Jewish holiday is because the holiday of Hanukkah is about the small jar of oil miraculously lasting for eight days. Therefore, frying foods in oil commemorates that miracle. In addition to Sufganiyot, we also enjoy Latkes, or fried potato pancakes, click here for the BEST LATKE RECIPE.
Want more doughnut recipes? Check out:
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts
How to make Homemade Jelly Doughnuts
Mixing up the dough is very straight forward. All of the ingredients are combined in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. The dough should be very soft and slightly sticky.
You’re going to let the dough rise in a warm place at room temperature for about an hour. Then, pour the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and roll it out to 1/2-inch thickness.
Use a round 3-inch cutter to cut out as many doughnuts as you can, spacing them very close together so you don’t have to re-roll the dough many times. Meanwhile, heat about 2.5″ of neutral oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Bring the temperature of the oil up to 350 degrees F. Use a heatproof thermometer to test the temperature, and try to keep it consistently at 350 degrees. Fry the doughnuts for 2-3 minutes on each side. I like to use a chopstick to flip the doughnuts.
Then, let them drain on a metal rack. Use a wooden skewer to poke a hole in the side, and rotate it to create an interior hole for the jelly. I fill a piping bag fitted with a medium size round tip with about 2 cups of jelly. Fill each doughnut with jelly. At this point you could dust them with powdered sugar, coat them in granulated sugar, or make up a quick vanilla lemon glaze like I do here. There’s no wrong way to this 🙂
Ingredients
- Unbleached all purpose flour – I love to use unbleached all purpose flour from King Arthur Baking Company here. It gives the jelly doughnuts a light, tender crumb. I would NOT substitute a whole grain flour here, as it would yield a heavier, dense doughnuts.
- Yeast – I use active dry yeast, and my favorite brand is Red Star. It always produces consistent results, and creates nice light and fluffy Sufganiyot.
- Milk – I use regular cow’s whole milk, and I find that it delivers the best results. You could substitute an alternative nut milk, but the results may vary slightly.
- Eggs – Make sure your Large eggs are at room temperature. Room temperature eggs will incorporate into the batter much better. Forgot to take your eggs out of the fridge? No problem. Just fill a tall glass with hot water, and submerge the eggs in the hot water for about 3-4 minutes, and voila! Use organic free range eggs if you can. There’s a significant difference in flavor, quality, and richness. You can tell a lot by the color of the yolk. A deep orange yolk says a lot! It means that the egg is more nutrient dense, and that the chicken likely had a nutritious, varied diet.
- Butter – Go for the good stuff! You all know I love Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter because it’s made from grass fed cows, and has the absolute best flavor. European butter in general has higher fat content and much better flavor, so it’s definitely worth it.
- Sugar – I love using Domino Golden Sugar in all of my sweet bakes. It’s less processed, and works cup-for-cup like regular granulated sugar. It also lends a slight hint of molasses flavor that I find works really well here.
- Kosher Salt – I use Morton’s kosher salt here. If you’re using Diamond Crystal, add an extra 1/4 of a teaspoon.
How to Fry Doughnuts
I’m not huge on frying, but when it comes to doughnuts, it’s the only way for me! It’s not hard or complicated but here are a few tips to get it right every time!
Heat up your deep frying oil in a large heavy bottom pot. You’ll need at least 2.5 inches of oil for a good fry. Use a heatproof candy thermometer, or a lazer thermometer. The frying oil should be 350 degrees F, which ideal for deep frying. The temperature of the oil is actually really important. Try to keep an eye on the the temperature of the oil, and keep it as consistent as possible while you’re frying up all of the doughnuts. If the temp drops, wait a few minutes between batches to allow the temperature to come back up again.
Next, fry the doughnuts! This should take about 2-3 minutes per side. I like to use a chopstick to flip the doughnuts halfway through. Let the fried doughnuts drain and cool on a baking rack with a sheet pan underneath. Once all of the doughnuts are fried, dip them in the vanilla glaze. I like to dip one side and let the excess glaze drip down. It’s the perfect amount for me, but let me know how you like to do it!
IMPORTANT TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- Make sure to let your dough rise properly. Sometimes it takes yeasted dough longer to rise in the winter because the room temperature is cooler. Plan for this, and be patient. If you want really light and airy, fluffy doughnuts, the dough has to be pillowy and almost doubled in size. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free area to rise.
- Let the dough hook do the kneading for you. I highly recommend making these doughnuts in a stand mixer because the dough is pretty sticky. The high moisture content in the dough is what makes them so soft. Try not to add too much flour when mixing or rolling out the dough – we don’t want the crumb to be bread-y.
- Handle with care! Once you cut out the doughnuts with the cutter, be very gentle when handling, and placing them in the hot oil to fry in order to maintain the round shape. I place mine in a metal spider, and lower them carefully into the hot oil. Alternatively, place each one on a piece of parchment paper, and slide it into the oil. (Just remove the parchment paper from the oil). That being said, it’s totally fine if they’re not perfect, they’re homemade doughnuts and they’re amazing!
How to store
Eat your jelly doughnuts when they’re fresh! The glaze takes about 20 minutes to set, then enjoy them right away. Of course, if you have any leftover, store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature.
Get creative with the flavors here, the sky is literally the limit!
Make sure to tag me @lions.bread on Instagram and comment below if you make these Sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts). I love seeing my recipes come to life in your kitchens! To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card or on any of the photos above.
behind the scenes 😉
my assistant
Did you make them? Leave a comment below and rate the recipe!
Hanukkah Jelly Doughnuts (Sufganiyot)
Traditional sweet yeasted doughnuts, topped with a lemon vanilla glaze, and filled with jelly or jam
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/3 cups 340g whole milk, room temperature
- 3 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast or active dry yeast
- 1 cup 132g unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 ¾ cups 400g bread flour, plus more if needed
- 1/4 cup 52g Domino® Golden Sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons 85g unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg optional
Glaze
- 3 cups 346g
- Domino® powdered sugar sifted
- Pinch
- Kosher salt
- ¼ cup 65g
- Whole milk
- 1 tablespoon
- Heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon
- pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups
- strawberry jam or raspberry jelly
Instructions
- Pour the room temperature milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, and sprinkle in the yeast; whisk lightly to combine.
- In a separate large bowl, combine the flours, salt, and sugar. Add the flour mixture to the milk. Then add the egg, vanilla, and butter. Mix the dough on low-speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix the dough for another 6-8 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The dough will be very soft and slightly tacky. If the dough seems too wet and sticky, add an extra 1 tablespoon of flour at a time to the dough until the sides of the dough begin to slightly pull away from the sides of the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let the dough rise for 45-60 minutes at room temperature, until the dough is puffy and almost doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, fill a large heavy-bottomed pot with at least 2-inches of oil and attach a deep fry thermometer to the inside. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F (the ideal temperature for deep frying). Place a baking rack in a rimmed baking sheet to drain the hot doughnuts when they’re done frying. Set aside.
- Transfer the dough onto a well-floured work surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour. Flour a rolling pin and roll out dough to about 1/2-inch thickness. Use a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 9 dough rounds. Cover the dough rounds with a clean kitchen towel.
- Make the glaze: In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract, milk, and cream. Whisk to combine thoroughly until the glaze is smooth and thin enough to dip the warm doughnuts in. Set aside.
- Fry the doughnuts two at a time, for about 2 minutes on each side, until deeply golden brown. Transfer doughnuts to the prepared cooling rack and let cool. Keep the temperature at a steady 350 degrees between batches.
- Insert a long skewer halfway into the doughnuts. Rotate the skewer in a circle to make an opening for the jelly. Place the jelly in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe the jam into the centers of the doughnuts until it begins to come out the edge.
- Gently dip the filled doughnuts into the glaze on one side, and let them drain on the baking rack, letting the glaze drip down. Enjoy!
Alternatively, sprinkle with powdered sugar or coat in granulated sugar instead of the glaze.
Recipe Notes
The most important technique in making these sufganiyot is maintaining the consistent temperature of the frying oil. It should stay at 350°F for the entire time. If the temperature drops after frying, then wait until the oil comes back up to temperature before adding the next batch of doughnuts.
Sufganiyot are best eaten fresh, right after they’ve been fried. Any leftovers should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days.
*This post contains affiliate links that a small portion of the sales go to me, without any additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Lion’s Bread possible.