Week 25 was something I’ve been wanting to try. Pillowy, sugary, crispy! Now, I’ve never been to New Orleans, but I have been to Disney. I’m sure the Beignets aren’t quite the same, but that’s ok! If you want to bake along, you can watch the video HERE. Honestly, since Tiana’s Bayou Adventure just opened, this is perfect timing!

This recipe is a two day bake, and I am sorry about that, but it can’t be helped. This dough has to sit in the fridge overnight. It will expand slowly during that time. Good things come to those who wait, right? (I’ve always hated that saying, but I’m not the most patient person and I love to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!)

You have some options when it comes to making the dough. You can do it by hand, you can use a mixer, or you can throw it into a bread machine and make it that way. Now, it has been a busy week, so I opted to use my Hamilton Beach Bread Machine. Honestly, I use this thing AT LEAST once a week. There is something to be said for being able to throw some things into a pan, walk away, and come back two hours later to a fresh loaf of bread. My bread machine has a dough setting. That means the machine with mix, knead, and proof your dough without baking it. It is amazing and such a time saver for me. A WORD OF WARNING about using a bread machine on the dough setting. SET A TIMER. If you have an overactive yeast or a large recipe, sometimes that dough will rise quickly and overflow the pan while inside of the machine. Once you get dough on the heating element, it is REALLY hard to get it clean. I’ll confess that this is my second bread machine for that very reason. (First machine was a now-discontinued, expensive brand that has a ton of bells and whistles that I rarely used. I like this one MUCH better, and so does my wallet.)

Once your dough is made, it going into the fridge overnight. You can leave it there for a few days, so that is some nice flexibility.

Frying the bread was my least favorite part. I did break out the good cast iron skillet for this, and I think that was the right way to go. I have a lot of cast iron, but this rather inexpensive skillet gets used weekly here at my house as well.

I did try to make some of the scraps in the air fryer. It was…. ok? They didn’t get golden, there wasn’t a crunch, and the texture was more dense than pillowy, if that makes any sense? It is because there was no oil absorption. Is it healthier? I mean, sure? But it is still a sugar bread. In for a penny, am I right? Might as well deep fry the darn things.

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Ingredients

• Dough

• 1/2 cup (113g) water, lukewarm

• 1/2 cup (113g) milk, lukewarm

• 2 tablespoons (28g) butter, melted

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons (12g) table salt

• 4 cups (480g) all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons instant yeast

• oil for frying

• powdered sugar for dusting, or cinnamon sugar for rolling

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Directions

• Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead them together — by hand, mixer or bread machine — until you’ve made a soft, smooth dough.
• Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 hour, or until it’s puffy (though not necessarily doubled in bulk).
• Gently deflate the dough, and place it in a greased bowl or greased plastic bag, choosing a bowl or bag that will allow the dough to expand. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 2 days.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and place it on a lightly greased or floured work surface; a silicone rolling mat works well here.
• Roll it into a 14″ x 10″ rectangle, squaring off the corners as well as you can without being overly fussy.
• Cut the dough into 2″ squares.
• Pour the oil to a depth of at least 3/4″ in a 10″ electric fry pan (first choice), or a deep, heavy-bottomed 10″ frying pan set over a burner.
• Heat the oil to 360°F, and drop 5 or 6 squares of dough into the hot oil. They’ll sink to the bottom, then after about 5 seconds or so, rise to the top.
• Fry the beignets for 1 minute, then use a pair of tongs to turn them over. Fry for another minute, until the beignets are puffed and golden brown all over.
• Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
  
  
• When the beignets are cool, sprinkle them heavily with confectioners’ sugar. For a real New Orleans experience, serve with strong coffee.

And now you can enjoy the taste of Disney… erm… New Orleans at home! 😉