On the Chocolate Trail

Wherever Jews have lived, we have enjoyed fried doughs. They popped out of our ancient frying pans and much later they ‘made aliyah’ to the Holy Land from Poland filled with red jelly. Now they are the ubiquitous soufganiyot. But other Jewish communities have commemorated Hanukkah with variously named, distinctly shaped, regionally influenced, yeast risen fried doughs. Easily prepared at home, these fried doughs eliminated the need for a local professional baker.

Even Fany Gerson, owner of Fan-Fan Doughnuts  in Brooklyn who combines her Mexican and Jewish roots in her bakery’s offerings, encourages home bakers to embrace fearless frying, to slide the dough into the hot oil using parchment paper, and, most importantly, to have fun with doughnut making. (See tips below.) In that spirit, here are some ideas for easy fried Hanukkah treats, including a couple from worldwide Jewish communities:

• Slather jam between two slices of bread, maybe even leftover challah, and fry that. Or, make a doughnut dough or challah dough, cut out rounds, fill them with jam, and fry those. This technique hearkens back to the earliest filled doughnuts from the Middle Ages.
• Modify for gluten free: Fill sliced gluten free bread with jam. For another option, fry mochi ice cream balls. Make mochi doughnuts.
• Consider frying cupcakes, black and white cookies, chocolate babka, well, almost anything …
• Plan on a different doughnut each night from various heritage Jewish communities. 

A miraculous array of fried dough choices celebrates the seasonal role of oil in the restored ancient Jerusalem Temple. Enjoy an easy blending of the many regional tastes of historical Jewish experiences with the celebration of religious freedom.

Frying tips:
1. Use a deep pot, a Dutch oven, or a wok for the frying.
2. A tall candy thermometer helps track the heat of the oil, which generally works best at 350-375º.
3. Find an oil with a high smoke point and neutral taste, such as refined peanut oil, canola, safflower, sunflower, grape seed, cottonseed, corn, or soybean.