Buttermilk Beignets
 
Buttermilk beignets that taste like those from Cafe du Monde. Deep fried bliss. Recipe slightly adapted from Joy the Baker.
Ingredients
For the beignets:
  • ¾ cups (190ml) milk
  • 1½ cups (375ml) buttermilk
  • 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 3 tablespoons (40g) sugar
  • 4 cups (500g) bread flour, plus about 1 cup extra for flouring the work surface
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • oil for frying
  • a lot of powdered sugar
Method
Prepare the beignets:
  1. Mix together the milk and buttermilk and warm the mixture up in the microwave or in a saucepan until it reaches 100°F. The milk mixture will be warm to the touch. Pour the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir in the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk-sugar mixture and stir gently. Wait a few minutes to activate the yeast (the mixture will be foamy). Dump in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Use the dough hook attachment and use the lowest speed to mix everything together. Once everything is moistened, increase the speed to medium and beat for five minutes. (If you're using a KitchenAid, the manual says not to go past low speed for kneading dough, but who reads manuals anyway except me?) If you're kneading by hand, you're going to have a tough time because this dough is very wet. Do not freak out. Do not add more flour regardless of whether you are kneading by hand or with a stand mixer (okay, if you're kneading by hand you can add a touch more flour). Use a spatula to make sure all the flour at the bottom of the bowl is incorporated. Cover with a towel and let the dough rest in a warm place for an hour, or in your fridge overnight. I recommend leaving it a few hours more than that even to help develop the flavours. Generously flour your work surface with bread flour. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough into a roughly 1cm (~1/2 inch) thick rectangle. Don't worry if the edges aren't perfect. Use a knife coated with flour to cut the dough into 4cm (~1.5 inch) squares. Press down with the knife instead of sliding it through the dough for the best cut. Place the dough squares on parchment paper so that they don't stick to your counter. Pour about 7cm (~3 inches) of oil in a saucepan and heat the oil until it reaches 375°F. Set up some paper towel to absorb any excess oil left on the beignets after frying. Make sure to have a cooling rack, a sifter, and icing sugar ready to coat the beignets. Fry the beignets in the oil, about one minute per side, until golden brown. Remove any excess oil and then immediately place them on the cooling rack and generously dust them with icing sugar. Eat them. Now.
Recipe by IronWhisk at http://www.ironwhisk.com/2013/07/buttermilk-beignets/