Bumuelos or Chanukah Fritters

Happy Chanukah to everyone.  Friday night my sister in law is inviting everyone for a big dinner.  So this evening I dusted off my bumuelo making skills since I wanted to make sure the recipe was perfect. I also wanted some new pictures to post.  I confess I was a little over indulgent in the taste testing part!

They are so easy and quick, dairy-free, no exotic ingredients and taste OK cold.  Of course everything fried is better hot from the oil, but sometimes that is hard to do if you are serving a complete dinner.  The Ladino speaking Sephardim call this fried treat bumuelo, or some pronounce it Burmuelos, other Sephardim  (the im ending makes the word plural) call these fried treats Lokma, Loukumades, Zalabia, or in French, Beignet.

Makes 14 to 16

1 envelope rapid rise yeast

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (safflower)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups unbleached flour

Vegetable oil for deep frying (sunflower)

Syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

3/ 4 cup honey

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Place yeast and sugar in a medium bowl.  Pour in warm water and stir.  In a few minutes, when yeast mix begins to foam, add oil.  In another medium bowl, mix salt into flour and then, using a wood spoon stir flour into yeast liquid.  Using spoon and your hands incorporate flour until dough is smooth, but sticky and very soft.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Make a bed of dish towels to keep bowl warm and set dough aside in a warm draft free corner to rise for one hour.

Prepare syrup while you wait for dough to rise.  Place water, honey, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.  When sugar has dissolved, let liquid boil for 5 minutes and add lemon juice.  Remove syrup from heat. You could make the syrup well ahead and just rewarm it.

When dough is ready, heat oil in a deep 8 quart saucepan pan or deep fat fryer to 365º F to 375º F.  Oil should be 3-4 inches deep.  Prepare a small bowl with water for wetting your hands.  Dough doesn’t stick to wet hands.

With your right hand scoop up about 2 to 3 tablespoons of dough into your left hand, make a ball, and open a hole in center with your thumbs.  Slide dough off your finger tips into hot oil.  Bumuelo will drop into oil and then rise up to the surface as it puffs up.  Fry first side until golden, then flip with tongs, and fry until second side is a beautiful gold color.  Remove bumuelos from oil with tongs and drain on paper towels.

Dip bumuelo into warm syrup and serve.  Alternatively, you might pass the syrup and let the guests serve themselves.