What are French Bakery Beignets, exactly?

You can find carnival fried doughs with so many different shapes, textures and names in France: the crisp “Bugnes” or “Oreillettes” from the city of Lyon, the “Ganses” from the city of Nice, “Shenkeles” from the Alsace region, the “Nuns Farts” from Brittany…  and finally the most famous ones – the classic French Bakery Beignets.

Unlike a lot of French beignets that are made from fried “Pâte à Choux”(Choux Pastry), these French Bakery Beignets are made from a yeasted dough kneaded with a generous amount of butter. This dough is essentially very similar to a brioche dough, which is then cut into small circles and then fried. The fried buttery pillows are then filled with a filling of your choice – fruit jam, nutella, pastry cream…

Note: These French Bakery Beignets shouldn’t be confused with the “Beignets” from New Orleans, imported in the 18^th century by the French colonists. New Orleans Beignets are smaller, lighter, hollow inside and rolled in powdered sugar. These New Orleans Beignets are often what people in the US/Canada call “Beignets”,  but they differ a lot from French Bakery Beignets – what French people call “Beignets” in France.

The Recipe

I think making your own French Bakery Beignets in your kitchen is a fun project to tackle on a weekend. The dough needs to rest for a total of 2 hours and 30 minutes – so make sure you have ample time on hand. The frying and the filling of the beignets takes about 30-40 minutes.  

Homemade beignets are a little bit more labor intensive than making a simple cake. But once you bite into one of these warm buttery pillows – you’ll see how they are worth your time and effort.

Like most fried treats, beignets are best enjoyed the day they’re made.

Cooking tips for making Fench Bakery Beignets:

• By hand or in a stand mixer. I make these French Bakery Beignets by hand, like most of my recipes. I especially like to knead the dough by hand at the final stage (when incorporating the butter) so I can have a good feel for the texture of the dough. It should be soft and still quite sticky on your hands. Do not get discouraged and do not be tempted to add more flour. For convenience, this recipe can be made in a stand mixer too, using the hook attachment.
• This recipe is made with 1 packet of traditional yeast (8g), also known as dry active yeast. I specifically developed this recipe using this yeast for convenience, since these packets of traditional yeasts are available in any grocery store.
• Traditional yeast needs to be re-hydrated in warm milk with sugar. Make sure you don’t warm the milk to too high a temperature (no higher than 105°F (40.5°C) or this will kill the yeast.)
• Take your eggs and butter out of the fridge at least 1 hour before you start, so they are at a nice room temperature.
• Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free location and do not rush it. The ideal rise temperatures are between 80°F – 90°F (26.6C-32.2C). Higher temperatures may kill the yeast and keep the dough from rising; lower temperatures will slow the rise. Keep this in mind, if you are baking on a hot Summer day or chilly Winter day. I like to place the dough to rise in the oven (off) – it’s draft-free and usually slightly warmer in there than in my kitchen. 
• For the filling of the Beignets, use a chopstick for poking a hole and a piping bag for filling. I use raspberry jam in this recipe, which is my favorite for Beignets. But feel free to get creative and use other fillings such as other fruit jams, nutella, pastry cream or lemon curd.

I hope you’ll love these French Bakery Beignets as much as I do! 

You may also like:

• Nuns’ Farts Carnaval Puffs
• Raspberry Jam Filled Sable Sandwiches 
• Spiced Berry Jalousie Tart 

French Bakery Beignets

Print Recipe

Serves: 14-16 Beignets Prep Time: 3 Hours Cooking Time: 30 minutes 30 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 9 voted )

Ingredients

1 Packet (8g) traditional yeast (active dry)
1 cup milk (2% or whole)
¼ cup (50g) + 1 tbsp (15.g) sugar
4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5.7g) salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
85 g or 3/8 cup or 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature & cubed
For frying:
6 to 8 cups of vegetable oil
½ cup (100g) sugar
For filling:
About 1 cup raspberry jam (or any filling of your choice)

Instructions

Step 1 - In a small saucepan, over low heat, combine the yeast, milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Warm up the milk until it reaches no more than 105°F (40.5°C) - if you have a thermometer - or until it is barely just warmer than lukewarm. Turn off the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.

Step 2 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and ¼ cup of sugar. Dig a well in the middle and add the two eggs and milk/yeast mixture. Stir to combine until you get a rough ball of dough that leaves the edges of the bowl clean. If using a stand mixer, use the hook attachment.

Step 3 - Start incorporating the cubed butter, in small additions (4-5 additions in total), kneading the dough well between each addition. The cubed butter should be well incorporated before you add more. The dough will be soft and quite sticky. Shape the dough into a ball, place at the bottom of the bowl and cover the bowl with a clean cloth. Let the dough rise at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Step 4 - After 2 hours, the dough should have doubled in size and be soft and elastic. Punch the dough to deflate it and turn it onto a clean and lightly floured working surface. Roll out the dough into a ½ inch thick rectangle. Use a 4-inch round cookie cutter to cut out discs. Place the discs onto lightly floured parchment paper. Keep some scraps of dough for testing the oil heat later. Cover the dough discs with a clean cloth and let rise for 30 minutes more. The dough circles will lightly rise again.

Step 5 – Preparation before frying. Pour ½ cup sugar onto a plate. Line another plate with paper towels to absorb the oil from the beignets. Using scissors, cut squares into the parchment paper with the dough discs – you need each disc to be on a paper square; this will make it easier to drop each them into the frying oil.

Step 6 – Fill a large heavy bottomed pot with the vegetable oil, about half the way up. Heat the oil to 350F or until a scrap of dough dropped in the oil immediately starts to bubble. Take the first discs of dough and flip them over into the oil (without the parchment paper attached). Work in batches of 3 beignets at a time max. Fry beignets until golden brown, flipping them half way (about 2-2.5 minutes on each side). Transfer finished beignets with a slotted spoon to the paper towel plate. Let cool about 30 seconds and transfer to the sugar plate, rolling the beignets into sugar until evenly coated. Transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Step 7 – For filling the beignets, poke a whole into each beignets using a chop stick and gently fill them with jam using a piping bag.

Did you make this recipe?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment below, rate the recipe and/or share a photo on Instagram: tag @pardonyourfrench  and hashtag it #pardonyourfrench.  Bon Appetit! 

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The post French Bakery Beignets appeared first on Pardon Your French.

Whether they’re the classic soft “Beignets”, the crisp “Bugnes” or “Oreillettes” from the city of Lyon, the “Ganses” from the city of Nice, “Shenkeles” from the Alsace region… you’ll find carnaval fried doughs with so many different shapes, textures and names in France.

But, some of my favorites are these little round puffs, knows as “Pets-de-nonne” (meaning “Nun’s Farts”). They’re most popular in my home region of Brittany. These small sugary puffs are heavenly little morsels, so tender and light. They’re bite-size, much smaller than the classic plump beignets and also hollow in the middle, which makes them less heavy on the stomach.

It’s a great recipe to make to wrap up a festive dinner or feed up a crowd during a birthday party. You eat them with your fingers, and it’s very hard to stop at one! 

Cooking notes:

• The making of Nuns’ Farts Carnaval Puffs starts with the making of a Pâte à Choux (choux paste – the same as when making cream puffs, eclairs, etc.) A Pâte à Choux does have a reputation for being an advanced technique, but I assure you it is not. You want to make sure you have all your ingredients prepared and measured out in front of you before you start. Once the saucepan is hot and the water/milk starts to simmer, it’s all about moving quickly.
• I like to flavor my beignet batter with cinnamon, vanilla extract and nutmeg. But you can also add some citrus zest (orange or lemon, ½ tsp).
• These are hollow beignets (very airy!). I like to keep them as is, but you can definitely fill them if you wish: whipped cream, chocolate/vanilla cream, jams, etc.
• Like most fried doughs rolled in sugar, these Nuns’ Farts Carnaval Beignets are best enjoyed freshly made and still warm.

Nun’s Farts Carnaval Puffs

Print Recipe

Serves: Makes about 24 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes 25 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.6/5

( 8 voted )

Ingredients

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp  (100ml) water
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp  (100ml) milk (2% or whole)
1 tbsp (12g) sugar (+extra for dusting)
½ tsp cinnamon (powder)
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup (80g) unsalted butter
1 cup (125g) all purpose-flour
4 large eggs
Neutral oil, for deep-frying

Instructions

Make sure you read the cooking notes before you start.

In a medium sized saucepan, over medium heat, combine the water and milk. Add the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, salt, nutmeg and butter. Bring to a simmer.

Remove from heat and immediately add in the flour, all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms; return the saucepan to low heat and keep stiring until dough ‘dries out’ – meaning it pulls away from the pan and takes on a clean, glossy look. (about 30 sec to 1 minute).

Remove from the heat again, transfer the batter to a bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Beat the eggs thoroughly into the dough, one at a time. It is important each egg is fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next. If the dough separates, keep beating and it will come together again. In the end, you should have a semi-thick, slightly sticky batter.

(photos here show the consistency of the batter after each egg addition). 

Line up a large plate with paper towels.

Fill a large pot with frying oil (at least 2-inch high) and heat up the oil. To test if the oil is at a proper frying temperature: Place the handle of the wooden spoon in the oil. The oil is ready when bubbles begin to appear around the tip of the handle.

Using a cookie scoop (or two tablespoons), drop ½ tablespoon-sized balls of dough in the oil and cook for 6-7 minutes until evenly browned. Work your way in small batches – do not fill the pot with more than 5-6 little beignets at a time or it will slow down the cooking process.

Transfer the beignets immediately to a plate and sprinkle them generously all over with sugar.

Best enjoyed within 2 hours.

If you try this Nuns’ Farts Carnaval Puffs recipe let me know!  Leave a comment or share a photo using #pardonyourfrench on Instagram. Bon Appétit!

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