Combine yeast, water, and sugar:
In a small bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Add eggs, yeast mixture, and butter to flour to form dough:
Place flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center; add eggs, yeast mixture, 1/4 cup sugar, butter, nutmeg, and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir until a sticky dough forms.
Knead dough:
On a well-floured work surface, knead until dough is smooth, soft, and bounces back when poked with a finger, about 8 minutes (add more flour, if necessary).
Place in bowl and set aside to rise:
Place in an oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Roll dough and cut out rounds:
On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch-round cutter or drinking glass, cut 20 rounds. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise 15 minutes.
Heat oil and fry donuts:
In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat oil until a deep-frying thermometer registers 370°F. Using a slotted spoon, carefully slip 4 rounds into oil. Fry until golden, about 40 seconds. Turn doughnuts over; fry until golden on other side, another 40 seconds.
Roll doughnuts in sugar:
Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Roll in sugar while warm. Fry all dough, and roll in sugar.
Fill with jam:
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #4 tip with jam. Using a wooden skewer or toothpick, make a hole in the side of each doughnut. Fit the pastry tip into a hole, pipe about 2 teaspoons jam into doughnut. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.
Storage
Homemade doughnuts like sufganiyot are best enjoyed the day they are made. If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature and eat within a day. Don’t store them in direct sunlight as this would cause them to sweat and become soggy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between paczki and sufganiyot?
In Poland, jelly doughnuts are called paczki which means flower buds. Traditionally, they were fried in lard which sets them apart from sufganiyot, which are fried in oil.
What is the difference between a yeast doughnut and a regular doughnut?
The difference between a yeast doughnut and other types of doughnuts is how they are leavened. Yeast doughnuts are made with yeast, whereas baked or cake doughnuts use a chemical leavener, such as baking powder or baking soda.
Other Doughnut Recipes to Try:
FAQs
Why do we eat latkes (fried potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) on Chanukah? The short answer is because the holiday of Chanukah is about the small jar of oil miraculously lasting for eight days and therefore, frying foods in oil commemorates that miracle.
What is the difference between donuts and sufganiyot? ›
Traditionally, they were fried in lard which sets them apart from sufganiyot, which are fried in oil. What is the difference between a yeast doughnut and a regular doughnut? The difference between a yeast doughnut and other types of doughnuts is how they are leavened.
What are the donuts for Hanukkah in Israel? ›
Sufganiyot are Israeli jelly donuts that are commonly eaten in celebration of the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. They are often filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar.
What kind of donuts do you eat for Hanukkah? ›
A cross between a beignet and a jelly donut, sufganiyot are pillowy donuts that are eaten in Israel and around the world during Hanukah.
What is the origin of sufganiyot? ›
Etymology. The Hebrew word sufganiyah is a neologism for pastry, based on the Talmudic words sofgan and sfogga, which refer to a "spongy dough". The word is built on the same root as the Modern Hebrew word for sponge (ספוג, sfog), which is derived from Koinē Greek: σπόγγος, romanized: spóngos.
What holiday is associated with the jelly doughnut? ›
Miraculously, the oil provided light for eight days and Hanukkah has been celebrated since. Traditional foods include latkes, jelly doughnuts, brisket, and challah bread. Christmas gets fruitcake, Hanukkah gets jelly doughnuts.
What is the Hebrew word for Hanukkah donuts? ›
Today, we're talking Hanukkah and jelly donuts. In Hebrew, they're called sufganiyot.
What are Israel traditions for Hanukkah? ›
In Israel. In contemporary Israel, Hanukkah is a national holiday, and students present plays, sing holiday songs, and have parties. Schools are closed, and menorahs are displayed atop such prominent buildings as the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
Why eat sufganiyot? ›
In Greek, sufgan means “fried” and “spongy.” In Hebrew, the word sofeg (סופג) translates to “absorb.” Eating sufganiyot and other oily foods is symbolic of Chanukkah's miracle.
What kind of junk food is commonly eaten during Hanukkah? ›
Fried foods, like potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts, are prepared and eaten throughout the holiday to celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah: oil that kept the menorah (an ancient lamp) lit for 8 days instead of the 1 day it was supposed to last.
These potato pancakes (called latkes) are meant to symbolize the miracle of Hanukkah, when the oil of the menorah in the ransacked Second Temple of Jerusalem was able to stay aflame for eight days even though there was only enough oil for one day. The symbolism comes in the form of the oil in which latkes are fried.
What are the deep-fried donuts eaten during Hanukkah? ›
Sufganiyot are deep-fried jelly doughnuts that are traditionally eaten during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The oil used to fry the doughnuts is reminiscent of the oil that miraculously burned—according to the Hanukkah story—in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.
