The Pétrin

Since my childhood I have with donuts a love story, a mixture of pleasure and taste of happy memories and moving story that I continue to write for my pleasure and that of others through my round of donuts world particularly active during the holidays of Hanukkah.
Whenever my virtual wanderings intersect fritter recipe traditional, original or unusual, I must put aside for the test as soon as possible even if the notion of time becomes more flexible with the days still too short.
But this recipe it was not just added to the list: I have placed at the top and as soon as the "donut season began, it was natural to her that I switched.
Because it had everything to please me: beauty (usually) of the picture Paoletti who I have discovered, because the moving story that also responsible for childhood memories of Eleonora offering on his blog the recipe to the letter from his mother ( "my graff trying the recipe is guaranteed!"), the recipe itself close to that of bomboloni but with more mellow with the potato and its origin doubly symbolic me: the Italian with whom I have always been an emotional relationship and Naples, synonymous with holiday memories and friendship.
If by chance, you - ragazzi di Ponticelli - or your wife, girlfriend, sister ... go here, this recipe is dedicated to you ... Toni, Gaetano, Sergio, Lilo, Luigi, Nando ecc ...
Not to mention Susan for his column Yeastspotting

(for a fortnight De Graff)

Crush the potatoes boiled and peeled with a press or mashed in order to obtain a smooth puree. Cool if you make them.

Note: If you do not have potatoes, you can replace them with dehydrated mashed potatoes and even the potato starch. In these circumstances, substitute mashed 230g per 45g of flakes (or starch) potatoes over 185g of water (according to calculations based on data from Rose Levy Beranbaum)

In a large bowl, the bowl of a robot or tank MAP paid flour (mixed with the dry yeast is that if you are using) mashed potatoes, fresh crumbled yeast, sugar , eggs, soft butter into small chunks and perfume. Add salt and mix the ingredients by adding the milk gradually to form a fairly soft dough.

Knead the dough for a good twenty minutes, adding the flour in small quantities if the dough is really soft and continues to stick to the walls: at the end of kneading the dough should be smooth, silky, soft but elastic enough . Cover with film food and let rise 30 to 45 min.

Transfer the dough gently on a work flour and fold 2 or 3 times on itself to deflate a little. Divide into pieces of about 65g and shape ring flour with your hands.

Note: the shaping ring is done in 2 ways, the pulp connected to the rod ends or ball breakthrough in the center. Personally, I am a follower of the second method detailed here.

Place the rings on a work plan on a meal or squares of parchment paper size slightly greater than the donuts prepared in advance.

Note: The dough is very soft, the squares of paper used to transfer the cakes one by one in the bath of frying - the donut once deposited on the surface of the oil, parchment paper falls off by itself. If hot oil scares you, place the fritters on a work very flour and use the pastry cutter or a large spatula (spatula type hamburger) for transfer to the oil without deforming or deflate

Cover with a clean cloth and let stand 1 hour or while the graffiti doubled in volume.

Approximately 5 to 10 min (depending on the type of fire) before the time of rest fritters, heat the oil in a large deep fryer or other large container and senior sides.
Fry the fritters when the oil is sufficiently hot (175 ° C if you have a thermometer) or when a small piece of dough or bread dipped in oil began immediately surface surrounded by small bubbles without browning too quickly.
Let brown on one side before returning to complete the donut cooking then drain on absorbent paper.

Sprinkle with sugar or filling fritters warm with cream or cake.

For many around the world, shine balls that decorate the houses are in season.
For me as for others around the world, these are special lights that brighten the home for 8 days and the balls are golden, sweet ... and eaten!
The round donuts so dear to me during the festival of Hanukkah is today in France with a specialty also known that his name comical: the pets de nonne.
I confess: my preference is clearly a pancakes-based dough, which the variety never ceases to amaze me over the years. But you know, it takes time to see the dough rise and the time is probably what is most lacking in a mother always busy.
The solution: choux pastry quick to make and makes wonderful fried.

Unlike the traditional recipes of pets de nonne realized with a simple choux pastry, that of Sebastian in Serveau Leçons de Cuisine: Pate Choux it combines a small proportion of pastry cream with vanilla, which makes them even more moist and tasty. Tout ce que j'aime!

(for 30 to 60 balls depending on size)

Pour the milk, water, salt and butter cut into pieces in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat the butter poue has time to melt. Remove from heat and add flour all at once and stir rapidly with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated.
Back on medium heat and continue to mix for 1 min to dry the dough should become smooth and form a ball that detaches from the walls.
Pour the batter into a large bowl. Add the first 3 eggs one at a time, mixing vigorously after each addition to fully incorporate the egg to the dough (see also here). Beat with a fork the last egg in a small bowl and add the paste slowly, mixing each time to check the consistency of the choux pastry: by raising the wooden spoon, the dough should be smooth and back of the spatula in thick ribbon.

This recipe makes 700g pulp of which 400 will be used for pets de nonne. With the rest, you can Chouquet, mini éclairs or cabbage baked or pets de nonne traditional.

Gently boil the milk in a thick-bottomed saucepan with the vanilla powder (or vanilla bean split and scraped).

In a bowl resistant to heat, whisk the egg yolks with sugar until the mixture white, and then incorporate the cornstarch, making sure not to make lumps. Add about half of the vanilla milk (filtered if you use the vanilla pod) in the bowl and mix gently with a wooden spoon. Repay all in the pan with half the vanilla boiled milk and bring to simmer while continuing to stir vigorously until the cream thickens. Cover the cream with the film to the food surface to prevent the formation of a skin and leave to cool.

Put the oil to heat in a container large enough to cook several pancakes at a time. (whether the oil is ready for frying, dip a small piece of bread: it must rise to the surface immediately surrounded by bubbles and brown slightly).

Mix with a spatula 400g of choux pastry and pastry cream 125g.

Note: for beautiful balls regular Sébastien Serveau recommend using a pocket with a united tube 1.6 cm in diameter filled with a mixture of cut and paste out of the bag every 2 cm. Because I had little time, little pockets and that pets de nonne would be swallowed by little children looking on aesthetic regularity donuts, I just used 2 teaspoons coffee to the pets - de-nonne

Fry the fritters until they are inflated (the size of a golf ball in the pocket or the tennis teaspoon) and gold (back to the mid-cooking) and then drain on absorbent paper .

These fritters can be consumed simply sprinkled with fine sugar possibly flavored with cinnamon or powdered sugar.