Classic Sufganiyot Recipe (Hanukkah Jelly Donuts)
Sufganiyot are the jelly donuts that take over every bakery in Israel for eight nights a year, and honestly, they deserve it. Pillowy fried dough, a fat pocket of jam in the middle and enough powdered sugar on top that you will be wearing it for the rest of the night. If you have never had one fresh, warm and homemade, you are in for a Hanukkah miracle of your own.
I have made sufganiyot a LOT of ways on this blog. Peanut butter and jelly, tahini coffee, gingerbread eggnog, everything bagel stuffed with lox and schmear, even chopped liver. (For real!) What I had never posted was the plain one. The classic. The one you actually picture when someone says the word sufganiyah.
So here it is. Same tender, buttery dough, filled with strawberry jam and dusted with powdered sugar the way every Israeli bakery intended. It is easier than you think, and once you have made them at home, the grocery store kind will never cut it again.
What are sufganiyot?
Sufganiyot (soof-gah-nee-YOTE, and one is a sufganiyah) are yeasted, deep fried donuts filled with jam or custard and topped with powdered sugar. The name comes from the Hebrew word for sponge, which is exactly the texture you want inside. They are basically Israel’s version of a jelly donut, and a close cousin of the German Berliner and the Polish pączki.
We eat them on Hanukkah for the same reason we eat latkes: the oil. Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of a single day’s worth of oil keeping the Temple menorah lit for eight days, so frying things in oil is basically a religious obligation. I don’t make the rules. If you want the full backstory plus a bunch more donut ideas, my sufganiyot guide has you covered.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- They taste like the bakery ones. Light, fluffy and just sweet enough, with a golden outside and a soft, airy inside.
- No special equipment. A stand mixer helps, but a heavy pot, a thermometer and a round cutter are really all you need.
- Make-ahead friendly. The dough can rise overnight in the fridge, so day-of you just cut, proof, fry and fill.
- One dough, endless fillings. Swap the jam for custard, Nutella, dulce de leche or lemon curd and it is a whole new donut.
Ingredients you’ll need
For the dough:
- Active dry yeast and warm milk. The milk should be about 110°F, warm like a bath but not hot. Too hot and you kill the yeast, too cold and it will not wake up.
- Sugar. A little to feed the yeast, the rest to sweeten the dough. Sufganiyot should not taste like dessert bread, but they should not taste like a dinner roll either.
- All-purpose flour. Start with 3¼ cups and add more as you knead. Humidity changes everything, so go by feel: smooth and slightly tacky, not sticky.
- Eggs and butter. These make the dough rich and tender. Both should be at room temperature so they blend in smoothly.
- Kosher salt. Do not skip it. It is what keeps a sweet donut from tasting flat.
- Oil for frying. Something neutral with a high smoke point, like canola or vegetable oil.
For filling and topping:
- Seedless strawberry jam. Strawberry is the Israeli bakery classic, but raspberry works too. Seedless matters, because seeds clog the piping tip. Give it a good stir first so it pipes smoothly.
- Powdered sugar. For that snowy, gets-everywhere finish.
How to make sufganiyot
Here is the overview. The full measurements and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Activate the yeast. Stir yeast, warm milk and a little sugar together and let it sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Make the dough. Mix in the flour, remaining sugar, eggs and salt, then add the butter a little at a time. Knead with the dough hook until smooth and shiny.
- First rise. Cover and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 2 hours (or overnight in the fridge).
- Roll and cut. Punch down the dough, roll it to ½ inch thick and cut 3-inch rounds. Re-roll the scraps once.
- Second rise. Let the rounds puff up on parchment-lined baking sheets for about an hour.
- Fry. Heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F and fry a few at a time, 1½ to 2 minutes per side, until deep golden. Don’t crowd the pan!
- Fill and dust. Let them cool a bit, pipe about a tablespoon of jam into each one and shower with powdered sugar.
Tips for the best sufganiyot
- Use a thermometer. Oil temperature is everything. Below 340°F the donuts soak up oil and turn greasy. Above 360°F the outside browns before the inside cooks. Let the oil come back up to temperature between batches.
- Roll to a true ½ inch. If the rounds are too thick, they puff out wide in the oil, take longer to cook through and you get fewer of them. A ruler is your friend.
- Do not over-proof. The rounds should look puffy and spring back slowly when poked. If they collapse when you pick them up, they went too long.
- Check one. The first batch is the test batch. Break one open, or check that the inside reads about 190°F, and adjust your timing from there.
- Dust right before serving. Powdered sugar melts into warm donuts. For that bakery look, add it at the last minute.
Filling ideas
Strawberry jam is the classic, but Israeli bakeries go all out these days, and you can too. Try vanilla custard, Nutella, dulce de leche, lemon curd, halva cream or pistachio cream. Or go a different direction entirely with one of my other versions:
- Everything bagel sufganiyot stuffed with lox and chive cream cheese, for the savory crowd.
- Peanut butter and jelly sufganiyot, for your inner fourth grader.
- Tahini coffee sufganiyot with a coffee glaze.
- Apple pie sufganiyot, when you cannot decide between donuts and pie.
And if a whole fry project is not happening this year, my easy sufganiyot dippers are a great shortcut. Find even more ideas in my Hanukkah desserts roundup and my full Hanukkah menu.
Make ahead and storage
Sufganiyot are best the day they are made, ideally within a few hours of frying. To get a head start, let the dough do its first rise in the fridge overnight, then bring it to room temperature, cut, proof and fry the next day.
Leftovers keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a day. To freeze, cool unfilled donuts completely and freeze for up to a month. Thaw, warm in a 300°F oven for a few minutes, then fill and dust.
Sufganiyot FAQ
What is the difference between sufganiyot and jelly donuts?
Not much! Sufganiyot are jelly donuts. The name is Hebrew, and the tradition of eating them on Hanukkah comes from Israel, where they are by far the most popular Hanukkah food. Compared to a typical American jelly donut, sufganiyot are usually a bit richer and are filled through the top, so you see a dot of jam peeking out.
Can I bake sufganiyot instead of frying them?
You can bake the dough at 375°F until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes, but they will taste like soft jam-filled rolls rather than donuts. The frying is the whole point on Hanukkah, since it is the oil we are celebrating.
What is the best oil for frying sufganiyot?
A neutral oil with a high smoke point, like canola, vegetable or peanut oil. Skip olive oil, which has a strong flavor and a lower smoke point.
How do I fill sufganiyot without a piping bag?
Spoon the jam into a zip-top bag and snip off one corner. Poke a hole in each donut with a chopstick or skewer first, wiggle it around to make a little pocket, then insert the corner of the bag and squeeze.
Why are my sufganiyot raw in the middle?
Either the oil was too hot, so the outside browned before the inside cooked, or the rounds were rolled too thick. Keep the oil at 350°F, roll to ½ inch and fry for the full 1½ to 2 minutes per side.
Why are my sufganiyot greasy?
The oil was not hot enough. When the temperature drops, the dough soaks up oil instead of sealing. Fry just a few at a time and let the oil come back to 350°F between batches.
How many sufganiyot does this recipe make?
About 15 with a 3-inch cutter, depending on how thick you roll the dough. Use a 2½-inch cutter for smaller, bite-size sufganiyot and you will get closer to 20.
Classic Sufganiyot (Jelly Donuts)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 packet
- ⅔ cup warm whole milk 110 degrees F
- ¼ cup granulated sugar plus 2 teaspoons, divided
- 3 ¼ – 4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling out dough
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 cups oil for frying or more as needed. Use an oil with a high smoke point like canola or vegetable
For filling and topping
- 1 cup seedless strawberry jam stirred until smooth
- ½ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- First, make the dough! Combine yeast, warm milk and 2 teaspoons sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to dissolve. Wait 10 minutes. The mixture should get foamy. If it doesn’t, the milk is the wrong temperature or your yeast is dead. Try again!
- Add 3 cups flour and the remaining sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix with the paddle until it starts to come together. Then add salt and combine.
- With the mixer on low, add the butter a little at a time, mixing until it's all incorporated. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and shiny, adding flour as needed. You can also do this by hand!
- Knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes until slightly tacky but not sticky, adding flour as needed.
- Place the dough in a large bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours. You can also slow rise in the refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature before using.
- When the dough has doubled, punch it down and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to ½ inch thick and cut out rounds using a 3-inch round cutter. Re-roll the scraps once to cut more. Place rounds on parchment-lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 1 hour.
- When ready to fry, heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot to 350 degrees F. Fry the sufganiyot in batches without crowding the pot, 1½-2 minutes per side, until deep golden and cooked through (about 190°F inside). Transfer to a wire rack set over paper towels and let cool.
- Spoon the jam into a pastry bag fitted with a long filling tip or a medium round tip.
- When the sufganiyot are cool enough to handle, poke a hole in the side or top of each one with the tip and squeeze in about 1 tablespoon of jam, until you feel it get heavier.
- Dust generously with powdered sugar right before serving and eat up!!
Notes
