DECEMBER 15 • 2022 | 53

During Chanukah, Israeli bakeries 
display trays of sufganiyot in endless 
flavor combinations. They are truly 
pastry masterpieces and become avail-
able in bakeries all around the country 
over the holiday. 
Sufganiyot are the country’s most 
popular holiday food, with more than 
80% of Israelis eating at least one of 
them a day during Chanukah, accord-
ing to Aish.com. They state that the 
IDF alone buys close to a half a mil-
lion donuts, which they distribute to 
soldiers all over the country. In 2021, 
news station i24 broadcast a segment 
about one popular bakery frying over 
25,000 sufganiyot on each day of 
Chanukah. Now that’s a lot of dough! 
Today, an annual fierce, but friendly, 
creative rivalry sparks between bak-
eries to create the most interesting 
Chanukah sufganiyot. Take the Roladin 
bakery for example, an operation with 
94 outlets all around the country, who 
carries them in vanilla ganache, toffee 
crumbleand and violet cheesecake 
flavors. The Shang bakery in Haifa 
sells a lemon pie version, and in Tel 
Aviv, Metuka bakery features a banana 
cream with a chocolate ganache glaze. 
Other flavors include strawberry 
margarita, halva praline, peanut butter 
and jelly, chocolate caramel smores, 
peppermint mocha and pumpkin pie 
streusel. Somehow, this just doesn’t 
seem fair.
The sufganiyot recipe originates in 
the 14th century in Europe, at a time 
where foods for Chanukah emerge as 
either as dairy or fried. 
According to food historian Rabbi 
Gil Marks, Sephardic Jews fried a 
range of sweets for the holiday, while 
the Jews in northern and Eastern 
Europe fried cheese blintzes and 
donuts. Award-winning food writer 
and cookbook author Davit Leite 
explains that the first record of a jelly 
donut, or gefullte krapen, was found 
in 1532 after the German cookbook 
Kuchenmeisterei (Mastery of the 
Kitchen) was translated into Polish. 
While the original recipe suggests fry-
ing them in lard, Polish Jews switch to 
chicken schmaltz for dietary reasons, 
calling them ponchik. 
Polish immigrants brought their 
ponchiks and recipes to Israel, where 

they receive the new name, sufganiyot, 
or spongy dough. In the late 1920s, the 
Israeli Federation designated sufgani-
yot as Israel’s official Chanukah food, 
knowing donuts are more difficult 
to make at home. In the spirit of job 
creation, they built an entire industry 
around sufganiyot production, trans-
portation and sales, which explains 
why they are now the Chanukah dar-
ling of Israel. 
Latkes are delicious in their own 
right, and before I knew of sufganiy-
ot, they always made me a happy girl 
during Chanukah. But now that I’m 
aware of the annual pastry bake-off 
going on in the Middle East, I’m pro-
posing a change to this year’s menu. 
For centuries, people around the world 
use fried dough for celebrations, so 
why aren’t we? 
This year, I want the gourmet donuts 
that the Israelis use to celebrate. At 
least this once, I’m considering taking 
a break from dipping those delicious 
skillet-fried potatoes into sour cream 
and applesauce.
If you have donut envy now, and 
without a ticket to Israel, don’t worry, 
there’s hope. Sufganiyot are finally 
gaining ground here, too. You will 
likely find them in the Jewish bak-
eries around Metro Detroit like Star, 
Diamond, Golds International and 
Zeman’s. Additionally, The Dunkin’ 
website lists sufganiyot as available 
during Chanukah at their kosher-certi-
fied outlets, like the one on Greenfield 
in Oak Park. Wow, go Dunkin’!
Should you prefer to fry and want 
to bypass your potato grater for rolling 
out some dough, sufganiyot are rela-
tively easy to make. They require few 
ingredients, most likely already in your 
cupboard, like flour, sugar, yeast, eggs 
and a neutral oil such as vegetable or 
grapeseed. You fry them, roll them in 
sugar, then set them aside to let them 
cool. The only thing left to do is fill 
them with your favorite flavor. So, what 
will it be?
Are you a jam, custard or Nutella 
person? Will you create a new inven-
tion to share with fellow bakers in 
Israel? You may not have these answers 
yet, but it’s certainly going to be 
delicious to figure them out! Happy 
Chanukah! 

(Recipe adapted from Marthastewart.com)

CHANUKAH SUFGANIYOT 
(JELLY DONUTS) 
Yield: Makes 20

Ingredients
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
½ cup warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees)
¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, plus more for rolling
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 cups vegetable oil, plus more for bowl
1 cup jam, Nutella, prepared custard or pudding

Directions
In a small bowl, combine yeast, warm 
water and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Set aside 
until foamy, about 10 minutes. Place the 
flour in a large bowl and make a well in the 
center. Add the eggs, yeast mixture, ¼ cup 
of sugar, butter, nutmeg and salt. Using a 
wooden spoon, stir until a sticky dough 
forms. 
On a well-floured surface, knead the 
dough until smooth, soft and bounces 
back when poked with a finger, about 8 
minutes (add more flour if dough gets too 
sticky.) Place the dough in an oiled bowl 
and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm 
place to rise until doubled, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Lightly flour the work surface and 
roll dough to ¼ inch thickness. Using a 
2½ inch cutter or drinking glass, cut 20 
rounds. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 
for another 15 minutes. 
In a medium sauce pan, heat oil to medi-
um heat, 370 degrees. Using a slotted 
spoon, carefully slip 4 rounds into the oil. 
Fry until golden, about 40 seconds. Turn 
donuts over and fry another 40 seconds or 
until golden. Remove from oil to a paper 
towel lined baking sheet. Fry all the dough 
and roll in sugar while still warm. 
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a tip with 
jam. Using a toothpick or skewer, make a 
small hole in the side of each donut. Fit 
the pastry tip in the hole, and pipe about 2 
teaspoons of filling into the donut. Repeat 
with remaining donuts. 

