Sfinz | Libyan Doughnut

I love taking part in foodie group challenges. Be it baking or cooking on the stove top, there is always something new to learn.Last month I saw this recipe on Mir’s blog and the food challenge in which she had taken part sounded like fun!

I went over to MENA[Middle Eastern and North African] cooking club. I immediately signed up. Here is what we do – As the name suggests, we explore the Middle eastern and North African cuisine. The host gives us 3 dishes- a main, soup and dessert. We can make any one or all the three!The rules are also flexible. Though examples of the recipes are given, we are given a free reign to adapt the recipes to suit out taste.

This month we are going over to Libya. We were given the choice of

Savory: Tajin Sfinari bil Zaytun – Libyan Lamb Casserole

Soup: Sharba Libiya bil Dajaj wa Alzatar – Libyan soup with chicken and Thyme
Sweet: Sfinz – Libyan Doughnuts

 First I had to familiarize myself with the dishes or rather I had to find out what the
were. To my dismay all had meat and I was not sure what to do. But I was determined not to skip the very first edition I am taking part in.

So a few more searches and I landed on a version of eggless Sfinz and I was overjoyed! Apart from this dish, I have also cooked two more Libyan dishes .Those dishes are something that I found while searching for Sfinz recipe. I will be posting those recipes to later this month.

Now let us go to the recipe of the month-  Sfinz / Libyan Dougnut

I read that these are spongy fried doughnuts that are made for Friday breakfasts. It can be served as such or with a sweet topping like honey or with fried eggs.

The recipe uses All purpose flour but due to the baking extravaganza that has been going on for the Baking Marathon, I was almost out of APF.So I used whole wheat flour in addition to APF.

I used:
Adapted from – Libyan Food

All purpose flour- 1 cup
Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
Instant yeast-1/2 tablespoon
Baking powder- 1 teaspoon
Salt- 1 teaspoon
Sugar- 2 teaspoon
Milk,warm – 1/2 cup
Water- a little less than 1/4 cup
Olive oil-2 tablespoons

Oil for deep frying

In a bowl take the flour and put in sugar, salt, yeast, baking powder,oil. Whisk.Mix water and milk and add to the flour mixture little by little. You may not use all of the milk-water mixture. The liquid quantity depends on the quality of the flour. If needed, add a few more teaspoons of warm water.Bring the dough together.

Transfer the dough on to the work surface and knead well for 10 minutes till the dough is elastic and smooth.Place in an oiled bowl and cover loosely. Let it triple its size.

After the dough rises to thrice its volume, punch it down and divide into egg sized balls. Let it sit covered for 10 minutes.

 Place a ball on a greased plate and flatten it out with our fingers. The edges must be thicker than the centre.

Heat oil for deep frying and gently slide the sfinz into the oil.Deep fry on both sides till brown in color.Remove from oil .

We has this during tea time with watermelon juice…

Bon Appetit…