Neapolitan doughnuts (graffe napoletane)

Total: 4 hr 15 min. | Active: 45 min.
vegetarian

Today I'd like to introduce you to Neapolitan doughnuts – the softest deep-fried doughnuts you'll have ever tasted. These doughnuts are so unbelievably soft because they contain boiled potato. Once cooked, you can't taste the potato – you're simply left to enjoy the most fabulous doughnuts. To ensure that the hole in the middle doesn't disappear, you will need to make a much bigger hole than you see in the finished product (at least 5-6 cm in diameter). Once they are shaped, they can be left to rise for a second time and will be even bigger once deep-fried. It doesn't take much to make a winning doughnut with a real hole!

Recipe by:
Sarah - Fragola & Limone

Ingredients

for 12 pieces

Starter dough
75 g white flour
4 g dry yeast
¾ dl milk
Dough
200 g mealy potatoes, cooked in their skins day-old
320 g white flour
1 tsp salt
40 g sugar
½  organic lemon, use grated zest
2  eggs
60 g butter, cut into pieces, soft
To deep-fry
  oil, for deep-frying
5 tbsp sugar

How it's done

Starter dough

Mix the flour and yeast in a bowl. Pour in the milk, knead to form a thick, sticky dough. Cover the starter dough and leave to rise at room temperature for approx. 1 hr.

Dough

Pass the potatoes through a food mill and into the food processor bowl. Add the starter dough, flour, salt, sugar, lemon zest and eggs. Knead into a soft, smooth dough using the dough hook on the food processor. Gradually add the butter and continue to knead for approx. 6 mins. Cover the dough and leave to rise at room temperature for approx. 1½ hrs. until doubled in size.

To shape

Divide the dough into 12 pieces, shape into balls. Lightly flour the handle of a wooden spoon and make a hole in the centre of each. Allow the dough rings to form around the spoon handle until the opening measures approx. 6 cm in diameter. Place each doughnut on a piece of baking paper, cover and leave to rise for approx. 1 hr.

To deep-fry

Fill a pot to ⅓ with oil and heat it to approx. 175°C. Using a slotted spoon, lower the doughnuts into the pan in batches along with the baking paper. As soon as the baking paper falls away, carefully remove it. Deep-fry the doughnuts for approx. 3 mins. on each side until golden brown. Remove the doughnuts and drain on paper towels. Pour the sugar into a deep dish, toss the doughnuts in the sugar while still warm.

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