This year, Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday 25 February. For your information, it’s a celebration held 47 days before Easter. Personally, it’s above all an opportunity to treat myself and enjoy a few sweet treats, like here with the bugnes, whose recipe is borrowed from Christophe Felder.
Bugnes are small pastries from the doughnut family, which have become a speciality of the whole Lyon, Saint-Etienne and Rhône valley region. Their name comes from “bunyi”, which precisely means “doughnut”. Their close cousins are the merveilles of south-west France (I was indeed able to taste some in Bordeaux a few days ago). There are many bugnes recipes, but I decided once again to put my trust in Christophe Felder, who has never let me down!
This recipe makes around thirty super soft bugnes that you can flavour with orange blossom if you’re a fan. Here, I dusted them with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon after cooking. The recipe is very simple (even more so if, like me, you own a stand mixer). Only thing to know: it needs a bit of time since here, the dough rises in 3 stages. I advise you to start the recipe at a leisurely pace in the morning so you can enjoy them at teatime.
Ingredients & Method
3 components · Full recipe
Bugnes dough
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.8 oz) flour
- 30 g (1.1 oz) sugar
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1 sachet dry yeast (7 g (0.2 oz))
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water
- 3 eggs
- 60 g (2.1 oz) butter at room temperature
Method
1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt and dried yeast (making sure the yeast does not touch the salt directly). Add the orange blossom water and eggs.
2
Knead on medium speed until the dough comes together and becomes smooth and elastic, about 8–10 minutes.
3
Add the softened butter in small pieces and continue kneading until fully incorporated and the dough is smooth, shiny and slightly tacky.
4
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with cling film.
5
Leave to prove for 1 hour at room temperature covered with a damp tea towel, then transfer to the fridge for 2 hours (or overnight). This resting time is essential for flavour and texture.
Shaping the bugnes
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
On a lightly floured work surface, roll the chilled dough out to about 3–4 mm thickness. Cut into rectangles or diamond shapes roughly 3 × 8 cm (3.1 in). Make a small slit in the centre of each piece.
2
Thread one end of the bugne through the slit to give it the classic twisted shape.
3
Place the shaped bugnes on a sheet of baking paper and leave to prove for 1 hour 30 minutes before frying.
Frying the bugnes
Ingredients
- frying oil
- icing sugar, to taste
Method
1
Heat the frying oil to 170–180°C / 350°F in a deep pan or fryer.
2
Carefully lower the bugnes into the hot oil, a few at a time to avoid crowding. Fry for about 1–2 minutes on each side until golden.
3
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
4
Dust generously with icing sugar while still warm.
5
Enjoy on the day they are made!
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