Sourdough Beignets

Even if you’ve never been to New Orleans to experience Mardi Gras, you have to try these sourdough beignets to get a taste of what all the fuss is about!

These easy sourdough beignets are poofy, pillowy, and fried for a delicious treat. They’re similar to donuts in flavor, but even easier to make because beignets only require one proof.

Top the hot beignets with a generous dusting of powdered sugar and you’ve got a delicious Mardi Gras classic that goes well with coffee or a chocolate dipping sauce.

Learn how to make the best sourdough beignets below with my detailed recipe guide that walks you through each step of the process.

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What are Beignets?

Traditionally, beignets (ben-YAYZ) are made of a yeast-based dough, deep-fried, and topped with powdered sugar. In French, beignets roughly translates to “fritter”.

Other variations of beignets exist, including ones made with pâte à choux and are sometimes filled with jam or chocolate. The recipe that follows is quite traditional, but with the addition of sourdough starter instead of instant baker’s yeast.

Beignets are similar to donuts. However, beignets only proof once, are lighter and puffier than donuts, and are typically square-shaped. They’re often topped with powdered sugar and best served hot, straight from the fryer.

These treats are popular in New Orleans, Louisiana, especially at Café du Monde, where the beignets are served with chicory coffee at breakfast, for dessert, or as a snack. They’re even featured in the Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog, set in New Orleans.

While you can enjoy them any time of year, beignets are most popular during Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday/Carnival celebrations.

Other popular foods around the world eaten on this day include pączki (Polish donuts), fasnachts (Pennsylvania Dutch fried donuts), king cake, pancakes, and more.

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🛠 Tools Needed

Click the links below for my tool recommendations.

• Baking Scale, for consistent and accurate measurements
• Thermometer, for frying
• Pastry wheel (can also use a pizza cutter or sharp knife)
• Spider strainer, for frying (or a metal slotted spoon)
• Rolling pin (optional)
• Dutch oven or a large pot, for frying
• Stand Mixer (recommended)
  • Since this is a high-hydration, wet dough, a stand mixer will mix the dough more easily and develop gluten faster. If you don’t have one, you can use a hand mixer or knead the dough by hand.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

Click on the links below for my ingredient recommendations.

• Bread Flour
  • A high-protein flour, like bread flour, will create a lighter beignet that will puff up in the oil. However, you can use all-purpose for this recipe as well.
• Active Sourdough Starter
  • Since this dough is leavened, it is best not to use sourdough discard for this recipe. Check out my sourdough starter tips page to learn how to strengthen your starter.
• Water
• Evaporated Milk
  • Since beignets are made with simple ingredients and undergo only a single rise, we want to add as much flavor to the dough as possible for the tastiest beignets. I use one 5 oz small can for this recipe.
  • The evaporated milk adds body to the dough, almost like malted milk powder, with its concentrated milk flavor.
  • Note, this is NOT sweetened condensed milk. Evaporated milk is unsweetened.
  • Use whole milk or buttermilk as a substitute.
• Unsalted Butter, melted
• Granulated Sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla Extract
• Sea Salt
• Neutral oil, for frying
  • You can any neutral oil for frying beignets like vegetable, grapeseed, or canola oil. Cottonseed oil is apparently what Café du Monde recommends. Avocado oil or sunflower oil works well here, too.
  • Essentially, you want to avoid any oil that adds too much flavor to the beignets like olive oil or peanut oil.
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

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Sample Schedules for Making Sourdough Beignets

Below are two sample schedules for making sourdough beignets.

You can make them on the same day if you mix the dough in the morning and only minimally chill the dough. Alternatively, you can make breakfast beignets by chilling the dough overnight or up to two days in advance.

For both, the times are flexible and adjustable. Just remember that if you make the same-day beignets, you will need 150 grams of active sourdough starter that’s ready to use by mixing time. You can make a levain the night before.

Same-Day Sourdough Beignets
9am: Mix Dough
9:20am-2:20pm: Proof
2:20-3:30pm: Chill (an hour or longer)
3:30pm: Shape and Heat Oil
3:40-4pm: Fry Beignets and Serve

Day 1	Day 2
9am: Mix Dough	8am: Shape and Heat Oil
9:20am-2:20pm: Proof	8:10-8:30am: Fry Beignets and Serve
2:20pm and up to two days: Chill

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🧑‍🍳 How to Make Sourdough Beignets

Follow this visual and detailed recipe guide as you bake the easy Sourdough Beignets.

1. Mix the Wet Ingredients

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the bread hook attachment, mix the egg, sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla, water, melted and cooled butter, and active sourdough starter.

2. Add the Dry Ingredients and Mix

Dump the bread flour and salt into the bowl of wet ingredients.

Begin mixing the beignet dough on low speed and gradually increase it to medium speed, and mix for about 10 minutes.

At first, the dough will be very sticky and wet. Don’t fret! As you continue to mix, the dough will start to come together around the dough hook and form a smooth texture.

Mix the dough until it is smooth, supple, and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl, passing the windowpane test.

For the windowpane test, pull a section of the dough with your hands and spread it apart. You’re looking for a dough that you can spread into a thin membrane that light can pass through without it tearing. This will tell you if enough gluten has been developed. If it tears quickly, it needs to be mixed more.

3. Proof the Dough

Transfer the dough to a medium-sized mixing bowl for its only proofing.

Cover and place in a warm location to proof for about 5 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

I keep my dough at 78-80ºF in my Brød and Taylor folding bread proofer.

Gauging when the dough is done proofing here is much easier than the bulk fermentation stage making sourdough bread. The dough can rest the entire time without needing additional folds.

However, if you hand-mixed the dough or it seemed very slack, it may benefit from additional strength. You can add a couple of stretch and folds to the dough during fermentation here.

4. Chill the Dough

At this point, you have a couple of options, which I’ve listed in my sample schedules above.

You can chill the dough for at least an hour, or you can chill the dough overnight and up to two days.

For same-day beignets, chill the dough for at least an hour so it will be easier to shape, roll out, and cut.

Alternatively, you can opt to chill the dough overnight and up to two days in advance. This is what I typically do for most of my breads to add flavor and schedule a bake on my own time. But, I do not find it necessary for this dough since there’s no second proof.

5. Shape and Cut the Beignets

Shaping beignets is quite easy and doesn’t require exact measurements like croissants, for example.

Generously flour your work surface as the dough can be quite sticky. Then, dump the dough out onto the surface.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle about ¼ inch thick. You can use your hands to stretch the dough out too, but a rolling pin will make it more even.

Next, use a pastry wheel or a sharp knife to cut 1 ½ inch strips of dough. If you prefer larger beignets, cut out two-inch strips.

Now cut the strips perpendicular to your last cut into dozens of squares roughly the same size. Trim up the edges or any rounded corners to try to get square beignets. It’s okay if some are different sizes.

I typically get anywhere from 35 to 42 beignets.

Transfer the beignets to a cutting board, sheet pan, or platter and move them near the frying area.

6. Fry the Beignets

Over a stovetop, fill a Dutch oven or large pot with at least three inches of neutral oil for frying. Keep a clip-on candy or frying thermometer in the pot or check the temperature often with an instant-read thermometer.

Turn the heat on medium-high and patiently keep an eye on the temperature of the oil until it reaches 350-370ºF (177-188ºC).

Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the oil in this range as you fry and wear safe gloves.

As the oil is heating, set up your frying area with all the tools you’ll need, like an assembly line.

For example, I keep the cut beignets on a cutting board nearby and place a wire cooling rack with paper towels on it beside the pot of oil. I place the spider strainer or sieve nearby so I can easily access it when the oil is hot enough.

When the oil is between 350-370ºF, carefully drop one beignet at a time into the hot oil. Initially, they may sink, but they should float and puff up quickly. Drop a few more beignets into the oil, but do not crowd the pot.

Fry on one side for about 2 minutes, or until the side is golden brown. Flip them over with the spider and fry them for another minute or two.

Once both sides are golden brown, lift the beignets out of the oil with the spider strainer and transfer them to a cooling rack lined with a layer of paper towels.

Repeat the process with the remainder beignets, watching the thermometer throughout to ensure the oil stays within range. The entire frying process typically takes about 15-20 minutes.

7. Top with Powdered Sugar and Serve

Finally, dust the hot beignets with powdered sugar and serve them immediately.

Another easy method to coat the beignets in sugar is to place them in a brown paper bag, top them with sugar, and shake the bag.

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How to Serve Sourdough Beignets

Simplicity is key when serving beignets! They’re typically only served hot and only with powdered sugar.

You can enjoy beignets any time of day, but are most popular at breakfast or as a Mardi Gras celebratory treat. They’re often served with chicory coffee or cafés au lait.

However, other variations of beignets exist. After frying, you can fill them with pastry cream, melted chocolate, or jam for a filled-donut flair. You can also dip the beignets in chocolate or jam or drizzle in honey!

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How to Store Sourdough Beignets

Beignets are best served warm and straight from the fryer.

Like most fried foods, beignets don’t store the best. If not eaten immediately, store them in a sealed container without powdered sugar and reheat them slightly in the microwave before eating. They’ll keep a couple of days at room temperature like this, but will dry out quickly.

I wouldn’t recommend freezing beignets.

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❓FAQs

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