Sourdoug beignets

250ml water 

130g sourdough starter 

1/2 tsp of salt

25g sugar

225g plain flour 

125g butter 

300g eggs ( aprox 6 medium size eggs)

In French, beignet means fried dough. It is synonymous with the English word fritter and in France it specifically refers to deep fried chou pastry. The slight sourdough tang works perfect here, and the texture is awesome. Pillowy and soft, with a slight chew. 

One of the glorious things about pate a choux is the amount of rise you get without any yeast or chemical leavening. This comes from the amount of moisture in the batter and sourdough starter.

Place sourdough water, butter, sugar, and salt in a sauce pot over medium high heat. Stir until butter is melted and everything comes together. Reduce heat to medium. Add flour into the mixture all at once while stirring quickly. Continue to stir and cook off the moisture in the dough until it pulls away from the sides and starts to form into a ball. This should take about a minute.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add eggs in one at a time. Do not add another egg until the one before has been completely absorbed into the batter. The batter will look smooth and glossy when ready. (Alternatively, you can mix in the eggs by hand. This just takes a bit longer. Mix each egg until completely absorbed before adding the next).

You can chill the batter in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to overnight. Fried in batches. 

TIP: for my sweet sourdogh beignets I will use vanilla, orange and cinnamon infused water in this recipe.