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Gogoși

Gogoși: Romanian fried yeast doughnuts dusted with sugar

Fairground stalls, seaside promenades in Constanța and every grandmother with a big frying pan produce gogoși, fat, golden rounds of yeast dough fried and rolled in sugar while still too hot to hold. They are an everyday treat rather than a feast-day one, eaten with a mug of milk or filled with plum jam, sour cherry jam or sweet cheese. The dough is soft and enriched with eggs, milk and butter, so the inside should be fluffy and the outside thin and crisp, never greasy. Where most people go wrong is the oil temperature: too cool and the doughnuts soak up fat, too hot and they brown before the centre cooks. Keep a thermometer in the pan and never leave hot oil unattended. Chef's tip: fry one test doughnut first and break it open, so you can adjust the heat before the whole batch.
Total time
120 min
Difficulty
medium
Serves
12
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Ingredients

Serves12

Dough

To fry and finish

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Fresh ingredients (4)

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Method

0/9 done
  1. Step 1: Mix the 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 2 ⅛ oz caster sugar and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl. Whisk the 1 cup lukewarm milk, 2 eggs, 1 tsp lemon zest and 1 tsp vanilla extract together and pour them in.

    3 min
  2. Step 2: Mix to a soft, sticky dough, then work in the 1 ¾ oz butter and knead for 8 minutes, until the dough is silky and pulls away from the bowl.

    10 min
  3. Step 3: Cover and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled.

    60 min
  4. Step 4: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat or roll it to 1.5 cm thick. Cut 8 cm rounds, re-rolling the scraps once, and set them on floured baking paper.

    8 min
  5. Step 5: Cover loosely and leave to rise again until puffy and a gentle poke leaves a slow-filling dent.

    20 min
  6. Step 6: Heat the 4 ¼ cups sunflower oil, for deep-frying in a deep, heavy pan, no more than one-third full, to 350°F over a medium heat.

    8 min
  7. Step 7: Fry 3 or 4 doughnuts at a time for about 2 minutes per side, turning once, until deep golden. Break the first one open: the crumb should be fluffy and dry, not doughy.

    16 min
  8. Step 8: Drain on kitchen paper for a minute, then roll in or dust with 1 ¾ oz icing sugar while warm.

    2 min
  9. Step 9: If filling, pipe or spoon 5 ½ oz plum or sour cherry jam into a slit in the side of each cooled doughnut.

    5 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories
300 kcal
Protein
6 g
Carbs
42 g
Fat
12 g
Fibre
1 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does gogoși take?
About 120 minutes in total: 95 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegetarian?
Yes. It has no meat or fish.
What can I use instead of plain flour?
Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
Fresh yeast, three times the weight.

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