Pyshki
Pyshki (пышки): St Petersburg ring doughnuts fried fresh and buried in icing sugar
On Bolshaya Konyushennaya street in St Petersburg a small pyshechnaya has been frying these since the 1950s, and locals will tell you firmly that a pyshka is not a ponchik, the filled Moscow doughnut. They come in a paper bag five or six at a time, so hot that the icing sugar melts at the edges, with a glass of sweet milky coffee from a big urn. The soft, fairly wet yeast dough gives a light, open crumb inside a thin golden shell. The usual slip is oil that is too cool: the rings soak it up and turn heavy, so keep a thermometer in the pan at 175 °C. Chef's tip: set each shaped ring on its own small square of baking paper and lower the paper into the oil with it; the paper slips off after a few seconds and the ring stays perfectly round.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup whole milklukewarm
- 1 oz caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ⅜ oz unsalted buttermelted
- ½ tsp salt
- 14 oz plain flourplus extra for rolling
For frying and dusting
- 6 ¼ cups sunflower oil for deep-frying
- 2 ⅞ oz icing sugar
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What you'll need
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Stir the ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast and 1 oz caster sugar into the warm 1 cup whole milk and leave for 10 minutes, until foamy.
10 minStep 2: Beat in the 1 egg, 1 ⅜ oz unsalted butter and ½ tsp salt, then the 14 oz plain flour, and knead for 6–8 minutes into a soft, slightly sticky dough.
8 minStep 3: Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled.
45 minStep 4: Roll the dough out on a floured surface to 1.5 cm thick. Cut 8 cm rounds, cut a 3 cm hole from each and set each ring on a square of baking paper. Re-roll the trimmings once. Prove for 15 minutes, until puffy.
12 minStep 5: Heat the 6 ¼ cups sunflower oil for deep-frying in a deep, heavy pan, no more than a third full, to 350°F. Never leave hot oil unattended.
8 minStep 6: Fry the rings 3–4 at a time for about 1½ minutes per side, until deep golden with a pale band around the middle. Pull out the paper squares with tongs as they float free.
12 minStep 7: Drain on kitchen paper for a minute, then toss in the 2 ⅞ oz icing sugar while still hot and serve at once.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 55 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pyshki take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 75 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 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 whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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