Okay so bofrot (pronounced bow-fr-oht) kind of looks like a beignet but isn’t at all like it in composition. It tastes more of a doughnut with crispy, round edges and shaped like a ball. It is super soft on the inside and is so amazing dipped in any kind of sugar. Bofrot is made with mainly flour, yeast, water and sugar-there’s no milk, eggs or anything fancy really. In Ghana, it is usually served with Hausa Koko-a popular millet porridge. A variation of bofrot is also dubbed “puff puff” in Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
The trick to making these is letting the dough rise for at least 2 hours. The dough needs to become super stretchy and stringy. Instant yeast in the packets also works better in my opinion because it tends to be fresher and takes a shorter time to rise. Check the temperature of the water you’re using to activate the yeast. The water should be very warm but not hot enough where it literally kills the yeast. A good way to test your yeast is by mixing it with a bit of water and sugar and leaving it in a humid, warm place for 5 minutes. If you don’t see any bubbles on the top of the mixture, throw it away and start afresh with a new yeast.
Good bofrot also needs to be fried in hot oil, otherwise it will soak up the oil and become a soggy mess. Also, don’t overcrowd the pan with the bofrot dough. This reduces the overall temperature of the oil so your bofrot will take longer to fry. Most importantly, as I previously mentioned, not using hot oil leads to soggy bofrot. Use a steep frying pan – a cast-iron skillet is a great opion. The dough should float on the surface of the oil and not submerge completely. Serve these hot with your favorite porridge and Bon Appetit!
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour, leveled
1 cup granulated sugar+ extra 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup very warm water + extra 1 cup
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 cups cooking oil
Instructions
- Mix 1 cup warm water with the extra 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar in a very large bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Add in the instant yeast, cover and let it rise for 10 minutes in a warm place away from winds.
- Once you see bubbles formed on the surface of the mixture, add in the flour, salt, remaining sugar, extra 1 cup of water and cinnamon into the same bowl.
- Cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place for 2 hours.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large saucepan or steep frying pan until it is very hot.
- Once the dough has doubled in size and feels very stretchy, scoop a small meatball-size portion of the dough and gently place in the hot oil.
- Don't overcrowd the pan you're using and fry a few dough balls at a time. I fried these in 4 batches.
- Fry the dough until browned on both sides. It usually takes about 4 minutes on both sides.
- Place the fried dough on paper towels to drain any excess oil.
- Serve warm as desired.