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Beignet

Beignets from Café du Monde in New Orleans
Type	Fritter
Place of origin	France
Main ingredients	Dough, powdered sugar
Variations	Rice, Yeast, Pâte à Choux
Media: Beignet

Beignet (/ˈbɛnjeɪ/ BEN-yay, also US: /beɪnˈjeɪ, bɛnˈjeɪ/ bayn-YAY, ben-YAY, French: [bɛɲɛ]; lit. 'bump') is a type of deep-fried pastry of French origin. It is commonly made from pâte à choux, but can also be made using rice flour (rice beignets) or yeast-leavened batters. Beignets can be served in a variety of preparations, the most common being dusted with confectioner’s sugar. The pastry is popular in French, Italian, and American cuisines.

Types

A traditional way beignets are prepared is using choux pastry dough. Otherwise known as the French-style beignet, this type of dough is typically made using butter, milk or water, sugar, flour, and salt. Choux pastry is versatile and is prepared differently by culture. The pâte à choux method is also the style of beignets that were introduced to New Orleans by French immigrants in the 1700s.

Variations often include banana or plantain – popular fruits in the port city – or berries. Other variations include savory fillings such as meat and cheese fillings.

Beignets can also be made with yeast pastry, which might be referred to as boules de Berlin in French, referring to Berliner doughnuts, which lack the typical doughnut hole in the center, filled with fruit or jam.

In Corsica, beignets made with chestnut flour (beignets de farine de châtaigne) are known as fritelli.

In Canadian French, doughnuts are referred to alternately as beigne or beignet.

In former French colonial empire in West Africa, a beignet is a small ball of fried dough, in Senegal sometimes made with millet flour rather than wheat, equivalent to a Puff-puff.

Origins

Variations of fried dough can be found across cuisines internationally; however, the origin of the term beignet is specifically French. They were brought to New Orleans in the 18th century by French colonists, from "the old mother country", also brought by Acadians, and became a large part of home-style Creole cooking.

Deep-fried yeast dough has been part of culinary tradition since at least the Middle Ages. The Spanish refer to this type of creation as "buelos", which likely shares etymology with the Celtic word for deep-fried yeast dough, "bigne".

Louisiana

Louisiana-style beignets are generally square or rectangular shaped, and are made from leavened dough rather than choux pastry. In New Orleans, they are often consumed as a breakfast item served with powdered sugar on top. They are meant to be eaten immediately after frying and are served at several cafes in the New Orleans region.

In the United States, beignets have been popular within New Orleans Creole cuisine and may also be served as a dessert.

It is one of only two official state donuts—the only other one being the Boston cream doughnut, the state donut of Massachusetts.

Preparation

Ingredients used to prepare beignets typically include:

• Lukewarm water
• Granulated sugar
• Evaporated milk
• Bread flour
• Shortening
• Oil or lard, for deep-frying
• Confectioners' sugar
• Yeast (for leavened batters)

Preparation varies by type. For yeast-leavened beignets, the ingredients are combined and a dough has formed, it is rolled out and then sliced into squares which are deep-fried for two to three minutes. The result is a puffy, golden brown pastry.

For choux pastry beignets, the chilled dough is piped or scooped before being fried in hot oil.

See also

• List of choux pastry dishes
• List of doughnut varieties
• Baursaki – Traditional fried dough of Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisinesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Churro – Fried-dough pastry
• Cuisine of New Orleans – Culinary traditions of New Orleans, Louisiana, US
• Lokma – Deep fried dough pastries
• Mekitsa – Dish made of kneaded deep fried dough made with yogurt
• Lángos – Hungarian deep-fried flatbread
• Puff-puff – African fried dough snack and pastry
• Sufganiyah – Round jelly-filled doughnut served at Hanukkah
• Zeppole – Italian pastry
• Fasnacht (doughnut) – Deep-fried German doughnut

References

1. "beignet". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
2. "Beignet". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
3. "beignet" (US) and "beignet". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
4. "beignet". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
5. ^ Davidson, Alan (1999). Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780192115799.
6. ^ Goldstein, Darra (May 1, 2015). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. pp. 226, 478, 654. ISBN 9780199313617.
7. "Pâte à Choux Recipe". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
8. McKnight, Laura (November 16, 2007). "Beignets: More than Just a Doughnut". houmatoday.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
9. "Of Interest to Women: Banana Served In Appetizing Forms". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 1, 1907.
10. ^ "Beignet History and Recipe". WhatsCookingAmerica.net. 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
11. Senecuisine (2018-05-10). "Beignets dougoub (beignets de mil soufflés)". Senecuisine - cuisine sénégalaise (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-23.
12. Schneider, Wendi (1989). The Picayune's Creole Cook Book. New York: Random House. p. 385.
13. "Beignets". cafedumonde.com. Café du Monde. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018.
14. Anderson, L. V. (2014-08-24). "The United Sweets of America". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
15. "Beignet State Doughnut | State Symbols USA". statesymbolsusa.org. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
16. "Impress Your Guests With This Simple French Beignets Pastry Recipe". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved 2024-05-02.

Further reading

• Yves Thuriès, French Pastry, ISBN 0-471-28598-6
• Rosana G. Moreira et al., Deep Fat Frying: Fundamentals and Applications, ISBN 0-8342-1321-4

External links

• Media related to Beignets at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Doughnuts, fritters and other fried-dough foods
Sweet	Africa and Asia Adhirasam Awameh Bambalouni Bamiyeh Binangkal Boortsog Buñuelo Çäkçäk Cascaron Chebakia Chiroti Chin chin Churro Gorgoria Gosh-e Fil Gulab jamun Gwaramari Imarti Jalebi Koe'sister/Koeksister Kevum Kumukunsi Lokma Lokot-lokot Maejap-gwa Mahua Maruya Mochi donuts Panyalam Pilipit Pinakufu Puff-puff Qottab Sata andagi Sel roti Sfenj Sfinz Shakoy Shankarpali Shuangbaotai Sufganiyah Sweet shells Tulumba Vetkoek Zalabiyeh Americas Bear claw Bolinho de chuva Boston cream Brown Bobby Buñuelo Churro Cider doughnut Coconut doughnut Cronut Cruller Dutchie Fried Coke Funnel cake Jelly doughnut Long John Maple bacon donut Maple bar Old-fashioned doughnut Persian Picarones Potato doughnut Sopaipilla Sour cream doughnut Tiger tail donut Timbits Touton Wonut Europe Angel wings Beignet Berliner Bombolone Buñuelo Churro Diples Fánk Fartura Fasnacht Fazuelos Filhós Fritule Fudge doughnut Klenät Knieküchle Krofne Malassada Mekitsa Oliebol Pączki Papanași Pastisset Pestiños Prusurate Rosette Schenkele Smultring Uštipci Zeppole
Savory	Africa and Asia Balep korkun Bhaji Bhatoora Burmese fritters Ham chim peng Javanese doughnut Khuushuur Luchi Mee Siput Muar Mücver Murukku Okoy Ox-tongue pastry Pakora Papri chaat Pişi Puri Qutab Samosa Sha phaley Shelpek Vada Vetkoek Youtiao Europe and the Americas Chebureki Fleischkuekle Fritelli Frybread Funnel cake Haliva Lángos Lihapiirakka Lörtsy Pampushka Panzerotti Pastel Pasztecik szczeciński Peremech Pirozhki
Companies	BeaverTails Dunkin' Donuts Krispy Kreme Mister Donut Shipley Do-Nuts Tim Hortons
Lists	List of doughnut varieties List of fried dough foods List of deep fried foods List of doughnut shops
See also	National Doughnut Day Coffee and doughnuts Superior Donuts play TV series
Category: Doughnuts

• American doughnuts
• Choux pastry
• Cuisine of New Orleans
• French-American cuisine
• French pastries
• Louisiana Creole cuisine
• American breakfast foods