Traditional Sufganiyot Recipe: Jelly-Filled Hanukkah Doughnuts

Active time: ~1 hour | Total time: ~3 hours (including two rises) | Serves: 9 (about 18 doughnuts, 2 per serving) | Difficulty: Moderate

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Quick Overview

1. Bloom the yeast in warm milk with a little sugar until foamy
2. Knead a soft dough with eggs, butter, sugar and lemon zest, then let it double
3. Roll it out 1.25cm (½ inch) thick and cut 6cm (2½-inch) rounds
4. Let the rounds rise again, then fry them a few at a time until deep golden
5. Cool, pipe in jam and dust with powdered sugar just before serving

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What Sufganiyot Are

Sufganiyot (singular sufganiyah) are round yeast doughnuts, fried, filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar. The best-known kind is filled with strawberry jam.^4,1 In Israel they are the Hanukkah food, more than latkes, and bakeries sell them for weeks before the holiday.^1,3

The frying comes from the holiday. Hanukkah remembers the single flask of pure oil the Maccabees found in the Temple, enough for one day, which kept the menorah lit for eight. Food fried in oil recalls that miracle, which is why sufganiyot and latkes belong to the same holiday.^2,1

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History and the Making of an Israeli Tradition

Fried dough at Hanukkah is older than the jelly doughnut. The earliest mention comes from Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef, the father of Maimonides, born around 1110. He wrote that it had become customary to make “sufganin,” known in Arabic as alsfingh, and called it an ancient custom, “because they are fried in oil.”² Those fritters were most likely sweet pancakes coated in syrup, the kind known in Ladino as bimuelos and in much of the Middle East as zalabia.¹

The word sufganiyah is a modern Hebrew coinage. Its root, sfog, means “sponge” in ancient and modern Hebrew alike, and the Talmud mentions a “spongy dough” called sofgan or sfogga.^1,3 The sponge is the dough, which soaks up oil as it fries.¹

The jam came from Central Europe. A food historian cited by The Nosher dated the first known recipe for a jelly doughnut to 1485, in a German cookbook called Kuchenmeisterei (“Mastery of the Kitchen”), one of the first printed on Gutenberg’s press. Jam was sandwiched between two rounds of dough and the whole thing fried in lard.^3,1 Until then, fried pastries were usually savory, filled with meat, mushrooms or cheese. In the 1500s sugar grown by enslaved people on Caribbean plantations became cheaper, and sweet fillings caught on.^3,4

By 1600 jelly doughnuts were popular all over Poland, at Christmas, Hanukkah and other special occasions. Polish Jews called them ponchiks and fried them in schmaltz, goose fat or oil instead of lard, which is not kosher.^3,4 In some Polish towns ponchiks were the favorite Hanukkah treat.¹ Jews in Morocco and Algeria had their own fried dough for Hanukkah, sfenj, without any jam.⁴

Nobody knows for certain who brought the doughnut to the Land of Israel. Time credits immigrants from Europe in the early 20th century, whose ponchiks met the North African fried-dough tradition there;⁴ Jewish Action reports a theory that German Jews brought it in the 1930s.¹ Either way, the ponchik took the Hebrew name sufganiyah.³

What made it the Israeli Hanukkah food was work. In the late 1920s the Histadrut, the labor federation founded in 1920, promoted the doughnut in place of the latke to create jobs: anyone with a grater and a frying pan could make latkes at home, but sufganiyot needed people to make them, transport them and sell them.^1,4,3 With so many Jewish holidays in autumn, work tended to slow down afterward, and the doughnut helped fill the gap.⁴

It worked. A Teleseker survey found that 80 percent of Israelis eat at least one sufganiyah during the eight days of Hanukkah, more than the share who fast on Yom Kippur.¹ The Israeli army buys more than 50,000 a day throughout the holiday.⁴ In the United States latkes still come first, though many kosher bakeries now sell sufganiyot.¹

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Traditional Sufganiyot Recipe

This recipe was compiled by Heritage Healthy Kitchen from a comparison of published recipes; the sources are listed at the end of this article. Figures that are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s own estimates rather than taken from a published source are marked as such.

Published recipes use from about 440g (3½ cups) to about 580g of flour, from one egg up to three eggs and two yolks, from 3½ to 12 tablespoons of butter (one uses oil instead), from 3 to 7 tablespoons of sugar and from one packet to 2 tablespoons of yeast.^5,6,7,8 All of them roll the dough 1.25–2cm (½–¾ inch) thick, cut rounds of 5–6cm (2–2½ inches) and fry them at 160–190°C (325–375°F) for about 1½ to 3 minutes a side.^5,6,7,8 The amounts below sit inside those ranges. The amount of jam per doughnut and the number of doughnuts and servings are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimates.

Ingredients (makes about 18 doughnuts, serves 9)

For the dough

• 500g (4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 65g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar, divided
• 7g (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 4g (¾ teaspoon) fine salt
• 180ml (¾ cup) whole milk, warmed to about 43°C (110°F)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 55g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, softened
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)

For frying and finishing

• Neutral oil, such as sunflower or canola, for deep-frying (about 1.4 liters or 6 cups, enough for at least 5cm or 2 inches in the pot)
• 320g (1 cup) strawberry jam, for filling
• 60g (½ cup) powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Bloom the yeast. Stir the warm milk with the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and leave it for about 10 minutes, until foamy. If nothing happens, the yeast may be old; start again with fresh yeast.^7,5
2. Mix and knead. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining sugar, the salt and the lemon zest. Add the yeast mixture and the softened butter, then the flour a little at a time. Knead for 8–10 minutes, by hand or with a dough hook, until smooth and elastic. The dough should stay soft and slightly sticky.^8,7,5
3. First rise. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover and leave it in a warm place until doubled, 1–2 hours. To work ahead, let it rise overnight in the refrigerator instead and bring it back to room temperature before rolling.^5,8,7
4. Roll and cut. On a floured surface, roll the dough out 1.25cm (½ inch) thick and cut it into 6cm (2½-inch) rounds. Gather the scraps, roll them out again and cut more rounds. Set the rounds on a floured or parchment-lined tray, well apart.^5,6,7
5. Second rise. Cover loosely and leave until puffy, 30–45 minutes.^5,7
6. Fry. Heat at least 5cm (2 inches) of oil in a heavy pot to 170–175°C (340–350°F), checking with a thermometer. Fry the rounds 4 or 5 at a time for 1½–3 minutes a side, until deep golden brown. Drain on a rack or paper towels.^6,8,5,7
7. Fill. Let the doughnuts cool until barely warm. Push a narrow piping tip or the nozzle of a squeeze bottle into the side or top of each one and pipe in about 1 tablespoon of jam.^6,7
8. Finish. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.⁷

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Kitchen Tips

Use a thermometer. One published recipe fries at 160°C (325°F) and warns that hotter oil can brown the outside while the inside stays raw; if the oil cools, the doughnuts take a little longer.⁷ Others fry at 175–190°C (350–375°F).^6,5 The 170–175°C (340–350°F) here sits in the middle.

Wait before filling. If the doughnuts are still hot, the filling squirts back out.⁶

Leave the powdered sugar until just before serving: it soaks into the doughnuts over time and they start to look soggy.⁷

For doughnuts to serve after a meat meal, make them pareve: water instead of the milk and oil instead of the butter.⁷

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Looking for a Lighter Version?

Our Healthy Sufganiyot recipe keeps the yeast dough and its two rises but cooks the doughnuts in an air fryer, swaps half the flour for whole wheat and the butter for oil, and uses less sugar and about a teaspoon of jam in each doughnut.

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Nutritional Information

Per serving (2 doughnuts, one of 9 servings):

• Calories: approximately 495–600 kcal
• Protein: 7.5–9g
• Total fat: 19–23g, of which saturated 5–6g
• Carbohydrates: 74–90g
• Fiber: about 2g
• Sodium: 190–230mg

About 30g of that is added sugar, from the dough, the jam and the dusting together. That is more than the American Heart Association’s suggested daily limit for most women, about 24g, and close to the 36g it suggests for most men.⁹

Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases (USDA FoodData Central). The amount of oil the doughnuts take up in frying is Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimate; the figures also vary with the jam and the size of the doughnuts.

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Storage and Reheating

Sufganiyot are best the day they are made.^6,7 Once dusted, the powdered sugar soaks in and they start to look soggy.⁷

To get ahead, freeze the doughnuts after frying and before filling. Thaw them completely, then fill and dust just before serving.⁷ The dough can also be made the day before and left in the refrigerator overnight.^6,5

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Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between sufganiyot and latkes?
Both are fried in oil for Hanukkah, in memory of the oil that burned for eight days, but otherwise they have little in common: latkes are savory pancakes of grated potato, sufganiyot are sweet yeast doughnuts filled with jam.¹ In Israel sufganiyot are the Hanukkah food; in the United States latkes still come first.¹

Why are sufganiyot so closely tied to Israel?
In the late 1920s the Histadrut, the Jewish labor federation, promoted sufganiyot in place of homemade latkes because making, transporting and selling them gave people work. The campaign stuck.^1,3,4

What else can go inside besides strawberry jam?
Strawberry jam was once the only filling in Israeli bakeries. Today they offer a dozen or more, from caramel and Bavarian cream to cappuccino and cheesecake.¹ Cream, halva and chocolate are common too,³ and apricot jam works as well.⁵

Are sufganiyot dairy or pareve?
Made with milk and butter, as here, they are dairy, and kosher law keeps meat and dairy apart. For a pareve version, use water instead of the milk and oil instead of the butter.⁷

When do Israeli bakeries start selling sufganiyot?
The season keeps getting longer. Jewish Action noted in 2012 that a decade earlier you couldn’t find a sufganiyah until a week before Hanukkah; by then they were in the shops as soon as the sukkah came down after Sukkot.¹

What does the word sufganiyah mean?
It comes from sfog, “sponge,” a word used in both ancient and modern Hebrew; the Talmud mentions a “spongy dough” called sofgan or sfogga. The sponge is the dough soaking up oil as it fries.^1,3

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Further Reading & Sources

The recipe is a compilation based on the published recipes listed here; these links are provided for readers who want to explore further.

1. Carol Ungar. The “Hole” Truth About Sufganiyot. Jewish Action, Orthodox Union (Winter 2012 issue). Sufganiyot as the Israeli Hanukkah food and latkes in the US; the Teleseker survey; the oil of the Hanukkah miracle; sfog, “sponge”; Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef on fried fritters; bimuelos and zalabia; the 1485 recipe after Gil Marks; ponchiks in Poland; who brought the doughnut to Israel; the Histadrut in the late 1920s; the longer season and the many fillings.
2. Yehuda Shurpin. Why Eat Latkes and Sufganiyot (Doughnuts) on Chanukah? Chabad.org. The custom of eating food fried in oil on Hanukkah; the words of Rabbi Maimon ben Joseph (born c. 1110) on “sufganin,” known in Arabic as alsfingh.
3. Aly Miller. (9 December 2016). Why Do We Eat Jelly Donuts on Hanukkah? The Nosher, My Jewish Learning. The Kuchenmeisterei recipe of 1485 after Gil Marks; savory filled doughnuts before jam; cheaper sugar in the 1500s; jelly doughnuts in Poland by 1600; ponchiks fried in schmaltz, goose fat or oil; sofgan and sfogga in the Talmud; the Israeli labor federation in the 1920s; fillings such as cream, halva and chocolate.
4. Emelyn Rude. (7 December 2015). Why Jelly Doughnuts Are Eaten During Hanukkah. Time. Strawberry jelly and powdered sugar; sfenj in North Africa; schmaltz or goose fat in place of lard; immigrants from Europe in the early 20th century; the Histadrut, founded in 1920, and the autumn lull in work; army purchases during the holiday.
5. Joan Nathan. Sufganiyot (Israeli Jelly Doughnuts). Food52. Published recipe: 3½ cups flour, 1 egg and 1 yolk, 3½ tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 packet yeast, lemon zest; rise at least 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator; rolled ½ inch thick, 2-inch rounds, 30 minutes’ second rise; at least 2 inches of oil at about 375°F, 4 to 5 at a time, about 3 minutes a side; a teaspoon of jam in each.
6. Caroline Schiff. Hanukkah Sufganiyot. Food Network. Published recipe: 583g flour, 3 eggs and 2 yolks, 170g butter, 85g sugar, 17g yeast; dough can be made a day ahead; rolled ½ inch thick, 2½-inch rounds, 16 to 18 doughnuts; oil at 350°F, about 5 at a time, 3 minutes a side; filled only when fully cool; best the day they are made.
7. Tori Avey. (5 December 2019). Sufganiyot. toriavey.com. Published recipe: 500g flour, 2 eggs, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup canola oil, 1 packet yeast, water or milk (water to make it pareve); yeast foamy after 10 minutes; 10 minutes’ kneading; rise about 2 hours; rolled ½ inch thick, 45 minutes’ second rise; oil at 325°F, hotter oil browns the outside before the inside cooks; about 90 seconds a side; powdered sugar just before serving, as it soaks in over time; freeze after frying, before filling.
8. The Nosher (no author named). (4 December 2015). How to Make Perfect Sufganiyot. My Jewish Learning. Published recipe: 3½ cups flour, 1 egg, 3½ tablespoons butter, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon instant yeast; kneaded 8 to 10 minutes; rise 1½ to 2 hours; rolled ¾ inch thick, 2-inch rounds, 20 minutes’ second rise; oil at 350°F, 2 to 3 minutes a side.
9. The Nutrition Source. Added Sugar. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The American Heart Association’s suggested limit of added sugar: about 24g a day for most women and 36g for most men.

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Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Heritage Healthy Kitchen makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of any content on this site. Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on the specific ingredients, brands, and measurements used. This content is not intended as dietary, medical, or professional nutritional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any dietary needs or health conditions. Heritage Healthy Kitchen is not responsible for any outcomes resulting from the use of recipes or information published on this site.

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