Italian Sugar Doughnuts (Ciambelle fritte)
Italian Sugar Doughnuts or ciambelle fritte are enjoyed for breakfast in bars and cafés in Italy with a cappuccino. These have the perfect soft and fluffy texture you want in a doughnut!
Servings 20 doughnuts
Calories 258kcal
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Sicilian Brioche dough
- vegetable oil for frying (or other neutral flavored oil such as sunflower oil)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar for coating
Instructions
Prepare the dough
- Follow my recipe for making the Sicilian Brioche dough until step #7, that is up to when the dough rises for the first time for 3 hours.
Shape the doughnuts
- Cut out 20 -3 inch squares of parchment paper and place on 2 baking sheets. Dust them lightly with all-purpose flour to prevent sticking.
- Divide the dough into 20 roughly -55 gram pieces and roll into a ball. Poke a hole through the center of the ball with your finger and stretch it out into a doughnut shape, as shown. Don't worry if they are not all perfectly shaped. They will nonetheless puff up nicely when fried.
- Place each doughnut on a parchment paper square and place in your unlit oven with the light on to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
To fry the doughnuts
- Fill a wide heavy bottomed pan with about 1 1/2 inches of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot carefully slide the doughnut off the parchment paper and into the pan. Fry 4-5 at a time, do not overcrowd the pan.
- When one side is golden, flip and fry the opposite side. Do not leave the pan unattended, they fry quickly!
- Transfer the fried doughnuts onto a paper towel lined tray to cool slightly.
Coat with sugar
- Place a few slightly warm doughnuts at a time in a paper bag. Pour in granulated sugar, fold over the top of the bag and give them a shake to coat with the sugar. Enjoy!
Notes
- The dough may be made by hand if you don't have a stand mixer.
- Although not necessary, you may use a 3-inch doughnut cutter to cut out your doughnuts if you prefer.
- These doughnuts (all doughnuts as a matter of fact) are best enjoyed the day itself. Although a few family members told me that they were just as good the following day!
- They can be topped with a chocolate glaze or other flavored glaze of your choice, although I have not tested this version myself.
- Add some cinnamon to the sugar for a sugar/cinnamon topping
- Be sure to coat them with sugar while still warm in order for it to stick.
- Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact ingredients used and portion size.
Nutrition
Calories: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 156mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg