beignet

{{Infobox food

| name = Beignet

| image = BeignetsPowderdSugarCDM.jpg

| caption = Beignets from Café du Monde in New Orleans

| alternate_name =

| country = France

| region =

| creator =

| type = Fritter

| served =

| main_ingredient = Dough, powdered sugar

| variations = Rice, Yeast, Pâte à Choux

| calories =

| other =

}}

Beignet ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɛ|n|j|eɪ}} {{respell|BEN|yay}}, also {{IPAc-en|US|b|eɪ|n|ˈ|j|eɪ|,_|b|ɛ|n|ˈ|j|eɪ}} {{respell|bayn|YAY|,_|ben|YAY}},{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|beignet|access-date=18 May 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/beignet|title=Beignet|work=Collins English Dictionary|publisher=HarperCollins|access-date=18 May 2019}}[https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/beignet "beignet"]{{dead link|date=September 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} (US) and {{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/beignet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322182647/https://www.lexico.com/definition/beignet |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-03-22 |title=beignet |dictionary=Lexico UK English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press}}{{Cite Merriam-Webster|beignet|access-date=18 May 2019}} {{IPA|fr|bɛɲɛ|lang}}; {{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.{{cite book| first= Alan| last= Davidson| page= [https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00davi_0/page/70 70]| year= 1999| title= Oxford Companion to Food| publisher= Oxford University Press| isbn= 9780192115799| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00davi_0/page/70}}{{Cite book |last=Goldstein |first=Darra |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=May 1, 2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199313617 |pages=226, 478, 654}} 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, eggs, milk or water, sugar, flour, and salt.{{Cite web |title=Pâte à Choux Recipe |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pate-choux |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Food & Wine |language=en}} 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.{{cite web| url= https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20071116/News/608098654/HC/| last= McKnight| first= Laura| title= Beignets: More than Just a Doughnut| website= houmatoday.com| date= November 16, 2007| access-date= May 27, 2019| archive-date= June 29, 2021| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210629205415/https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20071116/News/608098654/HC/| url-status= dead}}{{cite news| work= The Philadelphia Inquirer| title= Of Interest to Women: Banana Served In Appetizing Forms| date= January 1, 1907}} 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 ({{lang|fr|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.{{Cite web |last=Senecuisine |date=2018-05-10 |title=Beignets dougoub (beignets de mil soufflés) |url=http://senecuisine.com/beignets-dougoub/ |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=Senecuisine - cuisine sénégalaise |language=fr-FR}}

Origins

File: Beignets de pommes de terre.jpg]]

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,{{cite web| url= http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/BeignetsHistory.htm| title= Beignet History and Recipe| website= WhatsCookingAmerica.net| date= 21 April 2015| access-date= February 13, 2017| url-status=live| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161109234121/https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/BeignetsHistory.htm| archive-date= November 9, 2016}} from "the old mother country",{{cite book| last= Schneider| first= Wendi| title= The Picayune's Creole Cook Book| location= New York| publisher= Random House| year= 1989| page= 385}} also brought by Acadians,{{cite web| url=http://www.cafedumonde.com/beignets| title=Beignets| website=cafedumonde.com| publisher=Café du Monde| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824030255/http://cafedumonde.com/beignets| archive-date= August 24, 2018}} 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

File:Cafe du Monde1.webm (New Orleans)]]

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.{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=L. V. |date=2014-08-24 |title=The United Sweets of America |language=en-US |work=Slate |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2014/08/united_sweets_of_america_map_a_dessert_for_every_state_in_the_country.html |access-date=2020-11-04 |issn=1091-2339}}{{Cite web |date=3 June 2014 |title=Beignet State Doughnut {{!}} State Symbols USA |url=https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/louisiana/state-food-agriculture-symbol/beignet |access-date=2022-02-16 |website=statesymbolsusa.org}}

Preparation

File: Making beignets 1.jpg

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)

File:Bignè4.JPG

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.{{Cite web |title=Impress Your Guests With This Simple French Beignets Pastry Recipe |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/beignets-recipe-1375200 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=The Spruce Eats |language=en}}