When Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden in a hurry, they hadn’t thought of packing a lunch box. Supposedly, He Who had kicked them out, sent them a comfort parcel with a dozen hole-less doughnuts filled with jam. Yum!
The Hebrew word for doughnut, sufgania, is here presented as an abbreviation of “The end of the Garden of G-d” (sof-gan-yud-hey). It’s a folk tale not supported by any evidence, but it shows how holy the hole-less doughnuts are considered in Israel. Forget latkes; in Israel, sufganiya equals Chanukkah! The idea is the same: to commemorate the miracle of the oil (for explanation, please see But Hannah Did Not Have Potatoes!). However, already in 12th century, Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef, Rambam’s father, wrote: “One must not make light of the custom of eating sofganim [fried fritters] on Chanukkah. It is a custom of the Kadmonim [the ancient ones].” I doubt that Rabbi Maimon’s fritters looked the same as modern sufganiyot, though, because the food historian Gil Marks definitively dates the first modern sufganiya to 1485, when a recipe was published in what was, perhaps, the very first cookbook printed on Johannes Gutenberg’s original printing press.
How did these German / Polish ponciki adapted by Jews for Chanukkah move to Israel? It is not certain, but in his book Eat and Be Satisfied: A Social History of Jewish Food, historian John Cooper makes an educated guess that the doughnut recipe was brought by the European (German, Polish, and Ukrainian) Jews who arrived in Israel after fleeing Hitler’s Germany. (https://www.ou.org/)
I am not making sufganiyot this year, so I am turning this post over to a phenomenal blogger Simple to Wow who came up with a great recipe:
I like to stay close to the latest trends in cooking and design. One trendy and helpful technique in preparing dough is to use a zipper bag for preparing and kneading the dough. It is a great idea for most dough and really reduces the cleanup. Best of all, since the zipper bag can be discarded after use, this simple dough technique virtually eliminates those nasty dough-covered utensils and sponges that are so difficult to clean.
The ziploc bag eliminates the dusty mess of flour and allows all the dough crumbles to remain in the disposable ziploc bags. Since the sufganiot in this recipe are amorphous and just dropped into oil, the ziploc bag can even be used to dispense the doughnuts right into the frying pan.
I have adapted my favorite sufganiot recipe to use the ziploc bag. I have tried it and it is just perfect!
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup warm water
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 cup flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water
Olive oil, for frying
Powdered sugar (optional)
large zipper bag (1-2 gallon)
For instructions, please visit the original post.
Happy and joyous Chanukkah – enjoy!
That was very interesting. Now I want some.
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Sorry, darling, as I said, I am not making them this year, so you’ll have to make your own! LOL
Thank you for stopping by!
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I’m going to try! lol
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Good luck, and please let me know!
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In Germany we call them Berliner. They are delicious (and available in bakeries)
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Definitely worth the effort to make them.
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Certainly! I am simply too busy right now, as it coincides with the end of a semester, and I have final exam to administer and student papers to grade.
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Oh that’s a bummer.
Do you eat your sufganiyot after Chanukka or are they very closely linked for you? Maybe you’ll have a chance to enjoy them after the final exams. They would make a great reward, that’s for sure.
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Oh, I’ll enjoy them all right, darling, when I get them from a good bakery, and we happen to have one nearby. Sure, we can eat them any time, but I try to stay away from carbs, sweets, and cholesterol-loaded fried foods. Once a year is more than enough for me!
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Of course! I remember President Kennedy’s speech “Ich bin ein berliner.” Thank you for stopping by, darling!
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International food
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Sure is
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This recipe reminded me of my grandmothers’ Greek inspired loukoumades, or Lokmas, for short. It’s very tasty, though no one in Israel would call them Sufganiut.
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I know those, very close to our ponciki, which are deep fried oval Sufganiyot.
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What a great idea. We make shed loads of roti dough so unfortunately a zip bag would be too small. Fantastic for home cooking though! Thanks for the tip 👍
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You are very welcome, but the credit is not mine. I do use the idea, though.
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You have spread the word. That counts! 😊
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Thank you, darling; you’re too kind!
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A holy hole-less wholeness! 🙂
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LOL thank you for stopping by and for a cute pun, darling!
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Donuts without the mess, i have to investigate this.
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LOL Investigate, and please let me know, darling!
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Dolly, I so remember the jelly-filled holeless donuts shown in your first photo of your blog. These paczki (I think pronounced pontski) donuts where another fondly remembered traditional treat that my Babci (grandmother) used to make for us as kids. Another culinary tradition that she brought over to the U,S, when she immigrated as a young team from Poland. like your twist of the original recipe that you show in your post.
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You are right, Gary; they are pronounced Ponchiki or Poncicki, whichever way you spell it. I am glad that you have those wonderful memories of your Babcia, as I have of my Babushka.
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In the Detroit area they are pronounced poonsh-ki & spelled packzi (I think, w/ some type of accent on one of the letters). They are declared a Polish tradition, there is/was a large Polish population in Detroit & even an area called Pole-Town. These items are done just prior to Lent around Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) & said to be made by bakers using up all the fattening ingredients in their kitchens before the fasting & self-deprivation associated with the Lenten season (prior to Easter). At least this is pretty much what news reporters share…I believe they sometimes contain like 1000 calories & seem like a large, overfilled jelly donut.
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Thank you for your comment, dear Valerie. I believe the idea was brought to Poland in 11th century by King Casimir the Restorer who invited Jews persecuted in German in French princedoms and offered them protection. Using up all the fattening ingredients was an “improvement” on the original recipe, I think.
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I’m amazed at the breadth of your historical knowledge. Is that a subject you happen to teach? Hanukkah/Christmas Blessings!
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Thank you so much for your kind comment, dear Valerie! I teach Educational Psychology, but I have always been a student of history.
Happy holidays to you and yours, darling!
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Thanks so much & blessings on all your celebrations too! 🙂
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Thank you, darling!
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Wow. I never would have realized that suggestion of the letters being as such. Hebrew never ceases to amaze in its richness of meaning. Always so multi-layered.
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But you do know that the world was created with ten utterances, and that when Adam was charged with the responsibility of naming the animals, it gave him control over the animal world. Hebrew letters carry a lot of power!
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I mean the doughnut being s-g-etc. and named as such. Yup. Hebrew is amazing; most people don’t know how much so.
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Very true
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Nice
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Thank you!
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Those look so good.
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Thank you so much, darling!
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You are very welcome. i might just have to make some of those real soon. 🙂
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Good luck, and let me know how they come out, if you do. 😻
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Shall do.
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Awesome recipe!
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Thank you so much, darling!
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I am not a cook yet I like this article, interesting ideas. I am going to bring this information to my Bride to see what she thinks. Also, thank you for the history lesson.
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Thank you so much, and I hope your lovely half likes it!
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I forgot to mention a moment ago, being that I enjoyed the read I am going to reblog this article for you.
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Thank you again, Ted!
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Reblogged this on Truth Troubles.
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Donuts as a gift of God…now that’s a concept I can readily embrace. :)))
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You and I both! Thank you very much, dear Anna!
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They look just wonderful and now I just have to try making them. A little Christmas/Chanukah project for my daughter-in-law and me.
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Go for it, but don’t overdo it!
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I may turn this into a project I do with my older granddaughters and I can mostly direct.
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I love cooking and baking with grandkids – isn’t it fun!
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It really is a lot of fun! It never is just cooking or baking. It always turns into dancing and serious discussions. In this house those discussions are mostly about boys. *sigh*
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I am getting there, I think. Although with my oldest, the Boston girl, we have always talked about serious stuff, rather than mundane (i.e. literature, music, philosophy, etc.), the younger ones here have grown into “boys topics” age, and, contrary to Alisia, who is my blood and genes, they are “girly” girls, which is completely alien to me. I used to cook with them when they were little, but now I only do it with the two little ones – that’s real fun!
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I do not understand girls. I was and still am a tomboy. My older 10 year old granddaughter is like me. The 10 year old who is a month younger wouldn’t leave the house the other day without her purse. SMH
Both of them are deep into reading so I can at least talk to them about books. The 13 and 16 year old girls are all about boys and makeup and clothes and boys. And boys.
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I know what you mean! And boys…
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They look yummy!
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Thank you so much, darling! Happy holiday season to you!
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Same to you!!
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Thank you much!
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I’m going to drop by this little cafe nearby that makes the most marvelous things and see what they might be able to do.
Yumilicious.
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Thank you so much, John – enjoy your little cafe treats!
Happy New Year!
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I had never heard that folklore thank you for sharing.
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My honor and pleasure, darling! Happy New Year to you and yours!
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Great! It remembers me on our so called “Krapfen” (regional), or “Berliner” (all over Germany). 🙂 Best wishes, Michael
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Oh, I am aware of Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” phrase! And Krapfen are Bavarian, aren’t they? I saw them in Munich. Have a wonderful week, Michael!
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Yes, Dolly! “Krapfen” are Bavarian, and it seems they are similar to the holeless doughnuts. Arent they?
Wish you a wonderful week too, Dolly! Yours, Michael
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Yes, they are practically the same, but ours had been made quite a few centuries before theirs.
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Thats true, Dolly! Bavarians are best in copying, like Chinese. ***lol***
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LOL Romans copied from the Greeks, but today it is all part of the world culture, and we are enriched by it.
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So true, Dolly! But its not allowed to tell it to the Romans/ Italians. ***lol***
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Today’s Italians are not Romans, but we still can’t tell them.
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Those hole-less donuts look exactly like our Krapfen, mostly eaten during carneval, here in Bavaria called Fasching. 😉
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Thank you for your comment, dear Kerin! yes, I’ve seen Krapfen in Munich, and they do look exactly like that.
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Reblogged this on koolkosherkitchen and commented:
The first night of Chanukkah is tomorrow, so I am sharing another holiday tradition – enjoy!
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Looking delicious
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Thank you so much, Derrick.
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wow! What a great innovation!! My kind of cooking- easy and no mess to clean! ❤
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LOL Thank you, dear Melinda!
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
A DELICIOUS STORY…AND RECIPE!
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Thank you so much, dear friend! A healthy, happy year to you and yours!
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THANK YOU, THANK YOU! 😀
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Very welcome! 😻
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I thought I saw a menorah in the background… Happy belated Hanukkah!
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Thank you so much, dear Erin! Yes, there are menorahs in the background of all my Chanukkah posts.
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