No Yeast Puff Puff
No Yeast Puff Puff — a tasty variety of the traditional popular African snacks Puff Puff which is made of self-rising flour instead of yeast, sugar, beer, egg and oil. No need to wait long to get a bite of these delicious treats. Great for breakfast and parties too!
If you have ever traveled to a West African country or attended a West African gathering chances are you have tasted this fried dough. It is an extremely popular West African snack food that is sold on every street corner imaginable and goes under different aliases.
Ghanaians call it Bofrot (togbei), Congolese call it mikate, gbofloto in Ivory Coast; Cameroonians and Nigerians call it Puff-Puff or African beignet in other parts of Africa.
I have made the original yeast puff -puff recipe featured here and of course couldn’t help but jazz it up with another variation – coconut puff puff. Not to be forgotten is this African doughnut, which is basically cake doughnut.
Today, the honor goes to this no yeast beer puff puff. I love this childhood favorite snack of mine that am not going to end here – certainly not! It would not be my last puff puff.
Can you blame me? They are simple, and straight forward to make, and a crowd pleaser.
What sells this recipe is the length of time it takes to make it. This deep fried bread is for those times when you don’t have the patience to wait for the yeast to do it ‘s magic.It taste just like beer bread only this one is even better- Fried.
Instead of yeast, it is made with self-rising flour -in a gratifying short time -less than 15 minutes you will be biting into it! I decided to include beer in this recipe to make it tender, airy and flavorful.
All you need is self-rising flour, sugar, beer, egg and oil. This snack was mainly served for breakfast , but today , especially with Africans living abroad . It is a must for parties. So go ahead and save this recipe when the craving kicks in. You can roll this puff puff in cinnamon sugar, if you like. Enjoy for breakfast with coffee, tea or African snack.
Watch How to Make It
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No Yeast Puff Puff
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 g) Self-rising flour
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ½ cup (124.69 ml) beer , I used Heineken
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ cup (296.25 ml) water
- ½ teaspoons (1 g) nutmeg , optional
- oil for deep frying
Instructions
- In a large, sauce pan pour vegetable oil, until it is at least 3 inches (or about 5 centimeters) high (too little will result in flatter balls), and place on medium heat until oil is 375 degrees.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix all the dry ingredients, flour, and sugar.
- Stir in the water, eggs, beer ; mix well until everything has been fully incorporated. The batter should be smooth, thick and spoon able.
- I use my hands to scoop up the batter; you can do the same or use 2 spoons – one to scoop up the batter, and another spoon or spatula to drop it in the oil- in the shape of a ball. Do not overcrowd the pan. Do so in batches
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown.
- Turn the ball over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
- Use a large spoon or something like that to take it out of the oil. I usually place them on napkins right away to soak up some of the excess oil.
- Roll in cinnamon sugar as soon as you remove from the pan or deep in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar , if you want to go the cinnamon sugar route.
- Best serve warm
Tips & Notes:
3 cups flour
4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt Cinnamon sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Nutrition Information:
Hi
I ran out of yeast and i was craving puff puff.I stumbled on this recipe,tried it and they turned out perfect .really love it.Thanks very much.By the way i love your recipes.
Glad to hear it turned out well for you, Angeline! Thanks for sharing your feedback.
To all: yes, the yeast in beer is dead as a smelt by bottling time (otherwise they’d have to use very heavy, thick bottles as in champagne, which does (at the time of FIRST fermentation) have live yeast in the bottle. In olden times, before this was known, bottles would explode regularly. That ended with the creation of the thick-walled bottles, which often weigh more than 2 lbs each.
To Jane: these puffs or buns are very much like Italian zeppole. It would be a treat if you could arrange to make them at the wedding celebration–guests would love it.
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to share with us Bill. It’s going to go a long way in helping out other readers.
Please what size of cup are we referring to? 100 ml or 200 ml cup
Hi. I’ve already updated the recipe box to easily reflect the conversions from cups to ml or g. Hope that helps.
Hello Imma
Thanks for this beautiful website.
I have been secretly trying recipes and most of all this particular one can’t be left out.It was so good then I did a second one with fermented beet juice and coconut and my family so loved it.
Thank you
Oh WOW! That’s a fab combo!
Hello…what else can i use to replace d measuring cup and d cinnamon sugar..thanks…
You can leave out the cinnamon sugar. 1 cup is about 128grams , if using a scale you can measure it out.
I tried this yesterday but dint turn out well, I want to try it again pls do you use lukewarm water or ordinary water. Thanks
I use ordinary water. Be sure to double check your measurements . Make sure you are using the right cups.
I just made these and they turned out great. My problem now is stopping myself from eating it all…lol. Thanks for the no yeast version,didn’t know it was possible. I didn’t use beer cos of my little ones but substituted same amount for water. Thumbs up!
AWESWOME! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
I would definitely try this thanks. Pls is it OK 2give a younger kids.
Yes, because most of the alcohol has evaporated!
Hi Ms ImmaculateBites,
I love this recipe and like the texture more than puff puff.
I would like to make this recipe for my family… but with a added twist… Coconut!… we are all coconut lovers.
Sooooo, I would like to incorporate coconut in to this recipe but not sure how too, are you able to help?
Just add about 1/2 -3/4 cup to the recipe and about a Tablespoon or more of water to the mixture. Check out his coconut puff puff here http://africanbites.com/?p=2664
How do you get them do round?? Just dropping doug in oil… without making an actual ball? Thank you.
Yes Maddy . It’s too soft to make a ball before frying . You squeeze it out through your two fingers. Some people use a zip lock bag. Like you would pipe a cake.
This is interesting, am so grateful Immaculate bites, now i can spice up my breakfast!!!!
You sure can.Please let me know how it works for you. Thanks!
I followed the steps yet mine does not look same it looks strong and not as soft as the normal puff. Any help
Sorry to hear about it Melissa. I would double check the ingredients and the measurements, it might be the culprit.
I always use this recipe when am in a haste and want to make puff puff . Hits the spot everytime.
It sure does clara!
Hello, I am from he U.S. and my newphew is marring a gal from Nigeria, and I would like to surprise her on her wedding day with these beautiful looking pastries ( doughnuts) can you tell me how soon or how long they would last, can I make them a few days a head of time, and keep them well covered air tight container to keep them fresh, I also would like to make them with the yeast, but which ones would keep longer, and can they be frozen after frying and cooled. Thank you for any help you can give me. they look fantastic and delicious, and I can eat them because there is no eggs in them, I am alergic to eggs. lolol
Jane, oh how thoughtful of you… that would be a really nice surprise .Now to your question, puff puff do not keep well, especially left outside . Your best bet is making them the same day of the event- go with the no yeast it is quicker.However, you can make, then freeze and warm in the oven. They are usually ok, but not great!
The one without yeast would keep longer. Let me know what you decide and Congratulations!
This came in handy for a quick puff – everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for posting!
Hi I am a bit surprised. In my food and nutrition class and also while I grew up in Cameroon. This was known as doughnut not puff puff/ puff puff without yeast.
thanks for the recipe.
Tx so much for the puf puf without yeast recipe. I love this one because i always buy it on the street on my way to work. Now i can make it myself 😉
Im looking for the recipe how u people fry the gazerds on open fire and it taste nice and are soft, as well as the chicken legs fried on a stick on open fire.
Beer actually contains yeast….
Beer does actually contain yeast. However, it is my understanding is that the yeast responsible for fermentation is dead by the time the beer is bottled.If you are allergy to yeast then replace the beer with water.
This pastry looks good. Can you make this without the beer.
Yes, you sure can . Just replace the beer with water .
Soooooo helpful ! Finally .
Actually immaculate, no yeast puff puff is called Buns in Nigeria. With puff puff you use yeast. With Buns you use baking powder. SInce you used self raising flour, which of course contains baking powder, this is called Buns. I just thought to share
Sayo, thanks for sharing.
Remember she used beer and beer contains yeast, so get that
In the Peace Corps, in Sierra Leone, our language instructor took us to the market. The fried buns had a yummy-looking filling. He said, “‘E sweet-o!” so I bought one and took a huge bite. The filling was ferociously spicy! Too late, I remembered ‘sweet’ means ‘tasty’ in Krio. Your puff-puffs look ‘sweet-o’!
Janet, thank you-o, they are definitely tasty.