Puff Puff (Deep-Fried Dough)
My beloved puff puff, a West African street food, is quick and easy with different variations. Dangerously delicious and addictive!
As a child, I often watched in amazement how the women selling the puffs would grab the mixture with the tip of their fingers, roll it in the palm of their hands, and drop it in oil.
I was fascinated by this process and would go home and practice this act with any mixture I had on hand. But it never came out as proportional or as visually appealing as it did for the women. After years of practice as an adult, I can proudly say I finally got the hang of it.
What Is Puff Puff?
People in most West African countries are familiar with the popular street food, known by different names depending on the country. For example, Ghanaians call it bofrot (togbei), Cameroonians and Nigerians call it puff puff, and it’s beignet in French. Basic ingredients are flour, sugar, yeast, water, salt, and oil for deep frying.
It’s easy and quick with various flavors. This recipe is the one I have been making for years and takes me back to my hometown. It brings back memories of happy late-night snacking on the street.
How to Make Puff Puff
- Mix the yeast, sugar, salt, and water to activate the yeast. Stir in the flour, cover, and let the dough rise.
- Heat the oil, drop in the dough balls, and fry until golden.
Tips and Tricks
- If the weather is cold and your dough isn’t rising, turn on the stove for 2-3 minutes until warm. Then turn it off and let the dough rise next to it. Or place your dough in the cold oven and put a pan full of hot water under it. Check after 30 minutes to ensure it’s rising.
- Use a spoon to scoop the dough into the oil if you don’t want to use your hands. It still tastes delicious!
- Avoid overcrowding the pan, as it will cool the oil too much and cause the fried dough to absorb excess oil.
Make-Ahead and Leftover Instructions
I love making the dough ahead for a quick snack. You can keep the raw dough in the fridge (in an airtight container) for up to five days. It will rise in the cold fridge, but it may take a day or two. Then, bring the dough to room temperature and fry.
Keep leftovers tightly wrapped in the fridge for up to a week or freeze them for a month or two. Reheat them in a preheated 350℉ (177℃) oven for 5-10 minutes whenever the craving hits.
What to Serve With Puff Puff
This treat is relished for breakfast, as a snack, or as a side dish. A must-have for me is pepper sauce, but chocolate sauce and cinnamon sugar are fantastic.
Puff puff’s beauty is that you can eat them sweet or savory. I often eat it as a snack or appetizer. My son definitely loves it as a simple dessert with just a bit of powdered sugar. Ginger tea and sorrel drink are a great way to wash them down.
More Addictive Variations to Try
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”pGrRksuf” upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 20:37:44 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Puff Puff” description=”Puff Puff — A very popular West African street food that’s quick and easy to make with different variations. Dangerously delicious and addicting!”]
This blog post was originally published in November 2012 and has been updated with great tips and new pictures.
Puff Puff (Deep-Fried Dough)
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoons (7g) active dry yeast (1 packet)
- ½-¾ cup (100-150g) sugar
- ½ tablespoon (8-9g) salt
- 2 cups (472ml) warm water (+1-2 tablespoons for softer puffs)
- 3½ cups (420g) flour
- vegetable oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Mix the yeast, sugar, salt, and water, and set aside for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
- Add the flour and mix well.
- Cover and let it rise for 1-2 hours.
- In a large saucepan, heat at least 3 inches of vegetable oil (7-8cm) on low. Too little oil will result in flatter balls.
- Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a drop of batter into the oil. If it is not hot enough, the batter stays at the bottom rather than rising to the top.
- When the oil is hot enough, grab bits of the mixture with your hands or use a spoon to get small balls of dough and drop them carefully into the oil.
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown. Turn the balls over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
- Use a large spoon or strainer to remove them from the oil. I usually place them on napkins immediately to soak up the excess oil.
- If desired, you can roll the finished product in cinnamon or powdered sugar to make it sweeter.
Tips & Notes:
- For softer puff puffs, add 1-2 tablespoons more water. Some people find the puff puffs a bit hard after they have cooled.
- Feel free to cut back on the salt; a teaspoon of salt will do.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
This recepie is excellent. I made puff puff with other recepies and they never quite right. A lot never have you exact measures of ingredients. For my daughters harmony day (where you bring in food from your heritage or country to class for class lunch) I decided to make puff puff representing the one half of her heritage. It was a choice between another website recepie and yours – the comments here swayed me. I’m glad I decided on yours because the result was perfect and went down a treat with the Australian mums in Perth where I live. Even the hand method for droping them in worked first time. I directed a few of the mum’s to your site for the recepie. So you are reaching as far as Western Australia. Looking forward to trying out a jolloff rice recepie if you have one. Thanks
Lulu, thanks for taking the time to leave such a sweet comment. I am super excited that the puff-puff went well and you used your hand to drop the puff-puff. You go girl! It took me a while to do it perfectly. I have two Jollof rice recipe – one is stove top and the other is in the oven. The oven one is SUPER easy to make . Try that one first or just do both of them and see which one you like best. Here they are http://africanbites.com/?p=96 , http://africanbites.com/?p=7386. Let me know you like them.
Hi, I recently tried this recipe. The dough seemed very runny beforehand, and I’m not sure if that’s how it’s supposed to be or not. Also, after the puffs were done, they were very greasy in the middle. Do you have any idea what I did wrong?
Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
Ivy, you must have added too much water or not enough flour. Make sure you are using standard measuring cups . Puff puff should never be greasy. Hope this helps.
Hi Immaculate, you are so wonderful ! I have struggled for a while to make this it just wasnt coming out right… so i tried this for a small carnival and it was awesome just one try and I got it ..shhh! i am going to start this as a small business for Africans around me … Thanks again Naomi you are amazeballs …
Aww, thank you ! I won’t tell if you don’t. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Best recipe for puff puff! I’m not nigerian so I’ve tried so many but this worked perfect. Especially putting them into the pan, the shape was almost flawless. Thanks a lot xo
Aw, thank you so much for this, Naomi! You totally rock!
Glad to hear you my puff puff recipe is a winner- just made my day!
I made this and it came out perfect! Thanks so much for your excellent and simple to follow directions. I have tried 5 of your recipes so far and all have been a hit !
Thanks Maria for such a wonderful compliment! You are Awesome! So happy to here this.
Hi Imma,
I would like to know if I can prepare the mixture the night before and keep it aside. Wake up next morning and do the frying ? Will the time to leave the yeast rise be a lot or no problem ? Thanks for your answer.
Victoria, you can do that however, the puff-puff would rise and deflate giving it a slightly sour, fermented taste. Your best bet would be to let it rise in the fridge overnight. Make sure it has risen before your fry( refrigeration can be a little bit tricky sometimes if your fridge is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit).Let me know how the recipe turned out. Thanks
Jenny, dividing your ingredient in half would definitely feed two people. Releasing the dough through my palm was something I practiced doing when I was growing up – watching the street vendors fry puff-puff got me hooked!
Wow! How did you manage to press it out from ur plam like that? It looks magical. I want to make puff puff for 2 people only, what measurement shoul I use? I was thinking maybe dividing d ingredients into half?
Thanks for the tips, made abt 20 puff puff for my friend’s naming and everyone liked it and asked for more.. thanks abunch
Moffie, am glad the tips helped .
Your recipe is so easy to follow. We have a Christmas party in my language school tomorrow and we are all to bring something so I plan to use your recipe tonight!
Thank so much imma. My sis wants puff as snacks on her wedding day I will do it for her that day
Gemar, that is tall order but with this recipe you will do just fine. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Imma,
I’m gonna try this recipe this weekend!
I wanted to find out, can I replace the water with coconut milk instead? Would I need to warm the coconut milk just like how we need to use lukewarm water?
Yes, you need to warm the coconut milk a little- Sarah have you tried this coconut puffpuff recipe ?http://africanbites.com/?p=2664( Deep fried coconut dough). It might be just what you are looking for.I have tried linking the recipe but there is a glitch in the system .Just search coconut puff-puff in my search box and it will come up. Let me know how you like it! Made the correction it works now.
awsome this blog helped me young lad so much cuz his wife learned to make his fave breakfast
So happy you liked the puff puff Suhshi
Hi, I tried your recipe today, they taste good!! But unfortunately I couldn’t get the shape to come out right. Was the risen mixture supposed to be cakey or more like a dough because I had trouble figuring it out. And i’m not West African so I have no prior experience with puff puff. Thanks!
Chiko,puff-puff consistency is suppose to feel more like dough- a light dough, that you can easily use your hands or spoon to drop into a sauce pan.Hope this helps.
Thanks! I tried it and it was great. Just that it burnt my hands since I’ve not been in the kitchen for a long while. It may just be time for me to start looking for a wife.
Hi! What happens if I add eggs and milk to the puff-puff recipe?
Fred, adding eggs and milk to the puff puff would result in a rich tasting puff-puff, giving it a slightly different taste.You would need to making the following modification ; eliminate water and replace it with eggs and milk. Be mindful of the fact that, you have to replace equal amount of liquid in other to maintain the puff puff consistency.Thanks for stopping by.
Have our “adopted” son’s (student with us for 3 years) from Cameroon’s father visiting and will try them with dinner tonight!
One correction one packet is 2 1/4 tsps., not 2 1/4 ounces. I measure in grams and dough seems to be rising correctly. Keep my fingers crossed!
Thanks for the correction, have made changes to it . Hope your “adopted” son enjoyed the puff-puff.
Hi Imma,
Thanks for giving me an authentic recipe for puff-puff. I have always done my puff-puff by eye-balling the ingredients and relying on my hands for the consistency when I mix… and of course each encounter is different. I thought about your website when I had to make it for my son’s 4th grade culture project. I was glad to find the well-documented recipe which will serve the class well. You may just have some Americans visiting your website for more!
Blessings to you and the business promo.
MaJu, Los Angeles.
MaJu, Thanks for spreading the word!
Yes!! Yes!!! I enjoyed the puff puff. This is the best recipes I have ever laid my hands on. Imma I followed it step by step. And it came out just right. Emmmmmmmm . Thank you Imma for this wonderful recipe. I can’t wait to try more recipe. Thank you and may God continue to shower you with more talent.
Lilian
Lilian am glad you enjoyed it!!!!! Linda, it is that easy
Yes!! Yes!!! I enjoyed the puff puff. This is the best recipes I have ever laid my hands on. Imma I followed it step by step. And it came out just right. Emmmmmmmm . Thank you Imma for this wonderful recipe. I can’t wait to try more recipe. Thank you and may aged continue to shower you with more talent.
Lilian
I can’t wait to try this out. Nice pictures and explanations, you can’t go wrong.
may i know what is the shelf life of Puff-Puff (Deep fried dough). what recipe adjustment if this is produced commercially.
Thanks,
andre
I know it’s best the same day. Sorry can’t answer that question because I don’t make it for commercial purposes
Thanks for sharing this I’m so happy
Yay! Glad you approve.
I always deep freeze my puff puff. When I need I need to eat them, I heat up my oven and toss the frozen balls in. Tastes as good as day one
Awesome Tip ! Thanks for sharing!!!
You are welcome. So funny how Google brought me to you again! I’m searching for puff puff recipe and I see my comment on here!! Totally forgot I visited here! I’m trying it again tomorrow for a friend’s birthday party as apparently it was a hit the last time I was at hers with your recipe! Thank you again and I will probably be back again the next time I need to make puff puff!! Awesome recipe lady!
Thanks for stopping by! Glad it turned out great for you. Send my greetings to your friend. 🙂 Enjoy!
Its great,I cant wait to try it
Awesome ! Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks
Hi,
Thank you so much for this recipe! It worked out perfectly!
I made them for today and will be serving them to family over the next few days. I refrigated them overnight so far. I figure to let them be in room temperature when I am ready to serve. Is that a good way to store them?
Thanks again!!
My Pleasure!
Have a blessed Christmas!