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.
Do these store well for the next day?
Honestly, they’re best fresh. However, you can crisp them back up in the oven the next day, and they’ll still be good. Please let me know how it goes.
So I followed the recipe. They came out good right out of the oil. I rolled them in cinnamon sugar. Yum. But. The next day they were rubbery, even after warming up. Did I do something wrong? Any suggestions?
These are so yum! Out of interest can I mix up the “dough” the night before, and deep fry in the morning so they are fresh?
Yes, you can. You might want to reduce the rising time by half and let it finish in the fridge overnight. The cold will slow down the fermentation, but not stop it. Then take the dough out of the fridge 30 minutes before frying so it can come back to room temperature. Hope that make sense, and please let me know how it goes.
What should the water temperature be please, TIA
To activate the yeast, you want it a little warmer than room temperature, but not hot (over 100℉/38℃) coz hot water kills yeast. Hope that helps
This is my exact recipe and I’ve been making puff puff for over 20years for weddings and parties lol. I usually double the recipe. 4 cups of warm water,1 tablespoon salt 2 packet of yeast (active dry not instant)1 cup of sugar and my secret is 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and 7 cups of bread flour. Regular flour is not the same. You are the real deal for sharing this recipe. You will not find a better one guys. Trust me.
Wonderful! Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂
I loved the recipe for these
Thank you, . Stay tuned for more amazing recipes.
Superb
Awesome!!! Can’t wait to know how it turns out for you.
Hi, I am trying this out right now. I miss those days in Ikeja. Lagos. Nothing beats that taste and thrill.
Thanks for sharing. Hope it turns out right
Awesome!!! Can’t wait to know how it turns out for you.
I love it!
Glad you liked it! 🙂
I love this recipe tell me more
You are more than welcome. And if there’s a recipe you’d love to see, please let me know. Thanks:)
Hey! I have been using this recipe for like 7 years now, it is my go to, i love it. If anyone asks for puff puff recipe, this is the link i send. Thank you. I am now calorie conscious so i was wondering about the calorie count you put up, is it a quarter of the entire recipe that’s 397 cals since it serves 4? Because i was told that each ball of puff puff is like 120 calories.
I’m so glad you love it.❤️ We both know we can’t eat just one. The recipe should make 12 puff puffs so the calorie count is for 3 puff puffs. You could also reduce the calories by air frying them. I hope that helps:)
Thanks for the recipe- I can’t wait to make puff puffs for a dinner party im hosting. How could I store and reheat it if I make it a few hours before a dinner party?
That’s great! Please let me know how it goes. You can store puff puffs in the fridge for 3-5 days or the freezer for a month. You could cover them with a paper towel and zap them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to reheat or (my preferred way) bake them in a preheated 350℉/177℃ oven for 10-15 minutes.
I have been using this recipe for the past 2yrs. I have it bookmarked. Making it today again and just realized there were comments at the end of the page and thought “How dare I not put one!”
Best recipe ever!!
Hahaha Thank you my dear, Your feedback and comments keep me motivated to bring more amazing recipes:)
Mobola..you said exactly what I was going to say and your name is similar to mind..so it was meant to be.
Hear hear..bestest recipe ever..happy faces at my breakfast table yet again! Imma you’re making me look good oh 🙂 Thank you sis.
Thank you so much Both of you:) Much Love
There were no measurements
Sorry, I’m not sure why you can’t see the measurements. If you click “Jump to Recipe” or scroll down to the recipe card, you’ll see them there. I hope you enjoy making them.
I have made puff puff over the years but this is by far the best recipe I have ever used. Game changing puff puff recipe…. soft fluffy yummy stuff. Thank you for this
Wohoo!!! Isn’t it good to have such an amazing recipe? Thank you so much for your love and support.
My came out a little bit hard
Sorry to hear about that. Did you try adding about 1-2 tablespoons more water? Some would find it a little bit hard after it stays out.
Why does my mixture not rise? I use instant yeast.
Sorry that happened. That is so disappointing. The two main culprits are yeast that went back and the temperature was too cold and it needs more time to rise. I hope that helps.
I love this simple and well explained recipe. Im going to be using it here in my small town in Bulgaria.
Thank you.
Thanks for this easy and perfect recipe.
Please how can I safe batter for the next day
Hi Regualr,
Yes, you should be able to save batter for a couple of days in the fridge. Though it may not have quite the same texture.
Stay tuned and let me know if you need to know anything else.
This recipe was absolutely AMAZING. I’m Nigerian and grew up on these so being able to recreate this has me feeling so great. On top of that all my fiends loved this as well! The recipe is so easy to follow
Thanks Chiamaka! Love to hear that!
Made this for breakfast this morning. ½ batch was a generous breakfast for two, delicious with coffee. My internet searching suggested that 360°F would be a good oil temperature, and that seemed to work pretty well.
This is always a hit here in our house! Glad you liked it!
I have eaten these made by others before, yesterday i was really craving them and decided to look for a receipt. This is the first one I came across. Read all the reviews and tips and i must agree. The best ever.not oily at all, risen well and perfect texture. Thank you
You’re welcome! This is also one of the favorites! Always a hit!
I tried this repcipe and i love it and have continued to make the deep fried doughnuts using this recipee