[posted on behalf of a student]
Fried dough is a treat that has been enjoyed since ancient times. Our first known instance was in Ancient Rome with Scrublita, which is made of moist dough that was dipped into boiling animal fat. The fried dough known as beignets comes from the French. Beignet is a French word meaning fritter or doughnut. There are two different types of French pastries, beignets are choux pastries, which means that the dough rises using its own steam.
Some background on how the French ended up in New Orleans, the French settled in Acadia, which is the present-day Maine and Canada area, in 1604. This settlement changed power a few different times until 1713 when Great Britain gained permanent control. The French in the area did not want to become British citizens so they moved to Louisiana, mainly southern Louisiana. These people became known as the Acadians from being from the area of Acadia. After the British had gained control of Acadia they forced most of the Acadians out, so they also moved mainly to Louisiana. The Acadians who moved to the New Orleans area later became known as Cajuns. These people brought their food and customs with them, thus they brought beignets to New Orleans. Today New Orleans is well known for beignets, with one of the most well-known restaurants for beignets in New Orleans is Café du Monde. With their popularity, Louisiana’s state doughnut is the beignet.
Beignets are fairly easy to make. First, start by mixing the dry ingredients (2 ¾ cups flours, ⅓ cup sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. nutmeg, and ½ tsp. cinnamon) and wet ingredients (1 cup buttermilk, 1 egg (beaten), and ½ tsp. vanilla) separately. Next, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Once all the ingredients are mixed together roll the dough out and cut the dough into rectangles. After the dough is cut drop the dough into boiling oil. Next flip the dough over after it starts browning, after both sides are light brown take the beignets out and put them on paper towels. After the Beignets have sat for a minute covered them and powdered sugar. They are now ready to eat! Enjoy!