Loukoumades: Crete’s doughnut balls recipe
Yiayia Theiocleia’s loukoumades – fried morsels of dough, a little like doughnuts – have been passed down through the generations.
The Cretan grandmother has been cooking these Greek delights for the past 70 years, and it’s a tradition she shares with her daughter, granddaughters and great-granddaughters. Theiocleia’s family met with food writer Anastasia Miari to show her how to make authentic loukoumades for her cookbook Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers.
Loukoumades are traditionally eaten doused in sweet, syrupy honey, and they're so delicious, they've been enjoyed for millennia. “Yiayia Theiocleia makes a point of telling me they were served at the first Olympic Games thousands of years ago, but variations of these sweet doughnut balls can be found in Persian and Turkish kitchens too,” says Anastasia.
Today they can be found all over the streets of Greece, with modern shops serving them with toppings galore – think melted chocolate, gelato, fruits and nuts. You can recreate them at home with just a few cupboard ingredients and a pinch of patience.
Things to note:
The dough will need to rise for 30-40 minutes.
Anastasia recommends serving the loukoumades warm. For an added treat, serve topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
For US ingredients and measurements, use the drop-down menu and select ‘Cups’.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 520 ml lukewarm water
- 1 heaped tsp salt
- 500 g plain flour
- 700 ml sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 18.3 fl oz lukewarm water
- 1 heaped tsp salt
- 17.6 oz plain flour
- 24.6 fl oz sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 2.2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 heaped tsp salt
- 17.6 oz all-purpose flour
- 3 cups sunflower oil
- 1 dash honey
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch sesame seeds
- 1 dash honey
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch sesame seeds
- 1 dash honey
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch sesame seeds
Details
- Cuisine: Greek
- Recipe Type: Dessert
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 20 mins
- Cooking Time: 15 mins
- Serves: 6
Step-by-step
- In a bowl or small jug (pitcher), combine the yeast with half the water and leave it in a warm place for about 5 minutes, allowing the yeast to react.
- In a separate bowl, combine the salt with the remaining water and set aside.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, create a well in the middle and pour in the water and yeast mixture bit by bit, mixing by hand.
- Once the yeast and water mixture has been added, pour in the salted water, again adding it bit by bit as you continue to mix by hand. As you mix, squeeze the very loose dough mixture in your palm and lift it into the air, allowing the yeast to do its magic. Keep doing this and stirring until the mixture is smooth. If you’re still encountering lumps, work with a large whisk to smooth them out. You want the mixture to be very light and silky, which might require an extended whisking period.
- Once you’re happy with the dough’s consistency, leave it somewhere warm, covered with a kitchen towel, for 30-40 minutes until it has tripled in size.
- When it has risen, and you can spot a few small bubbles in the dough, you can get going with the frying.
- Heat the oil in a dry, deep frying pan (skillet) or wok over high heat. Drop a tiny piece of dough in there to check if the oil is hot enough – you want it to sizzle immediately on contact.
- Time to work fast. For perfect, round loukoumades, work with your hand and a tablespoon, dropping your hand into the dough mixture and lifting some out, making a fist with your hand so that some of the dough slips neatly through the space between your thumb and forefinger. Swiftly scoop this with your tablespoon and drop it in the frying oil. It helps to have a mug of water next to the bowl so you can dip the spoon in and clean it before adding each new dough ball.
- Allow the dough ball to fry for 30 seconds or so, then use a slotted spoon to turn it over. It should be nicely browned all over. Fry in batches but be sure not to overcrowd the pan because the loukoumades will stick together. Transfer the loukoumades to paper towels to drain.
- Serve with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon and sesame seeds.
Recipe adapted from Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers By Anastasia Miari (£27, Hardie Grant). Photography by Marco Arguello.
Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers By Anastasia Miari
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