Ponchiki

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 250 mlwarm milk
• 8 ginstant yeast
• 80 gsugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 2eggs
• 60 gbutter, melted
• 1 tspvanilla

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To finish

• 200 gicing sugar

Optional filling

• condensed milk
• thick jam

Directions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then work in the warm milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. Knead 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth and slightly tacky. Keep the dough soft. A stiff dough gives dense ponchiki that drink oil instead of puffing away from it.
2. Prove for 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled. Knock it back gently and roll it out to about 1.5 cm thick. Cut rings with a doughnut cutter, or with two cutters of different sizes.
3. Cut them cleanly and press straight down without twisting, because twisting seals the edges and stops them rising. Keep the cut-out centres and fry them too, which is what the shops do. Prove the rings on a floured cloth for 30 to 40 minutes until visibly puffy and light.
4. Heat the oil to 175°C (345°F) and check it with a thermometer. Too cool and they absorb fat, too hot and they colour before the middle cooks.
5. Lift the rings carefully with a floured spatula rather than with your hands. Handle them gently, because a knocked ring deflates and will not recover. Fry two or three at a time for about 90 seconds a side, until deep golden. Do not crowd the pan, which drops the oil temperature.
6. Drain them on a rack for a moment, but only a moment. Now roll them in icing sugar while they are still hot. Roll them hot and the sugar clings in a thick even coat.
7. Use far more icing sugar than seems necessary and roll them thoroughly, because a heavy white coating is what they should look like. They go heavy within an hour and never reheat well, which is precisely why the shops fry in small batches all day.

Technique

• Ponchiki and pyshki are near-identical, and the name changes between Moscow and St Petersburg.
• They are sometimes filled with condensed milk, which is a modern addition.
• The traditional accompaniment is coffee with milk.

Substitutions

• Fresh yeast, using about 25 g.
• Caster sugar in place of icing sugar, though it does not coat as well.

Variations

• Filled with condensed milk or jam.
• Pyshki, the St Petersburg name and version.
• Pączki, the filled Polish relative.

History

Moscow’s ponchik shops date from the 1950s, and the queues on Ostozhenka remain a city ritual.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ponchiki?

Ponchiki is a street food from Russia: ring doughnuts fried to order and rolled in icing sugar. Moscow’s ponchik shops date from the 1950s, and the queues on Ostozhenka remain a city ritual.

How long does Ponchiki take to make?

Ponchiki takes 30 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 20. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Ponchiki?

Yes, within limits. Fresh yeast, using about 25 g. Caster sugar in place of icing sugar, though it does not coat as well.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ponchiki?

Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then work in the warm milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. Knead 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth and slightly tacky. Keep the dough soft. A stiff dough gives dense ponchiki that drink oil instead of puffing away from it.