Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Puff-puff
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Mix the flour, sugar, water, and yeast together until the batter is smooth.
Wait until the dough has risen. About 2½ hours or so should do. (I've heard that if you use quick-rising yeast, you don't have to wait, but I have not tried it yet.)
Heat the oil
Put vegetable oil into a pot until it is at least 2 inches (or about 5 centimeters) high (too little will result in flatter balls), and place on low heat.
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 will stay at the bottom of the pot rather than rising to the top.
Fry and finish
When the oil is hot enough, use a spoon to dish up the batter, and another spoon or spatula to drop it in the oil, sort of in the shape of a ball.
Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown. Turn the ball over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
Use a large spoon or something like that to take it out of the oil. I usually place them on napkins right away to soak up some of the excess oil.
If desired, you can roll the finished product in table sugar or powdered sugar to make it sweeter.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the batter's structure, which sets as the dough fries and turns firm.
- Yeast
- Produces gas that makes the dough rise, giving the balls a light, airy interior.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the exterior brown as it fries.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour and yeast so the batter can form a smooth, workable dough.
The step that matters
Testing the oil temperature. If the oil is too cool, the dough absorbs grease and turns heavy and flat instead of crisping. Testing a drop of batter first confirms the oil is hot enough before the batch is dropped in.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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