Kkwabaegi Twisted Donuts

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Time:

3h30m

Difficulty:

Intermediate

Loot:

20-22 donuts

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Corny “kumbaya” spiel incoming…

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Anyway, if there’s one thing I really admire about our shared human history, it’s that somehow, almost all of our cultures, managed to figure out the twisted sugar donut. I was researching and practicing the best way to make this nostalgic treat I grew up calling “kkwabaegi (꽈배기).” But every single damn comment section I visited was filled with, “We have those in (insert country name) too!” or “Oh you guys have (insert different name)!”

Here’s a few of the hits — China calls them “mahua, (麻花), the Philippines says “shakoy,” Japan’s is “sakubei (索餅),” and the best one by far is Brazil’s who calls them “cueca virada” which literally means “flipped underwear” (don’t ask). Hey, no matter what you call them, we all get it. It’s a delicious treat that we and our parents all grew up eating freshly fried from street vendors or tonging onto our trays from bougie specialty bakeries in major cities. No matter where we get our fix, it’s awesome how we’ve all had that same joy — ripping apart hot, fluffy spirals of dough and brushing cinnamon sugar dust off our jeans.

Alright, that’s enough. I’m starting to gag at my own cringyness too. Let’s learn how to make these.

Word to the Wise

• Knead until you ALMOST pass the windowpane test! I know, it sounds crazy! But you actually want it to be less developed than you would other doughs. When you stretch your dough, make sure light can pass through in a thin sheet, but it should tear a little bit as you stretch it.

• Roll from the center to the outer edges of your dough logs during shaping. Make sure you get an even log, where one side isn’t longer or thicker than the other. Otherwise they’re gonna look/cook unevenly.

• 3-5 twists max. Roll your hands in opposite directions on either side of the log, pick it up by both ends, and boom. You should have 1-2 starter twists. Twist the loop’s head a few times to get a tighter/neater look. But any more, it’ll stretch too thin and break.

• Use a slightly damp surface for rolling. Use a wet paper towel to moisten your counter-top/cutting board when you’re doing rolling and shaping. This will help your donuts roll and twist more evenly.

• Do the chill and rise with the seam side facing down. This one should be a no-brainer. Unless you want your donuts to unravel and sport sexy legs when they fry and puff up (hey, maybe you do), they need to rise in a way that keeps the seam pinched down.

• Let your donuts drain/cool for 45-60 seconds, but roll them in the sugar IMMEDIATELY. You want your donuts to have some of their hot oil left so that the cinnamon sugar can stick.

Ingredients

Donuts

• 1 ⅓ cup water, lukewarm

• 5 Tbsp butter, melted

• 5 Tbsp granulated white sugar

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• 3 ½ cups bread flour

• 1 cup tapioca flour

• 3 Tbsp dry milk powder

• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 2-3 cups of oil (have 1-2 inches of oil in your pot)

Cinnamon-Sugar Coating

• 1 cup granulated white sugar

• 2 Tbsp cinnamon powder

Instructions

Dough

1. Melt your butter in the microwave (45 seconds to 1 minute). Let it sit out to cool down to room temperature so it doesn’t cook the eggs start doing other things.

2. Place a tray of water on the lowest rack of your oven and press the preheat button on its lowest setting. Once you hear gas turn on (if using a range stove), immediately shut it off. Don’t let the temperature inside pass 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Just make it feel like Florida.

3. Fill a small or medium sized bowl with warm water (not for the dough) Place in your eggs to bring to room temperature.

4. In a large mixing bowl (not a stand mixer if you’re using one), combine your bread flour, tapioca flour, yeast, and dry milk powder.

5. Once your eggs are the right temperature, add your 1 ⅓ cup lukewarm water, eggs, sugar, salt and melted butter to a large mixing bowl or your stand mixer using the paddle attachment.

6. Add your dry ingredients to the large mixing bowl and mix until it’s combined into one sticky mass.

7. Replace the attachment with a dough hook or begin kneading by hand. If you’re using a dough hook on a stand mixer, knead on high speed (6-8) for about 2-3 minutes or until you get a moist, tacky dough that springs back quickly when pushed gently and ALMOST passes the windowpane test. When you stretch it, light should pass through, but it should tear.

8. Roll your dough into a ball and place it in a well greased bowl covered with a damp towel or Saran wrap for 60 to 90 minutes or doubled in size.

Shaping

1. Take your dough out and punch it down to release the gas. Divide it into half, and cut 10-11 pieces from each piece to make a total of 20-22 pieces. Put aside around 3-4 at a time and cover the rest with a towel.

2. Roll the dough with your hand back and forth in the middle until it starts to form a longer log. Once it gets long, use both hands, to stretch and roll from the middle outward to get an evenly shaped log.

3. Once your log of dough is about 10-12 inches long, with one hand on each end of the dough, roll it a few times in opposite directions (e.g. left hand rolls forward five times while right hand rolls backwards five times) so you make your dough look like a twisty rope.

4. Gently pick up your twisted dough by both ends of the rope and let it curl and tie on its own. Twist the loop at the center until you get a number of twists/curls you like (4-5 is ideal), and pinch the ends of the rope into a seam.

5. Place your twist onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat. Once you have a full sheet, seal the top with Saran Wrap or a damp towel and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

6. Place your sheet in the oven to rise for a second time for 30-45 minutes until they are nice, puffy, and spring back when you press one. If they look a little small, don’t worry about it. They grow.

7. In a small tray, medium sized bowl, or paper bag (one that can fit the full length of a twisted donut), whisk together your cinnamon and sugar for the coating.

Frying + Coating (Loop)

1. Fill a big pot with about 2 inches of neutral frying oil (2-3 cups) and heat it on high to a temperature of 325 degrees. Once you hit this temperature, reduce the heat to medium. Set aside a wire rack or a big plate with some paper towels underneath in advance, along with some tongs and a flatheaded spatula or spoon.

2. Carefully slide 2-3 donuts at a time into the fryer. Once you see the bottom side/middle start to look golden brown (you can see it from the surface), use a spoon to flip it over (60-90 seconds). Once you get a get a good browning on the other side, immediately remove it with a pair of tongs to cool and drain on your plate.

3. Slide in your next few doughnut twists, and use a pair of tongs to drag your slightly cooled doughnuts through your cinnamon-sugar mix until coated evenly on each side.

Serving

Place into a tray, plate, or container to serve. It’s best eaten hot! If you wanna save ‘em, place them into an airtight container or wrap them up with Saran to avoid drying them out. They taste the best within 24 hours.