Oly Koek and Doughty Doughnut recipes | Sleepy Hollow
The olykoek (also spelt olicook and olykoecks) is the grandpa of the doughnut, will numerous variations made available in cookbooks. In simple terms, it is a ball of dough deep fried in hot oil. Some recipes in The Sensible Cook suggest that citrus, apples and/or almonds be mixed directly into the dough. However, in The Sensible Cook, a recipe found from Albany, New York provided an additional recipe for olykoek that folds raisins and dried citrus soaked in brandy, into the middle of the dough. I found this allowed for a more consistent cook through
Eventually someone came up with the solution of placing a hole in the dough, and creating a doughnut.
The ‘doughty dough nut’ is also mentioned in Sleepy Hollow. To simplify the baking process, we used the same dough, created a ball without the filling and punched a hole through the centre with our finger before frying.
- 1 cup mixed dried fruit (raisins and citrus)
- ¼ cup brandy
- 1.5 packages of dry yeast
- ⅛ cup warm water
- pinch of sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 egg white, beaten
- 5 cups plain flour
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1.5 L vegetable oil for frying
- Start by preparing the mixed dried fruit the night before by soaking it in the brandy.
- The day of, in a bowl of the warm water, sprinkle the yeast, stir and cover in a warm spot. meanwhile warm together the milk and butter, then mix in with the eggs, sugar and nutmeg.
- Stir in the yeast, then begin mixing in the flour, a cup at a time until you reach the consistency of a soft dough.
- Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise for an hour.
- Meanwhile, drain the fruits from the brandy. Tear off an egg-sized piece of the dough, create a well in the middle, fill with the fruits and close the dough back up.
- Create all the balls first before frying. Deep fry one or two at a time until golden before removing.
Don’t use plastic when removing the dough from the oil. Use a wooden or metal ladle with slots or holes.
The doughnuts and olykoeks can be served hot or cold and should be dusted with icing sugar for flavour.
Go back to the main Sleepy Hollow page: Throw a Legend of Sleepy Hollow Party; The Menu From The Book
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