Bofrot (Ghanaian Doughnuts)

Easy·1 hour

Round, golden yeasted doughnut balls with a crisp shell and a soft, faintly nutmeg-scented crumb. A beloved teatime treat and street snack across Ghana, scooped hot from the oil and dusted with nothing more than their own sweetness.

Ghana's take on West African puff-puff — balls of sweetened wheat dough deep-fried until golden and crisp-edged. Sold hot from roadside pans and street corners, bofrot (also called togbei) is one of the country's most popular fried snacks.

A thin crackly crust gives way to a warm, airy, slightly chewy middle that smells of nutmeg. It is gently sweet rather than sugary, with the cosy yeasted flavour of fresh bread. Pillowy and moreish, it disappears two or three at a time.

Yeast fermentation inflates the batter with gas, giving bofrot its light, spongy interior. Frying at a moderate temperature lets that interior cook fully while the surface caramelises into a thin, crisp, golden shell.

Variations

dry bofrot (crunchier, less sweet), flavoured with grated orange zest, dipped in sugar, served with Hausa koko

On the Palate

Where Bofrot (Ghanaian Doughnuts) sits in the Ghanaian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 6

3 cupsFlour

1/2 cupSugar

2 tspActive Dry Yeast

1/2 tspNutmeg

1.5 cupsWarm Water

1/4 tspSalt

for deep fryingVegetable Oil

How it's made

8 steps · 1 hour

1
10 min
Dissolve sugar in warm water, sprinkle over the yeast and let it foam for about ten minutes.
Watch out
The yeast should foam into a thick creamy head in about ten minutes — if it stays flat, it's dead and the bofrot won't rise.
2
3 min
Whisk flour, more sugar, a little salt and grated nutmeg in a bowl.
3
4 min
Pour in the yeast mixture and enough warm water to make a thick, sticky batter.
4
60 min
Cover and leave in a warm spot until the batter doubles and looks bubbly, about an hour.
Watch out
Let it rise until doubled and the surface is domed and bubbly — under-proofed batter fries up dense instead of spongy.
5
4 min
Heat oil to around 170C, not too hot or the centres stay raw.
Watch out
A cube of batter should sizzle and rise slowly, not brown instantly — too-hot oil browns the shell while the center stays raw.
6
3 min
Scoop rounds of batter with wet fingers or a spoon and slip them into the oil.
7
5 min
Fry, turning, until evenly deep golden brown and cooked through.
Watch out
Turn them as they fry so they colour evenly to a deep golden brown all around and cook through to the center.
8
1 min
Drain on paper and serve warm.