Recipe | Gogosi (Romanian Doughnuts)

Recipe | Gogosi (Romanian Doughnuts)

• 3.08.2021

hey ya'll, today we're talking about one of my very favorites -- gogosi! they're homemade romanian styled doughnuts and they're delicious. I asked my mom to show me how to make it awhile back, so I could tell you guys all about it, but she refused. She's an eyeball(er) when it comes to recipes, so she couldn't tell me the quantities. The problem was officially solved because I brought my digital scale and we were able to measure it for you guys. 

Before I share the recipe, I want to say that even though this recipe looks super lengthy, it's not that complicated. I've done my best to show you all the steps through the photos and videos, but at the end of the day, it's waiting for the dough to rise that's the most tedious. 

What You'll Need

Flour

Canada Bleached All-Purpose | 60 ounces

Red Start Quick Rising Yeast

2 packets

Lukewarm Water 

1/2 cup

Sugar

Eggs

5

Salt 

1 tablespoon 

Greek Yogurt 

1 cup

Orange Zest

Milk 

Butter 

2 sticks at room temperature 

Cinnamon 

Canola Oil

How To Make

step 1.
sift all your flour.

step 2.
in the cup of lukewarm water, mix in two regular sized spoons of sugar and the two packets of yeast. let this mixture sit until the water starts to bubble (aka: rise) yay! you’ve just proofed your yeast. if the water doesn't bubble or rise, that means that either the water was too hot or the yeast is old and not good for use, so you'll need to go ahead and restart this step. 

step 3.
mix 1 cup of greek yogurt and 4 cups of milk in a glass container and then warm the mixture to a temp that you can place your hand in it. careful with this step because you don’t want it to be very hot because the yeast won't rise the dough. 

note: we like to mix greek yogurt into the milk, but the yogurt can be skipped if not on hand.

step 4.
place the yeast mixture in the sifted flour, in the middle, and mix. then, add five whole eggs.
slowly add the four cups of milk to the mixture -- don't add it all at once. mix in and start slowly kneading as you're mixing.

if you've added all the milk to the mix and you see a lot of flour left, heat up and add more milk until the mixture is just right. you’re going to have to eyeball this step — you want the dough to be just right which means that it's not very soft, but not very stiff. it has to be somewhere in the middle.

we ended up using five 5 cups of milk total in the entire process.

this is a complicated step as some types of flour absorb liquid differently, so pay attention to how the dough is feeling and how the flour is mixing into your dough mixture. 

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸ this would be the time and place to mix in your orange (or lemon) zest ✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

note: this time, I didn't add zest because we used the same dough to make Langos -- Romanian style stuffed fried bread. but if you're only wanting to make gogosi, then the zest would be mixed in at this point in time.

pro tip: a few days before you make gogosi, zest several oranges and place the shavings in a small glass jar with several spoons of fine sugar. mix together and then seal the jar, placing it in the fridge. when making the gogosi, use a few spoonfuls of this in your dough to give it an even sweeter taste. left over zest? no problem -- this sugary zest can stay in the fridge for up to a year if sealed correctly. it's ready to be used in other cakes and muffins! 

step 5.
then take your two sticks of butter and start incorporating it into the dough. buuuut, wait, don’t place all it at once. you want to take it in sections and knead it in. like you did with the milk. 

step 6.
then after you’ve incorporated the butter, take half a handful of oil, and rub it on top of the dough and the sides. you do this because we’re gonna put some plastic wrap on top as we wait for it to rise and we don't wang the dough to stick to the plastic.

step 7.
place plastic wrap all around the bowl and then take a warm blanket, fold it in half place it on the table. place the bowl of dough in the middle and then cover up the bowl with the other side of the blanket, making sure that the entire bowl is covered.

step 8.
let sit to rise.
this takes a few hours -- ours took about 3 hours to rise! 

this is the perfect opportunity to wash dishes, tidy up and run errands even. 

step 9.

after your dough has risen, go get your frying pan and fill it up with oil about half way.
you want your doughnuts to float, so the amount of oil depends on the size of your pan.

step 10.
turn on the stove to heat medium heat.
then, wait about 7 mins -- it's time to test the oil. 

to do this, drop a little bit of dough in the pan.
if it starts to bubble and rise quickly, your oil is ready.

if it doesn’t, go ahead and wait a few more minutes and try again. 

repeat this process until the little piece rises to the surface right away.

step 11.
now, grab a large plastic board placing it on the counter. 

and then take a little bit of oil and spread it all over the board and your hands. 

this helps move the dough and not get it stuck to your hands.

step 12.

now, let’s make the doughnuts!

grab a bit of dough, place it on the board and flatten it with your hands. 

now get a regular-sized cup and start cutting your circles.
if you want them to look like American doughnuts, 

then go ahead and get a milk gallon cap to cut out the doughnut hole.

step 13.
place doughnut in oil and wait until you see the edge get golden brown. then flip over with a spoon.

step 14.
when the entire doughnut is golden brown, place a paper towel on a plate and then let your doughnuts cool on top of the paper towel — this soaks the excess oil from the surface.

step 15.
next, in another plate mix fine sugar and cinnamon together. 

after the gogosi have cooled a bit, roll it in the sugary mix and place on serving platter.

step 16. 

serve and enjoy!