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    Home / Breakfast / Sfenj

    Sfenj

    Airy, chewy yeast donuts fried until golden and rolled in sugar, the beloved street snack of Moroccan mornings.

    ⏱ 20 minPrep time
    🔥 20 minCook time
    🍽 8Servings
    🏷 BreakfastCategory
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    Sfenj are Morocco’s classic fried dough rings, made by street vendors at dawn and sold by the bag to commuters who eat them warm, still dusted with sugar. The dough is nothing but flour, yeast, salt, and water, kneaded until impossibly soft and elastic. Fried until deep golden, they are crisp outside and airy and chewy within, and they are the taste of a Moroccan morning.

    Cloud-soft rings, crisp outside and chewy within

    The secret is the very wet dough, which fries into a puffy ring with a crackling crust and an almost hollow, chewy middle. They are best the moment they leave the oil, rolled in sugar while still hot. Make a pot of mint tea, stand over the pan, and eat them one after another.

    Craving more? Explore all Moroccan Kitchen recipes.

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    Step by stepInstructions

    1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and let it foam, about 10 minutes.
    2. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and knead into a soft, sticky dough, adding a little more warm water if it seems dry. Knead 10 minutes.
    3. Cover and let rise until doubled and very bubbly, about 1 hour.
    4. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. With oiled hands, pinch off a piece of dough the size of a small egg, poke a hole through the center, and stretch it into a ring.
    5. Drop the rings into the oil a few at a time and fry until deep golden on both sides, about 3 minutes total. Drain on paper towels.
    6. Roll the warm sfenj in sugar and serve immediately.

    💡 Chef tips & storage

    The dough should be wetter and stickier than you think comfortable; that is what makes sfenj light. Oil your hands well when shaping, the dough is too sticky to touch dry.

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    Recipe details

    Prep20 min
    Cook20 min
    Servings8
    CategoryBreakfast
    PublishedAugust 17, 2026
    Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

    Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

    Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

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