Sweet Summer Bakery Style Berry Fritters

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What does a fairy princess make on her day off? Beautiful berry fritters, of course! I had such a fun time making these classic fritters. Unlike many fritter recipes available on the internet, these are true yeasted fritters. They taste just like the kind that you purchase at your favorite bakery!

The combination of blueberries and strawberries is just the perfect little ode to summer. I love the thin, crackly glaze. These will melt-in-your-mouth and leave you wanting to sneak one or two more.

bakery style fritters:

It is difficult to find a recipe for a yeasted fritter online! Many recipes are for cake-like batters that are mixed and fried immediately. Growing up, apple fritters and blueberry fritters were my absolute favorite donuts to get from a bakery. They were so tender and had a melt-in-your-mouth quality. When I was first learning about making donuts, I tried making the fritters with a cake batter and was so disappointed upon taking my first bite. Those were not like the donuts that I would eat at the bakery!

After doing a little hunting, I found some lovely people on YouTube who showed how to make bakery style fritters. It was a yeasted dough, but instead of being cut or shaped like traditional donuts, the dough itself was layered and then cut up. The fruit was encased inside of the layers of dough, and the chopping created those lumpy bumps that fritters classically have. Interesting!

the method:

These donuts are made like a professional bakery style rather than a cake-like batter that is scooped and fried. The dough is yeasted, like a bread dough. Then, after its bulk fermentation, its deflated and separated into two pieces.

The pieces are rolled into large rectangles. Then, the berries are spread over one half of the dough along with some lemon zest and sugar for flavor. The second piece of dough is layered over the berries.

Now the interesting part comes in! The dough is chopped up with a bench scraper, making sort of hash marks all across. You want to incorporate the fruit without folding or kneading it into the dough, which would discolor it. This is how you get that iconic lumpy look to a fritter.

Then, the dough is folded and rolled into a long log. Then, the donuts are cut, much like you would cut cinnamon rolls. Once cut, they rise again for a time and are fried in hot oil. Yum!

final thoughts:

This method was actually a little bit more tricky than I originally anticipated. Keeping all of the fruit trapped inside of the donut was not easy! I feel like I was fighting against the dough most of the time, but perhaps this is more easily done with apples! I actually need a lot more practice, but I the dough itself is wonderful, if I do say so myself.

All-in-all, I do prefer a yeasted donut over a cake donut. I am pretty happy with this recipe, even if I do need more practice! I hope that you enjoy giving them a try.

xoxo Kayla

Sweet Summer Berry Fritters

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Yield: 12 to 14 Fritters

Author: Kayla Lobermeier

Prep time: 2 HourCook time: 4 MinTotal time: 2 H & 4 M

Ingredients

Berry Fritters

• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk
• 1/4 cup (58 g) salted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup (66 g) + 1 tbsp (15 g) granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp (12 g) active dry yeast
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Neutral cooking oil, enough to have about 3-inches deep for frying

Donut Glaze

• 2 cups (236 g) powdered sugar
• 2 to 4 tbsp (30 to 60 ml) milk

Instructions

To make the fritters:

1. Begin by combining the milk, butter, 1/3 cup (66 g) sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Warm the milk over medium heat until it is warm to the touch and the butter begins to melt. Remove the pan from heat and let it cool slightly.
2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 2 cups (250 g) of the flour with the yeast. Pour the warm milk mixture over the flour and begin to mix on slow speed. Crack in the eggs and add the vanilla.
3. Begin to slowly incorporate the remaining flour until the dough comes together and no longer clings to the sides of the bowl. This dough is stickier than most bread doughs, so it will still be a bit on the wet side but it should not clings terribly to your fingers.
4. Once the dough has been kneaded into a smooth ball, place it in a large lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
5. Set aside 2 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
6. Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Roll one piece out into a 12 x 8-inch (30 x 20-cm) rectangle. Spread the blueberries, strawberries, lemon zest, and remaining 1 tablespoon (15 g) sugar over the dough. Then, roll out the second piece of dough to the same size and layer it over the fruit.
7. With a bench scraper, begin to cut into the dough, making hash marks all across the top. Fold the dough once over itself and make more hash marks with the bench scraper. It should look like a big mangled mess, but that is okay! Try your best to keep the berries hidden inside of the dough.
8. Now, fold the dough over itself, enclosing any exposed berries, and roll the dough into a long 24-inch (60-cm) long log. With the bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut donuts that are about 2 to 3-inches (5 to 8-cm) wide, similarly to cutting cinnamon rolls.
9. Place the cut donuts onto the prepared baking sheets and cover them with plastic wrap. Let them puff until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.
10. While the donuts proof, heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Bring the oil to 375° F (191° C) and maintain that temperature.
11. Fry the donuts risen side down in the oil. It is sometimes easier to cut around the parchment paper and set the donuts in the oil with the paper itself, then slide the paper out once it makes contact with the dough. Fry the donuts for about 2 minutes per side. If there are any exposed berries, they may pop out of the donut and fall into the oil.
12. Pull the donuts out of the oil with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel lined plate or wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet to cool slightly.

To make the donut glaze:

1. In a large flat bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk.
2. Dunk the slightly cooled donuts into the glaze. Shake off as much glaze as possible. Then, set the glazed donuts on a wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet to finish draining. Save any glaze to reuse.
3. The donuts should be eaten fresh! They will keep well at room temperature in a paper sack or paper box. They do not do well covered in plastic wrap or tupperware containers.

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