No Yeast Puff Puff — a tasty variety of the traditional popular African snacks Puff Puff which is made of self-rising flour instead of yeast, sugar, beer, egg and oil. No need to wait long to get a bite of these delicious treats. Great for breakfast and parties too!
If you have ever traveled to a West African country or attended a West African gathering chances are you have tasted this fried dough. It is an extremely popular West African snack food that is sold on every street corner imaginable and goes under different aliases.
Ghanaians call it Bofrot (togbei), Congolese call it mikate, gbofloto in Ivory Coast; Cameroonians and Nigerians call it Puff-Puff or African beignet in other parts of Africa.
I have made the original yeast puff -puff recipe featured here and of course couldn’t help but jazz it up with another variation – coconut puff puff. Not to be forgotten is this African doughnut, which is basically cake doughnut.
Today, the honor goes to this no yeast beer puff puff. I love this childhood favorite snack of mine that am not going to end here – certainly not! It would not be my last puff puff.
Can you blame me? They are simple, and straight forward to make, and a crowd pleaser.
What sells this recipe is the length of time it takes to make it. This deep fried bread is for those times when you don’t have the patience to wait for the yeast to do it ‘s magic.It taste just like beer bread only this one is even better- Fried.
Instead of yeast, it is made with self-rising flour -in a gratifying short time -less than 15 minutes you will be biting into it! I decided to include beer in this recipe to make it tender, airy and flavorful.
All you need is self-rising flour, sugar, beer, egg and oil. This snack was mainly served for breakfast , but today , especially with Africans living abroad . It is a must for parties. So go ahead and save this recipe when the craving kicks in. You can roll this puff puff in cinnamon sugar, if you like. Enjoy for breakfast with coffee, tea or African snack.
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”yOZRujgi” upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 19:57:54 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”No Yeast Puff Puff” description=”No Yeast Puff Puff — a tasty variety of the traditional popular African snacks Puff Puff which is made of self-rising flour instead of yeast, sugar, beer, egg and oil. No need to wait long to get a bite of these delicious treats. Great for breakfast and parties too!”]
No Yeast Puff Puff
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 g) Self-rising flour
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ½ cup (124.69 ml) beer , I used Heineken
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ cup (296.25 ml) water
- ½ teaspoons (1 g) nutmeg , optional
- oil for deep frying
Instructions
- In a large, sauce pan pour vegetable oil, until it is at least 3 inches (or about 5 centimeters) high (too little will result in flatter balls), and place on medium heat until oil is 375 degrees.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix all the dry ingredients, flour, and sugar.
- Stir in the water, eggs, beer ; mix well until everything has been fully incorporated. The batter should be smooth, thick and spoon able.
- I use my hands to scoop up the batter; you can do the same or use 2 spoons – one to scoop up the batter, and another spoon or spatula to drop it in the oil- in the shape of a ball. Do not overcrowd the pan. Do so in batches
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown.
- Turn the ball over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
- Use a large spoon or something like that to take it out of the oil. I usually place them on napkins right away to soak up some of the excess oil.
- Roll in cinnamon sugar as soon as you remove from the pan or deep in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar , if you want to go the cinnamon sugar route.
- Best serve warm
Tips & Notes:
3 cups flour
4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt Cinnamon sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Nutrition Information:
Alexa says
I just made these and they turned out great. My problem now is stopping myself from eating it all…lol. Thanks for the no yeast version,didn’t know it was possible. I didn’t use beer cos of my little ones but substituted same amount for water. Thumbs up!
ImmaculateBites says
AWESWOME! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
Ivy says
I would definitely try this thanks. Pls is it OK 2give a younger kids.
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, because most of the alcohol has evaporated!
CharStar says
Hi Ms ImmaculateBites,
I love this recipe and like the texture more than puff puff.
I would like to make this recipe for my family… but with a added twist… Coconut!… we are all coconut lovers.
Sooooo, I would like to incorporate coconut in to this recipe but not sure how too, are you able to help?
ImmaculateBites says
Just add about 1/2 -3/4 cup to the recipe and about a Tablespoon or more of water to the mixture. Check out his coconut puff puff here http://africanbites.com/?p=2664
Maddy says
How do you get them do round?? Just dropping doug in oil… without making an actual ball? Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Yes Maddy . It’s too soft to make a ball before frying . You squeeze it out through your two fingers. Some people use a zip lock bag. Like you would pipe a cake.
IJ says
This is interesting, am so grateful Immaculate bites, now i can spice up my breakfast!!!!
ImmaculateBites says
You sure can.Please let me know how it works for you. Thanks!
Melissa says
I followed the steps yet mine does not look same it looks strong and not as soft as the normal puff. Any help
ImmaculateBites says
Sorry to hear about it Melissa. I would double check the ingredients and the measurements, it might be the culprit.
Clara says
I always use this recipe when am in a haste and want to make puff puff . Hits the spot everytime.
ImmaculateBites says
It sure does clara!
Jane says
Hello, I am from he U.S. and my newphew is marring a gal from Nigeria, and I would like to surprise her on her wedding day with these beautiful looking pastries ( doughnuts) can you tell me how soon or how long they would last, can I make them a few days a head of time, and keep them well covered air tight container to keep them fresh, I also would like to make them with the yeast, but which ones would keep longer, and can they be frozen after frying and cooled. Thank you for any help you can give me. they look fantastic and delicious, and I can eat them because there is no eggs in them, I am alergic to eggs. lolol
ImmaculateBites says
Jane, oh how thoughtful of you… that would be a really nice surprise .Now to your question, puff puff do not keep well, especially left outside . Your best bet is making them the same day of the event- go with the no yeast it is quicker.However, you can make, then freeze and warm in the oven. They are usually ok, but not great!
The one without yeast would keep longer. Let me know what you decide and Congratulations!
Therese says
This came in handy for a quick puff – everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for posting!
J says
Hi I am a bit surprised. In my food and nutrition class and also while I grew up in Cameroon. This was known as doughnut not puff puff/ puff puff without yeast.
thanks for the recipe.
christina says
Tx so much for the puf puf without yeast recipe. I love this one because i always buy it on the street on my way to work. Now i can make it myself 😉
Im looking for the recipe how u people fry the gazerds on open fire and it taste nice and are soft, as well as the chicken legs fried on a stick on open fire.
jen says
Beer actually contains yeast….
ImmaculateBites says
Beer does actually contain yeast. However, it is my understanding is that the yeast responsible for fermentation is dead by the time the beer is bottled.If you are allergy to yeast then replace the beer with water.
sais says
This pastry looks good. Can you make this without the beer.
Africanbites says
Yes, you sure can . Just replace the beer with water .
Adaoha says
Soooooo helpful ! Finally .
Sayo says
Actually immaculate, no yeast puff puff is called Buns in Nigeria. With puff puff you use yeast. With Buns you use baking powder. SInce you used self raising flour, which of course contains baking powder, this is called Buns. I just thought to share
Africanbites says
Sayo, thanks for sharing.
Beauty says
Remember she used beer and beer contains yeast, so get that
Janet says
In the Peace Corps, in Sierra Leone, our language instructor took us to the market. The fried buns had a yummy-looking filling. He said, “‘E sweet-o!” so I bought one and took a huge bite. The filling was ferociously spicy! Too late, I remembered ‘sweet’ means ‘tasty’ in Krio. Your puff-puffs look ‘sweet-o’!
Africanbites says
Janet, thank you-o, they are definitely tasty.