Puff Puff — A very popular West African street food that’s quick and easy to make with different variations. Dangerously delicious and addicting!
As a child, I would often watch in amazement how the women selling the puffs would grab the mixture with the tip of their fingers, place it in the palm of their hands, and drop the mixture in oil.
I was fascinated by this process and would go home and practice this act with any mixture I had on hand. But it never came out as proportional or as visually appealing as the women did it. After years of practice as an adult, I think I can proudly say that I finally got the hang of it.
Content…What Is It? |
What Is Puff Puff?
Most West African countries are familiar with the popular street food Puff-Puff, which is known by different names depending on the country. Ghanaians call it Bofrot (togbei), and Cameroonians and Nigerians call it Puff-Puff (Puff) or beignet in French. The basic ingredient consists of flour, sugar, yeast, water, salt, and oil for deep frying.
It is an easy and quick recipe to make with different variations. This recipe is the one I have been making for years and the one that takes me back to my hometown. It brings back memories of late-night snacking on the street.
Recipe Ingredients
Trust me when I say that cooking these puff puffs is as mesmerizing as it is tasty. The best part about this treat is that it only needs a handful of ingredients. You might already have these in your pantry:
- Flour – This pantry must-have isn’t just for baking. It’s also great for many savory dishes.
- Yeast – This is basically the life of the recipe as it makes the dough rise for an airy, fluffy texture.
- Warm Water – An essential part of making any dough. It’s the basis for forming our treat. It’s important to have just the right warmth. If the water is too hot, it kills the yeast. If too cold, the yeast has a hard time rising.
- Sugar – Common table sugar you can easily find in any grocery store gives this recipe a slight sweetness and feeds the yeast for a good rise.
- Cooking Oil – The necessary ingredient for deep frying the puff puffs.
How to Make Puff Puff
- Activate the yeast: Mix salt, water, sugar, and yeast. Set it aside for 5 minutes (Photo 1)
- Make the dough: Add flour and mix (Photo 2)
- Rest and Rise: Let the mixture rise for approximately 1-2 hours (Photos 3-5)
- Pre-heat the oil: In a large saucepan, pour vegetable oil into a pot until it’s about 3 inches (or 5 centimeters ) high (too little will result into flatter balls), and place in low heat
- Check the heat: Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a drop of batter into the oil. If the oil is not hot enough, the batter will stay at the bottom instead of rising to the top.
- Fry the puff puff:
- Hand Method: Using your hands, grab a little bit of mixture at a time and drop it into the oil. (See photo 6)
- Spoon Method: When the oil is hot enough, use a spoon to dish up the batter and another spoon or spatula to drop it in the oil. Sort of in the shape of a ball.
- Check the doneness: Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown (Photo 7)
- Flip the puff puff: Turn the ball over for a few minutes until the underside is golden brown. (Photo 8)
- Remove from oil: Use a large spoon or a slotted spoon to take it out of the oil. I usually place them on napkins right away to soak up some of the excess oil.
- Coat the puff puff: If desired, you can roll up the finished products in table sugar or powdered sugar to make it sweeter.
Serving Suggestions
Puff-puff is usually eaten for breakfast, as a snack, or as a side dish. Regardless of when you eat them, they are enjoyable with or without a side dish. A must-have for me – pepper sauce.
The beauty of puff puffs is that you can eat them sweet or savory. They’re a great snack, appetizer, or dessert. I often eat it as a snack or appetizer. My son definitely loves it as a simple dessert with just a bit of powdered sugar. Another great dessert/snack is homemade bon bons. Yum!
If you’re craving more, then these recipes from my list of African snacks and appetizers should help you feel satisfied.
Tips and Tricks for Making Puff Puff
- Soft puff puff: For a softer puff puff, add about 1-2 tablespoons more water. Some people find it a little bit hard after it stays out.
- Crunchy, not soggy: Do not overcrowd the frying pan; it will absorb excess oil and sometimes make it soggy.
- Hold the salt: You may cut back on the salt if you are watching your salt intake; about 1 teaspoon will do.
- Preheat the stove: If your house is too cold, turn on the stove for about 2-3 minutes until warm. Then turn it off and let the puff puff rise next to it. Or heat up the oven, turn it off when hot, and wait until it cools down. If you want it warm but not hot, then let it rise in the oven. Check after 30 minutes to ensure it’s rising.
- Use a spoon instead to scoop the dough into the oil if you do not want to use your hands. It still tastes delicious!
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in November 2012 and has been updated with additional tips.
Puff Puff
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Ingredients
- 2 cups (+1-2 tablespoons (475ml) warm water (See notes)
- 2¼ teaspoon (7g) active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 3½ cups (420g) flour
- ½-¾ cup (100-150g) sugar
- ½ tablespoon (8-9g) salt
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Mix salt, sugar, water, and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Add flour and mix.
- Let the mixture rise for approximately 1-2 hours.
- In a large saucepan, pour vegetable oil into a pot until it's at least 3 inches (about 5cm) deep and heat on low. Too little oil will result in flatter balls.
- Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a drop of batter into the oil. If it is not hot enough, the batter stays at the pot's bottom rather than rising to the top.
- When the oil is hot enough, grab a little bit of the mixture with your hands or use a spoon to get a small ball of dough. Drop it carefully into the oil.
- 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 immediately to soak up the excess oil.
- If desired, you can roll the finished product in table sugar or powdered sugar to make it sweeter.
Tips & Notes:
- Soft puff puff: For a softer puff puff, add about 1-2 tablespoons more water. Some people find it a little bit hard after it stays out.
- Crunchy, not soggy: Do not overcrowd the frying pan, as the puff puffs will absorb excess oil and sometimes get soggy.
- Hold the salt: You may cut back on the salt if you are watching your salt intake. About 1 teaspoon of salt will do.
- Preheat the stove: If your house is too cold, turn on the stove for about 2-3 minutes until warm. Then turn it off and let the puff puff rise next to it. Or place your dough in the cold oven and put a pan full of hot water under it. Check after 30 minutes to ensure it’s rising.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Angie says
Do these store well for the next day?
Imma says
Honestly, they’re best fresh. However, you can crisp them back up in the oven the next day, and they’ll still be good. Please let me know how it goes.
Rich says
So I followed the recipe. They came out good right out of the oil. I rolled them in cinnamon sugar. Yum. But. The next day they were rubbery, even after warming up. Did I do something wrong? Any suggestions?
Beth says
These are so yum! Out of interest can I mix up the “dough” the night before, and deep fry in the morning so they are fresh?
Imma says
Yes, you can. You might want to reduce the rising time by half and let it finish in the fridge overnight. The cold will slow down the fermentation, but not stop it. Then take the dough out of the fridge 30 minutes before frying so it can come back to room temperature. Hope that make sense, and please let me know how it goes.
Sheila Watson says
What should the water temperature be please, TIA
Imma says
To activate the yeast, you want it a little warmer than room temperature, but not hot (over 100℉/38℃) coz hot water kills yeast. Hope that helps
Emmanuel C Ezenwa says
This is my exact recipe and I’ve been making puff puff for over 20years for weddings and parties lol. I usually double the recipe. 4 cups of warm water,1 tablespoon salt 2 packet of yeast (active dry not instant)1 cup of sugar and my secret is 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and 7 cups of bread flour. Regular flour is not the same. You are the real deal for sharing this recipe. You will not find a better one guys. Trust me.
Imma says
Wonderful! Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂
Adeyinka says
I loved the recipe for these
Imma says
Thank you, . Stay tuned for more amazing recipes.
Me says
Superb
Imma says
Awesome!!! Can’t wait to know how it turns out for you.
Daphne Oguntuwo says
Hi, I am trying this out right now. I miss those days in Ikeja. Lagos. Nothing beats that taste and thrill.
Thanks for sharing. Hope it turns out right
Imma says
Awesome!!! Can’t wait to know how it turns out for you.
Ehrista says
I love it!
Imma says
Glad you liked it! 🙂
Jana says
I love this recipe tell me more
Imma says
You are more than welcome. And if there’s a recipe you’d love to see, please let me know. Thanks:)
Walida says
Hey! I have been using this recipe for like 7 years now, it is my go to, i love it. If anyone asks for puff puff recipe, this is the link i send. Thank you. I am now calorie conscious so i was wondering about the calorie count you put up, is it a quarter of the entire recipe that’s 397 cals since it serves 4? Because i was told that each ball of puff puff is like 120 calories.
Imma says
I’m so glad you love it.❤️ We both know we can’t eat just one. The recipe should make 12 puff puffs so the calorie count is for 3 puff puffs. You could also reduce the calories by air frying them. I hope that helps:)
Asma says
Thanks for the recipe- I can’t wait to make puff puffs for a dinner party im hosting. How could I store and reheat it if I make it a few hours before a dinner party?
Imma says
That’s great! Please let me know how it goes. You can store puff puffs in the fridge for 3-5 days or the freezer for a month. You could cover them with a paper towel and zap them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to reheat or (my preferred way) bake them in a preheated 350℉/177℃ oven for 10-15 minutes.
Mobola says
I have been using this recipe for the past 2yrs. I have it bookmarked. Making it today again and just realized there were comments at the end of the page and thought “How dare I not put one!”
Best recipe ever!!
Imma says
Hahaha Thank you my dear, Your feedback and comments keep me motivated to bring more amazing recipes:)
Mbole says
Mobola..you said exactly what I was going to say and your name is similar to mind..so it was meant to be.
Hear hear..bestest recipe ever..happy faces at my breakfast table yet again! Imma you’re making me look good oh 🙂 Thank you sis.
Imma says
Thank you so much Both of you:) Much Love
Messiah Haynes says
There were no measurements
Amina says
Sorry, I’m not sure why you can’t see the measurements. If you click “Jump to Recipe” or scroll down to the recipe card, you’ll see them there. I hope you enjoy making them.
Kenny says
I have made puff puff over the years but this is by far the best recipe I have ever used. Game changing puff puff recipe…. soft fluffy yummy stuff. Thank you for this
Amina says
Wohoo!!! Isn’t it good to have such an amazing recipe? Thank you so much for your love and support.
Lawrena Blamoh says
My came out a little bit hard
imma africanbites says
Sorry to hear about that. Did you try adding about 1-2 tablespoons more water? Some would find it a little bit hard after it stays out.
Abigail says
Why does my mixture not rise? I use instant yeast.
Amina says
Sorry that happened. That is so disappointing. The two main culprits are yeast that went back and the temperature was too cold and it needs more time to rise. I hope that helps.
John Elyon says
I love this simple and well explained recipe. Im going to be using it here in my small town in Bulgaria.
Thank you.