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
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.
Perpetual Omozeze says
why did my batter not rise? I followed ingredients and measurement.
ImmaculateBites says
I can’t say for sure without actually being there. The first thing I would start with is the Yeast.
Nkechi says
Great recipe
Mara lama says
Definitely try this one. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Eve says
How to make the sauce to eat it with
ImmaculateBites says
Here’s the link https://www.africanbites.com/african-pepper-sauce/
Chika says
Thanks so much Africanbites, mine came out so wonderfully well. I couldnt believe it. Ur so good at what you do
Missey says
Lovely recipe. Please could you share any recipe for dips you use for your puff puff
imma africanbites says
Sure thing. You can use this African Pepper Sauce here >>> https://www.africanbites.com/african-pepper-sauce/ OR Caribbean Pepper Sauce here >> https://www.africanbites.com/caribbean-pepper-sauce/ Enjoy!
Fabiola says
Love your recipes!
Each time I mix my puff-puff it always “drinks” a lot of oil and it’s kind of hard to touch. Any idea on what causes that? Also how do I make the mixture not too sweet.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Fabiola,
Make sure your oil is hot enough before adding the dough, add about 2 tablespoons of water for a softer puff puff.
Cut back on the sweetness by reducing the sugar to about 1/3 cup. Hope this helps. Thanks for trying out my recipes
Beatrice Mensah says
The cup, please is it the one used in measuring things in the market?(margarine container). Thanks
amara says
hi dear tried it but mine was shapeless what do I v 2 do about it thank u
ImmaculateBites says
Are you using your hands or a spoon. If dough is too heavy add about 2 tablespoons of water.
Naana says
Can I use wholewheat flour?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you can. But the texture would be slightly different and you might want to add a few more tablespoons water.
Taiwo Y Aderibigbe says
Perfect, I tried it and it was beautiful.thank u
Lara O says
This is by far the most amazing puff puff recipe i have ever tried. Thank you
Hannah says
Hi Imma,
I love your recipes, thank you for sharing. I am Liberian but I have always found puff puff/Kala (Liberians call it Kala) difficult to make and it never comes out right. My daughter and I tried your recipe and it was perfect. This was really easy to follow and make. Thank you.
Can I use self rising flour for this? if so, do I still add the yeast?
Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Hannah, Self rising flour isn’t the best for this recipe. It’s best to use regular flour . However, if you want quick puff puff go ahead and use it without using yeast. Check out this quick puff puff recipe here https://www.africanbites.com/no-yeast-puff-puff/
Diogo says
Hi dear, any alternative for the beer.
ImmaculateBites says
Just leave it out and use water.
Sarah says
Hello….please do I stick to active dry yeast or use the instant rise yeast.What do you think?and if I do use the instant rise yes,what measurement pls.
ImmaculateBites says
Hello
I have used both of them with good results , same measurement . The difference between active and instant rise yeast is that active dry yeast has a larger granule and needs to be dissolved in water before you use it , while instant yeast has a smaller – fine texture and can be mixed right into dry ingredients.
Enjoy!!
Preetiroy says
This is amazing recipes you shared with us. Thanks!
Yolande says
Imma your recipes are just so amazing..I’ve been learning a lot of new things from your blog. Gracias!
Faith says
Dear Immaculate,
I just discovered your blog and so far i am very impressed and your recipes are easy to follow.
I am teaching my daughters how to cook and you have made it sooo easy for me…Thanks a lot and greetings from Kenya.