Fried Cheese Doughnuts
Romanian papanasi, rebuilt for a camp skillet with powdered dairy and no fridge.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 14 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 27 min
- water
- 90 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Breakfast
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Powdered whole milk | 1/2 cup | stands in for the fresh cheese curd |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered egg | 3 tbsp | equal to 2 eggs |
| All-purpose flour | 1 1/2 cups | |
| Semolina | 3 tbsp | keeps the dough from going slack |
| Sugar | 3 tbsp | |
| Baking powder | 1 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Lemon zest, dried | 1 tsp | |
| Vanilla powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Frying oil | 1 1/2 cups | canola or sunflower |
| Jam | 1/2 cup | sour cherry is traditional; single-serve packets travel well |
| Sour cream powder | 1/4 cup | reconstitute with 3 tbsp water |
Method
- Stir 3 tbsp water into the sour cream powder in a mug and set it aside to thicken while you work.
- Dump the dry premix into your pot and add cold water a tablespoon at a time, about 6 tbsp total, until it comes together as a soft dough. It should be tacky, not wet.
- With oiled hands, pull off four balls. Flatten each into a disc about a finger thick and poke a hole through the middle with your thumb. Roll the leftover scraps into four small balls for the tops.
- Pour oil into the pot to a depth of about an inch and heat it over a low flame. It is ready when a scrap of dough floats and sizzles instead of sinking.
- Fry two at a time, three minutes a side, until deep gold. Keep the heat moderate or the outside browns before the middle cooks. Fry the small balls last, about a minute.
- Drain on a bandana or paper towel. Top each with sour cream, then jam, then a dough ball.
Papanasi are normally built on fresh farmer’s cheese and eggs, which is a nonstarter without a fridge. Powdered whole milk and powdered egg do most of the same work: protein and fat that bind the dough and let it puff. The semolina matters more than it looks like it should, because a camp measurement is never exact and it soaks up whatever extra water you added by accident.
The frying is the part that goes wrong. A hot flame under a thin pot browns the crust in ninety seconds and leaves raw dough behind the hole. Keep it low, accept six minutes per doughnut, and pack out the used oil in the bottle it came in.
Packing
Combine flour, semolina, milk powder, egg powder, sugar, baking powder, salt, zest, and vanilla at home in one bag. Oil in a leakproof bottle, sour cream powder and jam separate.
Variations
- Skip the frying and cook the discs in a lightly oiled pan like pancakes. Less authentic, far less oil to pack out.
- Blueberry or apricot jam works if you cannot find sour cherry.
https://savoriurbane.com/papanasi-prajiti-reteta-traditionala-cu-smantana-si-dulceata