Carnival doughnuts

Each season and festival brings with it a particular flavour, a unique scent and inexplicable emotions that must be lived though in order to be fully savoured, offering that particularity of a specialty from those who know how to capture all its nuances. These cinnamon doughnuts are undoubtedly one of these treats: fried pastries, perfect for the Carnival period, made with a simple dough. It is, to be precise, a bread dough enriched with cinnamon, sugar and eggs, left to rise for the time necessary to double in volume. Fried doughnuts have a soft texture so it’s better to keep them in an airtight container to prevent them from becoming too chewy. If you want to decorate your doughnuts with sugar you'll have to do it when they are still hot, so that the sugar sticks well. Conversely, if you prefer icing sugar, leave them to go completely cold before sprinkling!

Place the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the water, oil and eggs and mix quickly with a fork. Transfer the dough onto a floured work surface and knead with your hands until you have a smooth, brownish dough. Let it rise in a floured bowl covered with a cloth until it has doubled in volume. When risen, take small pieces of the dough and make little cylindrical rolls about 15cm long. Join the ends together to form a doughnut shape and fry in hot oil until golden brown on both sides. Drain on absorbent paper and when cool sprinkle with icing sugar.