Bugnes

• 250 g (14 fl. oz.) all purpose flour
• 50 g (slightly less than 1/2 stick or 4 tbsp) unsalter butter
• 50 g (2 fl. oz.) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water (optional)
• salt
• about 1/2 liter (1/2 quart) sunflower oil to deep-fry the bugnes.
• powdered sugar (a few tablespoons)

Prepare the dough at least 2 hours in advance:

1. Sift the flour over a large bowl.
2. Combine with the sugar, orange blossom water and a pinch of salt. Add the butter in very small parcels and mix a little.
3. Dig a hole (in french we say "une fontaine" -a fountain) in the center of the flour mix. Beat the eggs and pour in the hole.
4. With the hands, combine all the ingredients and knead for only a minute or two, until the dough gets homogenous. Make a ball out of it and let it rest for at least 2 hours at room temperature under a clean cotton cloth.

Then...

1. Roll out the dough (on a flat, floured surface) as thinly as possible (about 2 mm) in a somewhat rectangular shape. This should be fairly easy as the dough should be elastic and moist.
2. Cut out stripes about 1 1/2" to 2" wide. Divide the stripes into smaller rectangles, approximately 4" long. The bugnes on the pictures are small but feel free to make the stripes longer or wider if you prefer. Bugnes come in various sizes.
3. Twist the rectangles as follows:
• With a knife, make a 1 1/2" long slit in the center of each rectangle, lengthwise.
• Take one of the rectangle's small sides through this hole and reshape, as shown on the pictures above.
• If you go with longer stripes of dough, there might be enough length to make two knots.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan (oil should be about 1" or 1 1/2" deep) until boiling hot. Place a few knotted stripes of dough in it, making sure they don't touch eachother.
5. Flip once, after only a few seconds, then wait a few seconds longer (this goes fast!).
6. Take out as soon as the bugnes have a nice golden (but not too dark) color. Drain on paper towels placed in a plate.
7. Once all the bugnes are cooked, sprinkle with powdered sugar (it's easier to sprinke evenly if you use a small strainer and shake it overn the bugnes).

You can start eating them as soon as they are ready. If there are any left, store them in a metal box (lined with paper towels). Eat them any time of the day as a snack, on their own.