The Wine donuts they are a type of biscuit particularly loved in the province of Rome and throughout Lazio, where they were already born in the Middle Ages as a peasant recipe. The red wine donuts were in fact made with very simple and humble ingredients, using the products of the land that the Lazio farmers could easily find: wheat flour, olive oil, sugar and wine, both red and white. The wine could also be replaced from cooked wine or other liqueur wines. Wine donuts are also known in the local dialect as ‘mbriachelle because they are usually dipped in Castelli wine before being eaten. The consistency is very crumbly and they have the advantage of being preserved for a very long time, so much so that in the past they were prepared during special occasions and important holidays to be given as gifts to friends and relatives. Let’s see the quick and easy recipe for wine donuts, to be enjoyed after eating two other great classics of Lazio cuisine: Roman artichokes and Roman tripe!

Preparation

1

The preparation of wine donuts is very simple. Sift the 00 flour into a bowl together with the baking powder. Give it a stir with a fork and then add the sugar.

2

Mix the powders with a spatula. Make a small well in the center and pour in the sunflower seed oil. If you want you can also use delicate olive oil.

3

Also pour in the wine. You can use dry red wine or dry, fruity white wine, but also other fortified wines or Vin Santo.

4

Stir with a spatula to combine all the ingredients. Proceed by collecting the flour from the edges of the bowl until everything is incorporated and you obtain a compact block of dough. If the dough is a little dry, you can add 1 tablespoon of oil.

5

Once the dough is ready, break off pieces of dough. Take the pieces of dough and roll them between your hands to form little loaves. Join the two ends of the loaves and thus form the donuts. You will need to get around 30.

6

Pour plenty of granulated sugar into a shallow dish. Dip each donut in sugar, covering all sides.

7

Place the donuts on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake the donuts in a static oven at 180°C for about 20 minutes. Check the cooking often. Once cooked, let them cool completely on a wire rack. Serve with a glass of red wine.

Tips and tricks

We advise you to use an excellent quality wine to make your wine donuts. You can use both red wine and white wine. If you decide to use white wine, opt for a dry and slightly fruity white. It is always best to use wine and ingredients at room temperature.

If you like them you can add 1 tablespoon of anise seeds: it will give a very particular flavor to your wine donuts.

The freshly cooked donuts will be soft. Let them cool completely and they will take on the right consistency.

Each oven has its own cooking characteristics. If your oven only has fan mode, you can lower the setting temperature of 10-20°C and cook for 5 minutes less. In any case, check constantly to prevent the wine donuts from browning too much.

You can replace the granulated sugar with brown sugar, using the same quantity.

Once the dough is ready, if you are unable to cook the donuts immediately, you can put it in the refrigerator and take it out 1 hour in advance before starting to shape the biscuits.

storage

The wine donuts can be preserved up to 10 days in a closed tin box. We do not recommend freezing them.