Catalonia 16: BUNYOLS DE QUARESMA (LENT FRITTERS) 🌞

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Last edited Sun Feb 15, 2026, 01:33 PM - Edit history (1)

BUNYOLS DE QUARESMA (LENT FRITTERS)

Ingredients (for 4 people)

1 kg (2.2lbs) strong flour
250 g (.9oz) sugar
7 eggs
25 g (.9oz)aniseed
20 g (.75oz) coriander
12 g (.4oz) salt
the grated zest of 3 lemons
1 dl (3.5fl oz)whole cow milk
100 g (3.5oz)lard or olive oil
200 g (7oz)sourdough
2 dl (7fl oz)anisette
olive oil to fry

Preparation

1. Place flour in a bowl and form a volcano. Add ingredients one by one,
except anisette and frying oil.

2. Knead for a while until dough becomes elastic and fine (when it
stretches without breaking).

3. Cover bowl with a cloth and leave to stand until it doubles its volume
in a place where the temperature is modered and there are no air
currents. This can take approximately 2 hours.

4. Prepare a pan for deep frying with olive oil and heat.

5. Break small amounts of dough with your fingers covered in oil to
prevent it from sticking, shape them with a hole in the middle and fry
well on both sides.

6. Remove and drain excess oil. Sprinkle sugar on top and a few drops of
anisette.

7. If you make too many, they can be stored in a pot and covered with a
cloth to prevent them from drying.

Comments

Fritters are typically prepared during the Holy Week and are served for
breakfast as well as an afternoon snack or dessert. Traditionally, on the
day of making fritters the whole family lends a hand. Enough are made to
also give away to neighbours and relatives. You can add a dash of
muscatel, rancio wine, or resoli.

Sourdough is produced by fermentation with pressed wet baker’s yeast,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, from a mixture of flour and water. It’s found in
bakeries. Some people, instead of sourdough, prefer to use fresh yeast. For
this formula you will need about 25 g (.9oz)of this type of yeast, which should be
dissolved in warm milk and then used like the sourdough. One of the
secrets to get soft fritters is to knead hard and for a long time.

From "Roots Catalan " by Joan Roca

Enjoy these sweet treats!