We’ll start with the dough.. In a large bowl, mix 300 grams of flour, salt and two tablespoons of sugar.
On the other hand, in a smaller bowl we put the rest of the flour, milk warm to 37 degrees, being careful not to exceed that temperature or we will inactivate the yeast, the remaining sugar and the dry baker’s yeast. And we let it rest until it foams, about five minutes.
To make the dough, we beat the egg into the mixture of milk and foamy yeast, and add the mixture to the large bowl where we are going to knead. Mix until you get a wet dough with dry bits.
Once we see the mass in this way, add the melted butter, but not hot. And we begin to knead on the counter until we get a shiny and elastic dough. It will take us 10 minutes or so. We can speed up the process if we have a kneading robot.
The dough must be sticky to the touch, but not impossible to handle. Do not add more flour, although at first it is difficult for us to manipulate it, with the kneading it will change its texture. We can use French or Bertinet kneading to facilitate this process.
Next, we shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. We cover it with plastic and let it rise until it doubles its size, from one to two hours depending on the ambient temperature.
Fill a large deep pot or skillet with a few inches of vegetable oil. We put a grid to cool on a baking tray next to the pot with oil. We also sift icing sugar into a medium bowl and place it next to the wire rack and the tray.
Once the dough has risen, we transfer it to a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin to give it a rectangular shape, about 25 by 35 centimeters. Cut the dough with a knife or pizza cutter 16 rectangles and cover them with a floured kitchen towel so that they rest for 10 minutes.
Heat the frying oil to 170 degrees centigrade. Fry the beignets in batches until golden brown, about 1½ to 2 minutes per side. We use the tongs to remove the beignets from the frying oil and place them on the baking rack.
Let some of the fat drain off for a minute before dusting with powdered sugar. The beignets should topping with sugar while still hot, but not fresh out of the fryer dripping oil. Pour the drained beignets into the bowl with the icing sugar. we turn them to cover them and repeat the operation with the remaining beignets.