Hojaldras

Name: Hojaldras
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 300 g all-purpose flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tbsp sugar; ¾ tsp salt; 1 tbsp neutral vegetable oil; 180 ml water, warm; 750 ml neutral vegetable oil; 2 tbsp icing sugar (optional)

Vegetarian

Light, puffy rounds of fried dough with crisp edges — the Panamanian breakfast bread, eaten with eggs, fried cheese or sausage and coffee.

Hojaldras is a Panamanian bread, ready in about 50 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, baking powder and sugar. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

Traditional Greek tiganopsomo served on a plate, showcasing delicious homemade Greek fried bread. — Photo: Alex Ravvas / Pexels · Pexels License

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min
Rest: 20 min
Total: 50 min
Serves: 4
Level: Easy
Calories: 405

Ingredients

4 servings (8 hojaldras)

300 g All-purpose flour (opens in a new tab)Contains wheat, gluten
2 tsp (9 g) Baking powder (opens in a new tab)
1 tbsp (13 g) Sugar (opens in a new tab)
¾ tsp (4.5 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
1 tbsp (14 g) Neutral vegetable oil (opens in a new tab)For the dough.
180 ml Water (opens in a new tab), warm
2 tbsp (15 g) Icing sugar (opens in a new tab) (optional)For a sweet version.

For frying

750 ml Neutral vegetable oil (opens in a new tab)About 40 g is absorbed.

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Mix the flour, baking powder (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab) and salt. Add the oil and warm water and knead to a smooth, soft dough. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
- 8 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels
2
Step 2
Divide into 8 balls and stretch or roll each into a thin 15 cm round.
- 7 min
- Rolling pin (opens in a new tab)
3
Step 3
Heat the oil to 180 °C and fry the rounds one or two at a time, spooning oil over the top so they puff, until golden on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Drain.
- 15 min
- 180°C
- Dutch oven / casserole pot (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Keep children away from the hot oil and never leave it unattended.
4
Step 4
Serve hot, plain or dusted with sugar (opens in a new tab).
How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin: Panama · Commonly attributedMore food from Panama
Dish: Breakfast · Breads & flatbreads
Cooking method: Deep-fried
Taste: mild, savoury, sweet
Diet: Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Budget-friendly · Child-friendly
Cook more with: All-purpose flour · Baking powder · Sugar
Techniques: Deep-frying · Kneading

Allergens

Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

405 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 140 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 8%
Carbohydrate 61%
Fat 32%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	405 kcal	289 kcal
Protein	7.7 g	5.5 g
Carbohydrate	61 g	43.6 g
Net carbohydrate	59 g	42.1 g
Sugars	3.3 g	2.4 g
Added sugars	3.1 g	2.2 g
Fibre	2 g	1.5 g
Fat	14.1 g	10.1 g
Saturated fat	1.1 g	0.8 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	675 mg	482 mg
Salt equivalent	1.7 g	1.2 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 81 mg
Calcium: 146 mg
Iron: 3.7 mg
Magnesium: 18 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 0 µg
Vitamin C: 0 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 218 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: icing sugar.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Serve with

Serve with fried eggs, fried white cheese, bistec picado or Panamanian sausage.

Storage

Best eaten fresh and hot.

Variations

Fry jacks (Belize): Belize's very similar breakfast fried dough, usually cut into triangles.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

All-purpose flour300 g

Used in step 1

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

Mix and knead · about 15 min
Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.
Rest · about 20 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Bake · about 15 min
Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.
Start to finish: about 50 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
Ingredient	Role	Weight	Baker’s %
All-purpose flour	Flour	300 g	100%
Water	Water	180 g	60%
Neutral vegetable oil	Fat	14 g	4.5%
Sugar	Sugar	13 g	4.2%
Baking powder	Raising agent	9 g	3%
Salt	Salt	5 g	1.5%

Total flour: 300 g
Hydration: 60%
With milk, eggs…: 60%
Wholegrain: 0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
Salt 1.5% — normal for bread.

If something goes wrong

Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Tough or chewy flatbread
Likely causes
- Dough too stiff
- Not rested
- Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan
What to do
- Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
- Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
- Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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