Puff-puff
Vegetarian
Soft, round, lightly sweet yeasted dough balls fried until golden and puffy. A beloved street and party snack across West and Central Africa.
Puff-puff is a Nigerian sweet, ready in about 1 hour 40 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and dried yeast. It serves 10 and is rated easy to cook.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 40 min
- Serves
- 10
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 303
Method
Step 1
Mix the flour, sugar (opens in a new tab), yeast, salt and nutmeg (opens in a new tab). Add the lukewarm water and beat with a spoon or your hand for 3–4 minutes to a smooth, thick, stretchy batter.
- 6 min
Step 2
Cover and leave somewhere warm until doubled and bubbly, about 1 hour.
- 28°C · warm place
Step 3
Heat the oil to 170 °C. Scoop up batter with your hand and squeeze it out between thumb and forefinger (or use two spoons) to drop round balls into the oil.
- 30 min
- 170°C
- medium heat
- Wok (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Drop the dough in close to the oil surface to avoid splashing, and never leave hot oil unattended.
Step 4
Fry, turning, until evenly golden brown, then drain on kitchen paper. Serve warm, dusted with sugar (opens in a new tab) if you like.
How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels
About this dish
- Origin
- Not attributed to one place · Origin uncertainMade across West and Central Africa under different names — puff-puff in Nigeria, bofrot in Ghana, mikate in Congo, beignets in Cameroon.Also popular in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon
- Dish
- Snack · Breakfast · Sweets & confectionery · Street food · Finger food
- Cooking method
- Deep-fried
- Taste
- sweet, mild
- Diet
- Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
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 · Low-sodium · DASH-style - Good for
- Street food · Festive & celebration · Child-friendly · Budget-friendly
- Cook more with
- All-purpose flour · Dried yeast · Sugar · Nutmeg
- Techniques
- Deep-frying · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
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
303 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 110 g · recipe makes 10
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 7%
- Carbohydrate 64%
- Fat 29%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 303 kcal | 275 kcal |
| Protein | 5.5 g | 5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 48.5 g | 44 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 46.9 g | 42.6 g |
| Sugars | 10.1 g | 9.2 g |
| Added sugars | 10 g | 9.1 g |
| Fibre | 1.6 g | 1.4 g |
| Fat | 9.6 g | 8.7 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.8 g | 0.7 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 119 mg | 108 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.3 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 61 mg
- Calcium
- 12 mg
- Iron
- 2.3 mg
- Magnesium
- 12 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 0 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 162 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.
- “—” 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
Tips
- Wet your hand before scooping the batter so it releases cleanly into the oil.
Common mistakes
- Oil too hot gives brown outsides and raw centres; too cool makes greasy puff-puff.
Serve with
- Serve warm on their own, with a dusting of sugar, or with spicy pepper sauce.
Storage
- Best on the day; keep in a covered container up to 1 day.
Reheating
- Warm in a low oven or air fryer.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 10 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Bake · about 30 min
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
- Start to finish: about 1 h 40 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
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
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
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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