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Morning Fry · Ring Doughnut

Sfenj

Sfenj — street food from Algiers, Algeria
Photo: Bigmumy / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Vendors stretch the sticky dough into a ring by hand rather than using a cutter, punching the center hole open just before it hits the hot oil.

Sfenj is a yeasted, unsweetened dough stretched into a ring and deep-fried until golden and airy inside, then dusted with sugar or dipped in honey. Sfenj makers fry them fresh on the spot for customers waiting at the counter.

Why it's made this way: Sold every morning and late afternoon from small frying shops, sfenj has been Algiers' go-to breakfast pastry for generations, best eaten within minutes of leaving the oil while still crackling hot.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.