5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar, plus another 1/2 cup mixed with 1/2 tsp ground cinammon for finishing
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp dry active yeast
3/4 cup buttermilk
Plenty of canola oil for frying
Jam for filling
Makes about eight Total Time: 60 minutes
Mix 1/3 cup lukewarm water with the yeast in a large mixing bowl, wait for ten minutes, then add the salt, buttermilk, eggs, the 1/4 cup sugar, butter, flour and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly for at least ten minutes, making sure everything is completely combined. Then place the dough in a non stick bowl, cover with plastic and let rest for two hours, during which the dough should roughly double in size.
Cover a working surface lightly with flour and work the dough for a few minutes, before cutting it into 10-12 pieces, and forming compact balls.
Fill a small to medium pot with canola oil to a height of two and a half inches and raise to medium-high heat. When bubbles start to form in the oil, drop in the balls, working with two or three at a time. Cook until they are golden on the outside, about 6 minutes. Make sure to test if the first berliner is done all the way through. Once done place them on a piece of parchment paper to dry. Once all are finished, spread out sugar with cinammon in a flat bowl and roll the berliner fully in it. Then poke a hole in each one with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula.
Then fill a pastry bag (or ziploc bag with small hole in it) with the jam and fill inside of each berliner with the jam. Serve warm or cold.
