The air fryer potato zeppole are the lighter version of the classic fried zeppole. These are doughnuts made from dough containing boiled potatoes. Once the dough is well risen, we shape many zeppole that are not fried but cooked in a few minutes in the air fryer. To coat them with sugar like classic zeppole, just lightly brush them with melted butter and then roll them in a mix of sugar and cinnamon. They will become so soft and delicious!
The preparation is very simple:
1. Place the flour in a bowl and dissolve the yeast in the milk in the center. Add the sugar, the egg, the mashed potatoes, and the grated lemon zest.
2. Start kneading and, after a few minutes, add the soft butter.
3. Form a dough ball and let it rise until doubled in size.
4. Take pieces of 50 grams from the dough, form sticks, and then close the ends. Let them rise until doubled.
5. Place them in the basket of the air fryer and cook them at 355 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) for about 10-12 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking.
6. Once ready, brush them with melted butter and roll them in sugar with cinnamon.
These air fryer potato zeppole are prepared in just a few hours and the dough can be made easily by hand or with a stand mixer. The result will be very soft graffe or doughnuts thanks to the potatoes in the dough, and extremely delicious, perfect for breakfast, snack, and any other time of the day.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival, All Seasons
Ingredients for Air Fryer Zeppole (Potato Doughnuts or Graffe)
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled, cooked, boiled
- 1 egg
- 3 1/2 tbsp milk
- 3 1/2 oz butter
- 3 1/2 tsp fresh yeast
- lemon zest
- 2 tbsp sugar (plus more sugar for decorating)
- ground cinnamon
Tools for Preparing Air Fryer Zeppole (Potato Doughnuts or Graffe)
- Bowl
- Air Fryer
How to Prepare Air Fryer Zeppole (Potato Doughnuts or Graffe)
Start preparing the air fryer potato zeppole by dissolving the fresh yeast in lukewarm milk and letting it rest for 5 minutes covered.
At this point, you can make the dough either by hand or with a stand mixer. Gather the flour in a bowl and arrange it in a well.
Pour the dissolved yeast in the milk into the center, then add the sugar, the previously boiled and mashed potatoes, and the grated lemon zest.
Start mixing the ingredients first with a spoon, then knead by hand, adding the soft butter after a few minutes.
Move to a work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until you obtain a smooth, soft, and homogeneous dough.
Transfer it to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and a cloth, and let it rise until doubled in size.
Once risen, divide the dough into many balls weighing about 50 grams each.
Shape into sticks and join the ends to form the zeppole. An alternative way to prepare zeppole or graffe is to roll out the risen dough on a floured surface with a rolling pin and cut out larger circles with a larger cookie cutter and smaller ones in the center with a smaller one, to obtain many doughnuts or graffe.
Lay the obtained zeppole on parchment paper and let them rise again for about an hour until they double in volume, covering them with plastic wrap or a cloth.
Preheat the air fryer to 355 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) and bake the zeppole for about 10-12 minutes, turning them halfway through to cook evenly on both sides.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a bain-marie or microwave. In a plate, pour the sugar and add ground cinnamon.
As soon as all the zeppole are cooked, brush them with melted butter and immediately roll them in the sugar with cinnamon, covering them evenly.
The air fryer potato zeppole or graffe are ready to be served.
Storage and Tips
You can store these zeppole well closed in an airtight container for up to a couple of days.
With the same dough, you can also make classic zeppole fried in hot seed oil.
You can flavor the zeppole with grated orange zest or with liqueur such as limoncello or rum.
The cooking time may vary depending on the air fryer model used, so pay particular attention to the cooking. Typically, cooking times may range from 7 to 15 minutes depending on your air fryer.
