Jerusalem’s streets signal Chanukah long before the first candle is lit—not with lights or decorations, but with the unmistakable scent of frying dough. Sufganiyot, the deep-fried pastries that honor the miracle of the oil, appear in bakery windows citywide, each year more inventive than the last.
This season, Aish culinary director Jamie Geller led a “Sufganiyot Crawl” across Jerusalem on Monday, a week before the holiday, inviting JNS to join the journey. The judging criteria were serious business: freshness, texture, originality, filling quality, presentation—and, naturally, oiliness.
Across continents and generations, fried dough has taken countless forms: doughnuts, sufganiyot, ponchiks, krapfen, berliners, pączki, sfenj and more. Europe perfected the craft early, while America industrialized it. Jewish inventors played an outsized role—from Adolph Levitt, who created the first automatic doughnut machine in New York in 1920, to William Rosenberg, the son of Jewish immigrants who founded Dunkin’ Donuts.
But Israel transformed the doughnut into something uniquely its own. The sufganiya—a soft, yeasted, jelly-filled sphere—became synonymous with Chanukah, a pastry as much cultural as culinary.
Stop 1: Teller Bakery
The crawl began at Teller Bakery on Agripas Street, long known for its artisan breads and elegant pastries. Its sufganiyot—with exotic flavors such as Trix cereal and blueberry cheesecake—were beautifully executed and priced at between 12 and 18 shekels. It was a powerful start to our tour.
Stop 2: Yolo Bakery
Trendy and minimalist, Yolo (outside the Clal Building) offered only two varieties, including a rich chocolate version. With thinner dough and no powdered sugar, these were the “low-carb” rebels of the crawl. At 14 shekels, they also provided a sufganiya essential: paper napkins.
Stop 3: Helen
The newest hotspot, Helen on Agripas Street, drew long lines, and for good reason. Helen offered just one sufganiya—a Lotus biscuit masterpiece, oversized and dramatically filled. At 37 shekels, it was the day’s most expensive contender, but fans proclaimed it their favorite.
Stop 4: Gagou de Paris
A Jerusalem classic since 1994, though currently surrounded by light-rail construction, Gagou de Paris on King George Street displayed a dazzling variety: pistachio, dulce de leche, classics and new experiments. At 15 shekels each, these sufganiyot were as photogenic as they were delicious.
Stop 5: Aish Rooftop
At the new Suzana and Ivan Kaufman Aish Institute for Women’s Education on King George Street, the crawl paused for sunshine, views—and more sufganiyot delivered from bakeries farther afield.
Sanhedria Bakery (Har Nof) offered understated but excellent options with non-dairy fillings, priced around 8 NIS.
Brooklyn Bakery (Geula) delivered American-style nostalgia with doughnuts, cronuts and glazes at 10 NIS.
New York Bakeshop sent six varieties, including jelly, custard, Bavarian cream and Boston cream (though the Boston native on our team remained unconvinced). Prices ran from 16 to 18 NIS.
Haba at Mahane Yehuda Market, an Iraqi-Israeli bakery once famous for sfenj (a Maghrebi doughnut), now produces traditional sufganiyot made fresh on-site. At 7 shekels, they were the most affordable and served piping hot, though not the top-rated overall.
So, which sufganiyot won the Aish contest? To avoid sparking a “Jerusalem doughnut war,” we won’t publish the official rankings. Preferences were personal, but Geller shared her top three:
- Crème brûlée at Teller Bakery
- Lotus at Helen
- Wild berry–lemon at Gagou de Paris
“All a 10 out of 10,” Geller declared.
With Chanukah beginning on Sunday night, Dec. 14, Jerusalemites and visitors to the capital still have time to choose their favorites. As for this assignment, it was truly the sweetest one of all.
