Breakfast: New Orleans-Style Chicory Beignets

Ingredients

2 cups ground coffee-and-chicory blend (see Note)
About 3 cups milk
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling
2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 teaspoons kosher salt
Vegetable oil, for frying
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Vanilla ice cream and espresso, for serving

Instructions

In a large jar, shake the coffee with 2 cups of the milk. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Strain the milk through a fine sieve into a measuring cup and add as much fresh milk as needed to make 1 1/2 cups. Discard the coffee grounds.
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine 1/4 cup of the coffee milk with the yeast and granulated sugar; let stand until foamy, 5 minutes. Add the remaining coffee milk, the 4 1/2 cups of bread flour and the butter and salt. Mix at low speed until the dough just comes together, 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth, 5 minutes. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover and let stand in a warm place until slightly risen, 2 hours. Divide the dough into 4 pieces.
On a floured work surface, roll out one piece of dough a scant 1/3 inch thick. Cut into 2-inch squares, then cut each square into two triangles. Transfer to a floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Let stand for 20 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat 2 inches of oil to 360 °. Working in batches, fry 10 or 12 beignets at a time until browned and cooked through, 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels and transfer to a bowl. Dust generously with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and espresso.