Kkwabaegi: A Market Snack You Twist by Hand at Home
A soft, yeasted dough made with bread flour and glutinous rice flour, rolled into ropes that twist back on themselves, fried golden at 170–175°C and rolled in cinnamon sugar while still warm.
At Nammun Rodeo Market in Suwon, the Korea Tourism Organization lists kkwabaegi among the popular, affordable snacks visitors can pick up alongside other street food. Kkwabaegi (꽈배기) is a twisted doughnut: a rope of yeasted dough folded and twisted on itself, fried, and coated in sugar. SBS Food introduces it as a snack that many Koreans remember with nostalgia.
This article takes that market snack into a home kitchen. The recipe follows one specific version, published by SBS Food and credited to Julian Kim's cookbook A Day in Seoul (Smith Street Books), in which glutinous rice flour is worked into a bread-flour dough. Other kkwabaegi recipes use only all-purpose flour; that is a different formula, and it is described separately below rather than mixed into this one. This recipe has not been kitchen-tested by Sekai Gohan; amounts, temperatures and stage times follow the published SBS recipe.
The SBS recipe card lists an overall rising time that does not match the times given in its own steps (a first rise of about 1 hour, a separate 15–20 minute rest after dividing, and a final proof of about 40 minutes). Rather than giving a total, this article keeps each stage's own time together with its visual cue, such as the dough roughly doubling in size. The card's preparation and cooking times also do not cover the whole process, so they are not repeated here.
What Kkwabaegi Is: A Yeasted Dough, Twisted and Fried
Across the recipes consulted, kkwabaegi shares a recognizable core: a yeasted dough, shaped into a twist, fried in oil and finished with sugar. The Korean Recipe Archive's short home version describes the same broad sequence. Within that shape, the flour changes from recipe to recipe.
The version used here combines 400 g of bread flour with 150 g of glutinous rice flour. Maangchi's well-known recipe, by contrast, is built on all-purpose flour alone, and its author describes kkwabaegi as an after-school treat found in Korean bakeries and on the street. Neither is presented here as the single traditional formula; they are two separate ways of making the same kind of snack. Maangchi's version also has different amounts, rope length and frying details; follow it separately rather than mixing its quantities into this one.
The Suwon market listing is one present-day example of where kkwabaegi is sold, not a claim about where it started. Its historical origins have not been established in the sources behind this article, so no origin story is told here. For more dishes from the same table, see our Korea page.
Ingredients (15 pieces)
Bring the milk, egg and butter to room temperature before you begin.
The dough contains wheat, milk and egg. The coating is sugar and cinnamon only. You may not use all of the coating sugar; it is the amount to set out on the plate.
Choosing the Flour and Other Ingredients
Glutinous rice flour is made from glutinous rice. Regular rice flour, made from non-glutinous rice, is a different ingredient and should not be used in its place. Japanese shiratamako is also made from glutinous rice, but its grind and processing may differ, so an equal-weight swap has not been confirmed. Check the label for "glutinous rice flour."
Bread flour gives the dough its structure; do not swap in cake or pastry flour. Instant dried yeast is mixed straight into the milk here; check that what you buy is instant rather than another type of dried yeast. For frying, use an ordinary vegetable oil suited to deep-frying.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Clean work surface or board for kneading and rolling
- Clean damp cloth or plastic wrap for covering the dough
- Tray lined with baking paper
- Heavy, deep, stable pot with plenty of headroom above the oil
- Thermometer for checking the oil temperature
- Long tongs or a slotted spoon
- Wire rack for draining
- Wide, shallow plate for the cinnamon sugar
Method: From a Smooth Dough to a Warm, Sugared Twist
Do not taste the raw dough: it contains uncooked flour and egg. Keep flour, egg and dough away from foods that are ready to eat, and wash your hands, tools and work surfaces after handling them. When frying, keep the pot stable, do not overfill it with oil, keep water and wet utensils away from the oil, and never leave hot oil unattended.
When Things Go Wrong: What to Check
These checks follow the order of the method. They are things to look at, not guaranteed fixes.
| What you see | What to check | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The dough hasn't risen much at the 1-hour mark | Whether it has roughly doubled | Give it more time somewhere warm; the cue is the volume, not the clock alone |
| The surface of the dough balls dries out | Whether they were covered during the rest | Keep the dough covered with a clean damp cloth or plastic wrap at every resting stage |
| The twists unwind | Whether the ends were sealed and the rope twisted enough | Add 1–2 more twists when shaping, and pinch the ends firmly closed |
| The twists touch or stick together in the pot | How many went in at once | Fry fewer per batch so each one floats freely with space around it |
| The colour comes out different from one batch to the next | The oil temperature | Check the thermometer and bring the oil back to 170–175°C before each batch |
| The coating won't stick | How long the twists cooled | Coat them while they are still warm, right after a brief drain |
Variations
- This version (the base recipe): bread flour plus glutinous rice flour, divided into 15 pieces.
- Plain sugar coating: leaving out the cinnamon is a matter of preference. The base recipe keeps it.
- Lighter or heavier coating: how much sugar clings to each twist is up to you; the 110 g is what you set out on the plate, not an amount you must use up.
- With milk: Serve kkwabaegi with a glass of milk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is kkwabaegi?
Kkwabaegi (꽈배기) is a Korean twisted doughnut: a yeasted dough rolled into a rope, twisted, fried and coated in sugar. SBS Food describes it as a nostalgic snack, Maangchi as an after-school treat sold in bakeries and on the street, and the Korea Tourism Organization lists it among the affordable snacks at Suwon's Nammun Rodeo Market.
Do I need glutinous rice flour?
For this recipe, yes: it uses 150 g. Kkwabaegi recipes made only with all-purpose flour also exist, such as Maangchi's, but they are written as separate formulas. Simply leaving the glutinous rice flour out of this recipe, or replacing it with something else, has not been tested, so it is not recommended here.
What temperature should the oil be?
The SBS recipe fries at 170–175°C, in oil 5–10 cm deep. A thermometer is the most reliable way to keep the oil in that range from batch to batch.
How long does the whole recipe take?
The stages are about 10–15 minutes of kneading, a first rise of about 1 hour (or until roughly doubled), a 15–20 minute rest after dividing, a final proof of about 40 minutes (or until roughly doubled), then frying in batches. The SBS recipe card's overall rising time does not match these step times, and frying time depends on how many batches you need, so no single total is given here.
Can I make kkwabaegi ahead or store leftovers?
The SBS recipe says to coat the twists while warm and serve them immediately, and Maangchi notes that they are best eaten fresh. Maangchi also describes freezing leftovers, but no tested storage period or reheating method is available for this recipe, so none is given here.
Is a golden colour enough to tell they're done?
Colour is the frying cue in the recipe, but it is a guide rather than proof. Fry each twist fully on both sides, keep the oil at 170–175°C, and never taste the raw dough.
Sources
- SBS Food, "Kkwabaegi (twisted doughnuts)," recipe by Julian Kim from A Day in Seoul (Smith Street Books). The recipe followed in this article: ingredients and amounts, order of mixing, rising, dividing, shaping, oil depth and temperature, frying times and the cinnamon-sugar coating; also its description of kkwabaegi as a nostalgic snack. https://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/kkwabaegi-twisted-doughnuts/b9umiz3ds
- Maangchi, "Twisted Korean doughnuts (Kkwabaegi)." A separate all-purpose-flour version, used only for comparison; the author's description of kkwabaegi as an after-school treat in bakeries and on the street, best eaten fresh, with milk, and her mention of freezing leftovers. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kkwabaegi
- VISITKOREA / Korea Tourism Organization, "Suwon Food Tour: Markets to Hanok Cafés." Kkwabaegi listed among the popular, affordable snacks at Suwon Nammun Rodeo Market. https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/whereToGo/hdrdslt/hdrdsltView.do?crsSn=564818
- Korean Recipe Archive, "Kkwabaegi (Twisted Doughnut)." Secondary cross-check of the dish's broad form: yeasted dough, twisted, fried and sugar-coated. https://www.kfoodarchive.com/en/recipes/kkwabaegi
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to Know." General guidance not to eat raw flour or dough, to keep flour and eggs away from ready-to-eat food, to wash hands, tools and surfaces, and to cook fully. https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/handling-flour-safely-what-you-need-know
