Greggs Yum Yum Recipe UK 2026

A Greggs Yum Yum is a twisted, deep-fried pastry made from enriched yeasted dough — essentially a cousin of the classic doughnut, but shaped into a spiral and coated in a sweet water-icing glaze. It’s light, pillowy, slightly chewy, and beautifully sticky. It’s been a Greggs bestseller for decades and is one of the most iconic British bakery treats.

You only need 7 core ingredients, all available from any UK supermarket: strong white bread flour, fast action dried yeast, caster sugar, fine sea salt, unsalted butter, one medium egg, and lukewarm water. For the glaze, you need icing sugar and a little cold water. For frying, use a neutral oil like vegetable or sunflower.

The ideal oil temperature is 170–180°C. This is the most important variable in the whole recipe. Too cold and the yum yums absorb too much oil and become greasy and stodgy. Too hot and they’ll go dark on the outside while remaining raw inside. I strongly recommend using a digital cooking thermometer and checking the temperature before every batch.

Fry each yum yum for 2 minutes on each side at 170–180°C on a medium heat. That’s 4 minutes total per piece. They should be a deep golden-brown all over when done. Fry 2–3 at a time maximum to avoid the oil temperature dropping too sharply.

The most common reason is that the oil wasn’t hot enough. If the temperature drops below 160°C, the dough absorbs a lot of oil instead of forming a quick outer crust. Always pre-heat the oil to 175°C and let it return to temperature between batches. Blotting with kitchen paper immediately after frying also helps remove surface oil.

Technically yes, but honestly — they won’t taste like Greggs. Baking produces a bread roll-like texture rather than the light, golden, slightly crispy exterior you get from frying. If you want that authentic Greggs Yum Yum experience, deep frying is the only way. The good news is that at the right oil temperature, they actually absorb very little oil.

The official Greggs Yum Yum contains approximately 323 calories, priced at around £1.20 in UK stores. Homemade versions will vary depending on how long you fry them and how much oil is absorbed, but should be in a similar ballpark — around 300–350 kcal each.

The second prove — after shaping the twists — is where the dough develops its final airy, pillowy structure. If you skip it or rush it, the yum yums will be dense and bread-like rather than light and fluffy. They need to nearly double in size and look beautifully puffy before they go anywhere near the oil. In a warm kitchen, this takes about 45 minutes.

Yes! You can make the dough after the first mix and leave it tightly covered in the fridge overnight. The cold slows the prove right down. The next morning, take it out, let it come to room temperature for 20 minutes, then proceed with the folding, shaping, and second prove as normal. This is actually a great way to have fresh yum yums ready for a weekend morning.

Yes — Greggs bakes (and fries) fresh products daily in-store. Their yum yums are made fresh each morning, which is why they’re best bought early in the day when stock is at its freshest. The in-store yum yum uses a similar enriched dough technique to this recipe, though of course they have commercial equipment and exact proprietary ratios that we can only approximate at home.