Homemade Doughnuts

Homemade Doughnuts

classic & traditional

The doughnut is an extremely under estimated dessert that doesn’t receive the amount of attention it deserves. Since half of Americans consider it a breakfast treat alongside their morning Cup of Joe, who would think to serve it as a Valentine’s Day sweet. Chocolate and roses are usually the status quo on this Hallmark Holiday, so why not change it up a little and say, “I Love You,” with a fried cake of utter delight slathered in gooey chocolate ganache…and sprinkles… because everyone loves sprinkles.

I have never made doughnuts before, so I decided to do a little research to see what recipes were out there and if there was a commonality between them all. There were a million recipes all claiming to be the best and made with a ton of different ingredients and glazes. Savor Magazine was a huge help along with the recipes online at Epicurious. A lot of their articles were dedicated to traditional and modern doughnut flavors as well as some of the best places to buy them. I decided to make it easy on myself and chose to make the two most common doughnuts: a Classic Glazed and a Traditional Cake.

The cake doughnut was a piece of cake (no pun intended). The only issue I had was that they dried out super fast about an hour or two after being fried. My suggestion is to make these with the intent to serve them right after and served warm. The traditional cake doughnut happens to be one of my favorites because of the simplicity of it. They are a more dense cake and not very sugary, which is a nice after dinner treat, especially to dip in one’s coffee. The moist cake melts in your mouth with the perfect amount of nutmeg and cinnamon flavoring. I like them plain, but it doesn’t hurt to finish them with a little chocolate ganache.

I hate to burst your bubble but unfortunately the yeast-based doughnut recipe was not easy to make. It took me three tries before I was able to get my dough to proof correctly and left me very frustrated. In the end though it was well worth all the effort because the outcome was oh so delicious. These were very light and fluffy compared to the traditional cake doughnuts. The dough itself is pretty bland with only a hit of butter and vanilla, but once they were iced, they were sweet and sugary, and everything a doughnut should be.

These are definitely two recipes that I am going to be doing again whether it is a holiday or not.

(The traditional Cake Doughnut recipe can be found on Karly’s blog: Buns in My Oven – & Not The Baby Kind. The Classic Glazed Doughnut recipe can be found online at Epicurious).

Classic Glazed Doughnut Ingredients:
Yields 8-12 servings:

• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 c. whole milk, heated to 110°F
• 2 to 2 1/2 c. bread flour
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. superfine sugar
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened at room temperature and cut into cubes
• Vegetable oil for frying

*Special equipment: Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and dough hook, 2 large baking sheets, non-terry dish towel, 3-inch-diameter doughnut cutter with 1-inch-diameter hole (or cookie cutters), wire cooling rack, deep-fry thermometer

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the yeast with 3/4 cup of the warm milk and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the flour mixture rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. Once 30 minutes have passed, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 1 teaspoon yeast with the remaining 1/4 cup milk (the milk will be room temperature at this point). Add the rested flour mixture along with the vanilla and egg yolks and mix on low until the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is smooth, about 30 seconds. Turn off the mixer and add 1 cup of flour, along with the sugar and salt. Mix on medium until the dough starts to come together, about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix on medium until it’s incorporated, about 30 seconds.
3. Remove the paddle attachment from the mixer, and switch to the dough hook. Start adding the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time (turning the mixer off for each addition) and knead the dough on medium until it completely pulls away from the side of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky, about 1 minute. The dough will be very soft and moist but not so sticky that you can’t roll it out. (For this step, you may only need to use as little as 1/4 cup flour, so there may be flour leftover.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
4. Once 30 minutes have passed, gently press down on the dough to remove any gas bubbles then chill, covered, for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
5. When ready to roll out the dough, line a baking sheet with a lightly floured non-terry towel. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using doughnut or cookie cutters, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes. (For filled doughnuts, don’t cut out the holes.) Arrange the doughnuts on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between doughnuts. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap and let them proof in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. Check to see if the doughnuts are ready every 5 to 10 minutes. To test, use a fingertip to lightly touch one of the doughnuts. If the dough springs back immediately, it needs more time; if it springs back slowly, it’s ready; and if the dough doesn’t spring back at all, it’s over-proofed. You can punch down and reroll over-proofed dough once.
6. While the doughnuts are proofing, line a baking sheet with 2 layers of paper towels and place a wire rack on top of the towels. In a heavy-bottomed large pot or deep fryer, heat at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360°F. Working in batches, use a slotted metal spoon or spatula to carefully place the doughnuts in the hot oil. Fry, flipping once, until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer as done to the wire rack and return the oil to 360°F between batches.

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, beat together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients.
3. Alternate adding the milk and flour mixture until everything is well combined. Knead for just a couple of minutes. If the dough is too sticky to roll out, add more flour until it’s workable.
   Roll the dough out on a floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick. Use a donut cutter to cut donuts.
4. Add to a pot of 375 degree oil, just a few donuts at a time so as not to crowd the pan, and fry until golden, about 2 minutes each side.
5. Drain on a paper towel lined plate before glazing or tossing in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
6. Serve immediately.

Directions:

In a flat bottomed bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla and salt then stir in 2 Tbsp. of milk, adding additional milk 1 tsp at a time to reach desired consistency and whisk until smooth. Tint with food coloring if desired. Warm in microwave in 6 – 10 second intervals on HIGH power to warm as it begins to set while dipping doughnuts, as needed, whisking after heating.

(The Basic Sugar Glaze recipe can be found online at the Cooking Classy blog).

Marshmallow S’more Glaze ingredients:

• 1 ½ c. confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp. kosher salt
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 c. mini marshmallows
• 1 package of Graham-Cracker crumbs

Directions:

Mix sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Melt butter and ¼ cup water in a 2-qt. nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add marshmallows; stir until completely melted, 1–2 minutes. Whisk into sugar mixture. Dip top of the doughnut in the marshmallow glaze. Drizzle with chocolate ganache. Finish by sprinkling graham cracker crumbs.

(Original Marshmallow Glaze recipe can be found online at Savor).

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:

• 8 oz. dark chocolate, grated
• 1 c. confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp. kosher salt
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions:
Mix chocolate, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Bring cream and butter to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate; let sit for 2 minutes without stirring. Whisk until smooth; chill until thick.

(The Chocolate Ganache recipe can be found online at Savor)