So....
I have done it again. I have opened the figurative pandora's box at my job. I first opened it a few months ago when I was asked if making ice cream on a weekly basis was "do-able". Since then I have become the ice cream queen at my job. I have yet to post anything about all the ice creams I have made, but I hope to reproduce some of my favorites and post them on here.
Now, they want me to make doughnuts on a weekly basis. I want to be clear, Im not technically complaining. In a few months I have taken something I barely knew how to do and have become very confident in the ways of freezing cream. I have always been obsessed with doughnuts, in fact I have demanded to my partner that when, and if we get married, our honeymoon will be a trip across the country visiting the top ten doughnut shops. To say the least, I am a little obsessed with fried dough. For the next few months I will be producing a couple dozen batches, and they have requested a variety of different flavors every week. I saw this as an opportunity to highlight my favorite sweet to all of my followers.
Since this was my first week I only made the basic glazed doughnut, but I am currently researching my little heart out on different flavors to try. For now, I will post the basic recipe I have been using, a yeast based doughnut. I have not decided if this is the recipe I will continue to use, but so far it has been great in small batches.
The recipe I am using is from the amazing and wonderful blog, The Pioneer Woman,
The pictures I have here are from the first batch I made, using the original recipe. Later, when I tried to multiply it by 3, it didnt turn out as well, so it may be that the recipe does not do well in large batches, but on a small scale they are perfect! I have posted here the original recipe from The Pioneer Woman word for word. This is because I feel she has explained the process so well, that there was no better way to explain it. She makes it simple and easy. Personally, I found turning on my oven and placing my doughnuts to rise on top of the warm oven worked best. This is the recipe exactly as its written on The Pioneer Woman;
Prep Time: 25 Minutes | Cook Time: 2 Minutes | Difficulty: Intermediate | Servings: 18
Ingredients
Doughnuts
1-1/8 cup Whole Milk, Warm
1/4 cup Sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons (one Package) Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
2 whole Large Eggs, Beaten
1-1/4 stick Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Canola Oil
GLAZE
3 cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup Cold Water Or Milk
Preparation Instructions
To Make the Dough:
1. Make sure milk is nice and warm, but not overly hot.
2. Add sugar to milk. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add yeast into a small bowl.
4. Pour milk/sugar mixture over yeast. Stir gently, then let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Melt butter in separate bowl until butter is almost melted. Stir to finish melting so butter won't be overly hot.
6. Add beaten eggs to melted butter, stirring constantly to make sure the butter's not too hot for the eggs.
7. Add the egg/butter mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.
8. With the mixer on 3 or medium-low speed, pour in the yeast mixture.
9. Allow the dough hook to stir this mixture for a couple of minutes, making sure it's thoroughly combined.
10. With the mixer still going, add helpings of the flour mixture in 1/4 to 1/2 cup increments until all the flour is gone.
11. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl, then turn the mixer on the same speed for five whole minutes.
12. After five minutes, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl.
13. Turn on the mixer for 30 seconds.
14. Turn off the mixer and allow the dough to sit in the bowl undisturbed for 10 minutes.
15. After 10 minutes, transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough to coat, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place straight in the fridge.
16. Refrigerate dough for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
To Make the Doughnuts:
1. Remove bowl from fridge and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Roll out to 1/4 to 1/3-inch thickness.
3. Using a 3-inch cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, then roll out remaining dough and cut as much as you can, etc.
4. Cut holes out of each round using a 1 1/2-inch cutter.
5. Place both doughnuts and holes on a floured baking sheet.
6. Cover with large tea towel and place in a warm place in your kitchen; my kitchen is very drafty, so I have to briefly warm the griddle, then turn it off and set the sheets on top to keep warm.
7. Allow doughnuts to rise undisturbed for at least 1 hour; 1 hour 15 minutes if necessary. Doughuts should be visibly puffier and appear to be airy.
To Fry the Dougnuts
1. Heat plenty of canola oil in a large pot until the temperature reaches 375 to 380 degrees---do not let it get hotter than 380 degrees! 375 is ideal; keep the thermometer in the pan to continually monitor.
2. One to two at a time, gently grab doughnuts and ease them into the hot oil. Allow them to cook 1 minute on each side; they will brown very quickly.
3. Remove doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, allowing all oil to drip off.
4. Place doughnut immediately on several layers of paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over onto a clean part of the paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over again; the purpose, obviously, is to drain as much grease as possible before it soaks into the doughnut.
5. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and holes. The holes will cook more quickly than the doughnuts; about 30 seconds per side.
6. Allow doughnuts to slightly cool.
To Glaze
1. Mix all glaze ingredients in a bowl until completely smooth.
2. One by one, dip doughnuts into the glaze until halfway submerged. (Note: completely submerge doughnut holes, then remove with slotted spoon.)
4. Remove from glaze, then turn right side up on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to catch dripping glaze.)
5. Serve warm if possible, or room temperature.
- Posted with love <3
Location:Zynga/my home
