Doughnuts

Doughnuts

Recipe Type: Cakes & Baking

Cuisine: American

Author: Caroline Artiss

Prep time: 2 hours

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 2 hours 5 mins

Serves: 24

Ingredients

  • Dough:

  • 2 x 7g dried yeast

  • 1/4 cup / 60ml warm water

  • 1 cup / 240ml lukewarm milk

  • 1/4 cup / 50g white sugar

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 2 eggs

  • 1/3 cup / 80g shortening or butter – melted

  • 4 cups / 500g all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)

  • large amount of sunflower oil for frying - 1 liter

 

  • Glaze:

  • 2 cups / 200g icing sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1/3 cup / 80g butter

  • 2 -3 tablespoons hot water 

 

Instructions

  1. Start by making the dough as it needs time to rise

  2. Mix the milk, water, butter, sugar in a pan. Heat the mixture until body temperature

  3. Test - if you put your finger in it should not feel too hot or too cold

  4. Stir to make sure all the butter has melted then add the yeast and leave to sit somewhere warm for 10 minutes. This helps the yeast grow.

  5. Pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl and add one cup of flour and the eggs and mix together, Add the rest of the flour and knead it until it forms a ball of sticky dough

  6. Keep kneading this ball for about 10 minutes

  7. Adding more flour if it get’s to sticky

  8. Leave covered in the large bowl, in a WARM place for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.

  9. Once it has risen, take the dough out onto a floured work surface, knock the air out

  10. Roll out until it is about 1cm thick

  11. Cut into doughnut shapes either using a doughnut cutter or 2 round cutter one bigger than the other

  12. You can even use a clean opened can and a bottle top

  13. Once you have cut out all the shapes using all the dough (you have to keep rolling it out until you have used it all up)

  14. Lay them all on a tray, cover and leave to rise again in a warm place for about half an hour

  15. While waiting for the dough to rise you can make your glaze

  16. Simply get a pan and heat the butter , water and vanilla

  17. Once the butter has melted take off the heat and add the icing sugar, stir until melted and thick

  18. Leave to one side. The mixture should be thick but still slightly runny, but not watery

  19. Pour oil into a large pan or deep fat fryer, you need at least 2- 3 inches deep

  20. Heat oil to 350f

  21. You can test the oil is hot enough when you drop a small piece of dough in and it rises to the top quickly

  22. Carefully place doughnuts in the oil a few at a time

  23. Be careful not to over crowd the oil as this will reduce the temperature

  24. Once they are golden on one side turn them over sing tongs to cook the other side

  25. This all happens very quickly so have everything you need ready

  26. Take doughnuts out and lay on a tray with kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil

  27. Glaze doughnuts with the melted mixture while still hot