Friday, July 3

Doughnuts, a work in progress

I love doughnuts.

I really, really do.

However, the nearest Krispy Kreme is 40 minutes away, and getting them at the Giant isn't the same, unless you get there early in the morning.
(True, there's a dunkin' donuts only 5 minutes away...but...I'm a krispy kreme girl)
And the Safeway colossal doughuts are good, but tooooo big, and they don't have enough glaze for my liking.
So, logically, I've been trying to make my own doughnuts.

This past time will be the 4th or so time I've tried to make them, and definitely the best.
The reasoning? My stupid thermometer must not be calibrated properly (yes, it's giant-faced dial one, but I can't splurge on a nice digital one just yet). It would tell me the temperature was 350, when it was really probably 450...which, as you can figure, leads to hard, nearly burnt doughnuts with raw insides. D:

Eventually (read: Wednesday), I discovered that problem. My doughnut worries are over!

So today, I tried this recipe, and it was fantastic. The only problem was that I undercooked them slightly (the inside was cooked fine, at least), because I was still worried about burning them. XD

My doughnut making set up.
Left: Draining station
Center: Glaze (red) Cinnamon sugar (white)
Right: Decoration station.

Rising doughnuts

Glaze, a little thin.



Yeast Risen Doughnuts (Not donuts!) :
2 cups of flour (using high protein/bread flour = good idea. I had dumped in a cup of all purpose before remembering that I'd bought bread flour for just this reason...and they still turned out fine :P)
3/4 cup of sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3 egg yolks (I TOTALLY FORGOT TO ADD THIS! And it still turned out okay. Next time, I'll remember them and see what the difference is, hahaha)
2 tsps instant yeast
Either 1/4 cup of dry/powdered milk + 1 cup of WARM water
OR
1 cup of warm milk (the recipe said to use the powdered milk, and I happened to have some, so I did)

Okay. See, you might have to add a lot more flour. I did. Just do it as you're kneading it. 'cause...this ended up being verrrry sticky.

Anyhoo, mix everything together, and knead until it's a nice soft dough.
Set it in a greased bowl, in a warm place, to rise until it's at least doubled in size.
After that, punch out some of the excess air, and roll out the dough to a 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thickness. Cut out your doughnuts. (I use a bottlecap to make my doughnut holes, because I don't have any cutters small enough ;) )
Cover them, and let them rise in a warm place (warmth is soooo important) for at least an hour (but two hours is better, much better)
When you have about 15 minutes left, start heating 1-2 inches of oil in ...whatever, really. I used a 10 inch skillet :D
Get the oil to 350 degrees fahrenheit (medium, to medium-low heat on the stove should get you there, without the danger of burning the doughnuts. If you don't have a thermometer, just test using some doughnut holes )
Cook the doughnuts for about a minute on each side (you know, until they have that awesome color).
Draaaiiin, and either sprinkle with sugar (or cinnamon sugar) , or dip or drizzle with glaze.

Glaze? So simple. Milk + powdered sugar + vanilla. :)

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8 comments:

  1. Wow, this is just beautiful. I am so impressed even if they aren't cooked all the way through.
    p.s. I also live an hour away from my nearest KK, its become a long distance romance for me, but they r by far my favorites!!!

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  2. Wow those are beautiful! I live in the netherlands now and there isn't a decent doughnut to be seen anywhere. In the stores they have what they call 'american' doughnuts and they are just awful. no wonder people here think we have bad food.

    I miss maple bars and glazed doughnuts. Im bookmarking this to come and try it!! thank you for the recipe:)

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  3. Those look SO good!!!! I wouldnt even mind a bit undercooked center :)

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  4. These look so so so good. I can't believe how good they look even without the egg yolks. YUM!

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  5. Dunkin' Donuts doesn't even hold a candle to krispy kreme. There. I said it out loud. (My theory is that the glazing of the entire doughnut keeps it nice and soft.) I will have to try these as the cake doughnuts we've made haven't quite lived up to the hype.

    Anyway, I found you on TasteSpotting and am writing to say that if you have any photos that aren’t accepted there, I’d love to publish them. Visit my new site (below), it’s a lot of fun! I hope you will consider it.

    Best,
    Casey
    Editor
    www.tastestopping.wordpress.com

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  6. I am so impressed that you made doughnuts - I have wonderful doughnuts shops a short walk from my apartment that are truly difficult to resist...but I might just have to make these. Thank you for the inspiration!

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  7. Heavenly Houswife: I knoooow, Krispy Kreme is soooo the best doughnut ever.

    Sonya: I thought I had it bad! I hope these turn out well for you...I can't imagine my life without good doughnuts! Haha

    Jennifer: Thanks! :)

    Memoria: Thanks as well! I need to make them again, WITH the eggs, to see why it was important, haha.

    Casey: EXACTLY. I've seen your site, and I'll definitely try to remember to submit something.

    M:Thanks, and I'm glad I inspired you! I wish I had a shop that close! You're lucky :)

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  8. Looks like we all think the same: "Those look sooooo good!"

    And you made the litle donut holes, too?!?

    I never had Krispy, but used to devour Dunkin's. A shop by where I used to work got rid of extra stock by end of day for less than half price. They were still fresh, so I got to enjoy twice as much as everyone else.
    Scott

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