Ah the humble doughnut… so misunderstood by many to be a fast food indulgence… well, let’s say it is… okay… and as kids growing up it was one of those forbidden sweets… fine… but now, suddenly, in the recent hipster revolution, the doughnut has become something of a delicacy treat…really!!
It was on our second to last class at pastry school that we learnt the art of the artisan doughnut… soft, pillowy dough, pretty simple ingredients, it was surprisingly easier than I imagined it would be…which is why I thought that sharing it would be a good idea..will definitely be making these at home!
The Classic Doughnut
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 16
Ingredients
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 200 ml water
- 35 gr granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 35 grams active yeast
- 1 egg
- 35 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
- lemon zest, about 1 teaspoon
- a pinch of cinnamon powder
Instructions
- In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the bread hook attachment, combine with flour, sugar salt, lemon rind and cinnamon.
- Start your machine on a slow speed.
- Add the egg, butter and about 60% of the water.
- Once you see that it’s all nicely incorporated, add in your yeast and the remaining water.
- Allow the machine to knead the dough at a relatively slow speed for about 8 minutes or so.
- Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball.
- Cover with clingfilm and allow to rest in a warm place for around 45 minutes.
- Once the dough has rested, roll the dough out, about 1 cm thick and cut out doughnut shapes and transfer to a baking tray lined with parchment paper or Silpat.
- Allow them to rest again for another 15 minutes.
- Place a shallow frying pan on the heat and allow to come up to about 170 degrees C.
- Check with one doughnut hole to see if the oil is hot enough. it should brown nicely, but not too quickly.
- Slip the doughnuts in gently, fry on both sides for less than a minute on each side. They should be golden in colour.
- Drain on paper towels and make the glaze by combining water and icing sugar and dipping them into the glaze.
- Chocolate glaze:
- /2 cups powdered sugar
- tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- tablespoons milk or water
- teaspoons pure vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Slowly stir in milk and vanilla extract. Whisk until silky and smooth. If you need a touch more milk to make this a dippable glaze, add a bit more.
Here we go!
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