Kitchen Gadgets, Appliances, Kitchen Toys

To Fry Donuts or to Bake Donuts?

December 9, 2004 on 7:01 pm | In Kitchen Gadgets | No Comments

Hot donuts right out of the hot oil, sprinkled with powdered sugar, ahhhhhh. But don’t tell your cardiologist!

I’d heard of a local bakery that was offering baked versions of their donuts, and found this great little kit for baking donuts:

Very exciting for low fat donut alternatives, but I do love my fried batter.

Not far away was a really great gadget for regular “cake donuts”, as the cookbook I used growing up always called them. Use a non-yeasted quick bread recipe for this gadget:

Neither of these really addresses the ultimate donut in my life: the yeasted raised donut. Preferably filled with jelly or butterscotch!

Here’s my favorite recipe for raised filled doughnuts:

Dough:
2 packets active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsps)
1 Cup warm water
1/3 Cup + 1 tsp. granulated sugar
1/3 Cup melted and cooled butter, or 1/3 Cup oil
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk (reserve the white)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 Cup instant nonfat dry milk powder or toasted soy flour
3 1/3 unbleached flour (I actually use 2 1/3 cups white, 1 cup whole wheat flour)

Instructions:
Combine yeast, warm water, 1 tsp. sugar. Let sit 5 minutes, or until foamy. Add 1/3 cup sugar, melted butter or oil, egg, egg yolk, salt, instant nonfat dry milk powder, and 2 1/3 cups flour. Beat for 3 minutes. Then stir in remaining 1 Cup flour to make a soft dough.

Let dough rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled. Knead for 2 minutes, rest for 10 minutes. Then divide the dough in half. Roll out each half to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out circles about 4 inches in diameter.

Beat egg white until foamy, then brush some over one circle. Place jam in center of circle. Make sandwiches, pinch closed, cover on floured board for about 1 hour or until doubled.

Fry in hot oil, and enjoy delicious calories.