Yeasted Doughnuts
INGREDIENTS
- 7.5g instant dried yeast
- 1/4 cup (60mL) warm water
- 1 1/2 cups (355mL) warm milk (scalded then cooled down)
- 1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 75g melted butter
- 5 cups (550g) all-purpose flour, sifted
DIRECTIONS
- Oil, for frying
- Caster sugar, to toss fried doughnuts in
- 1. Dissolve the yeast in the water in a very large bowl (it must be big enough to fit your head, and then some), then add the sugar, salt, milk, butter and eggs and beat together. Add 2 cups of flour and beat till well combined and does not have any lumps.
- 2. Add the remaining flour and mix it in till the mixture is smooth, then cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm area for about 1 hr or till it has doubled in size. Don’t worry if the mixture is too sticky at this stage, it’s meant to be an extremely soft and pliable dough.
- 3. Once the dough has proofed, remove the cloth and liberally sprinkle the top with flour, making sure to cover any sticky bits. Flour your benchtop then tip the bowl upside-down and empty the dough on top, scraping it out of the bowl as it is a bit stringy. Cover the newly exposed surface with flour, then roll out about 1.5cm thick.
- 4. Cut into doughnut shapes (one large circle then a smaller one in the middle) and place the doughnuts and holes onto floured trays to proof - do not cover them, you do want the surface to dry out and lose its stickiness. Leave them to proof in a warm place for about 30-45 minutes.
- 5. Heat vegetable oil in a fryer to 180 degrees C, then start frying the doughnut holes, flipping them after 1 minute or once the cooking side has gone golden brown (but not brown - golden brown makes for crisp exteriors and pillowy soft interiors, brown makes for crunchy exteriors and dry, chewy interiors). Then fry the doughnut rings.
- 6. Drain the fried doughnuts on paper towels and leave them to cool, then fill a plastic bag with caster sugar and toss the doughnuts in it, a few at a time. Leave your guilt at the door, make yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up and take a bite, reveling in the euphoric rush of calories all racing towards your thighs ;)
- P.S. When cutting out the shapes, try and get as many as possible in the first hit. The dough can only be lightly kneaded and rerolled once with not much detriment to the texture of the doughnuts, and any dough left over after this second rolling should be discarded
