Classic Glazed Donuts Recipe 55

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, add the milk, sugar, and yeast, stirring to combine.
• In a separate medium bowl, add the butter, eggs, and vanilla extract, stirring to combine.
• Add the milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Transfer to a large bowl and add the flour in thirds, stirring between each addition.
• Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, until smooth. Gently poke the dough with a finger--the dough should bounce back up from the indentation.
• Place the dough in a large bowl, and lightly coat the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Let the dough rise in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled in size.
• Take the dough out and knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and repeat with rise overnight in refrigerator.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface until ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
• Cut out the doughnuts and donut holes with a cookie cutter and piping tip.
• Melt enough shortening over medium heat to come up just 2 inches (5 cm) up on the side of a heavy frying pan. Heat the shortening to 375°F (190°C)
• Fry the donuts and donut holes for 45 seconds on each side, or until golden brown.
• In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, dry milk powder, vanilla extract and hot water until smooth.
• Strain the glaze through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps.
• Dunk the donuts in the glaze or drizzle the glaze on top.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Lemon Confectioners'-Sugar Glaze: Whisk together confectioners' sugar and salt. Whisk in juice until mixture is smooth and thick, and has the texture of pourable honey. Glaze can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days; stir until smooth before using. (Makes 1 1/2 cups.)
• Donuts: Whisk together flours. Combine water and milk in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment, then sprinkle yeast over top. Stir in 1 cup flour mixture. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm place until bubbling and doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Add egg and yolk, granulated sugar, salt, and remaining flour mixture. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes. Continue beating while adding butter, a few pieces at a time, beating to combine after each addition. When all butter has been added, keep beating until a shiny, sticky dough forms around hook, about 4 minutes more. Scrape down sides of bowl.
• Cover dough with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 24.
• Cut out 24 three-inch squares of parchment. Spray two baking sheets with oil; arrange parchment squares in a single layer on them. Spray parchment. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet; pat out 1/2 inch thick. Using a floured 2 1/2-inch donut cutter, cut out donuts (or use a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter to cut out rounds, then cut out holes with a 1-inch round cutter). Transfer to parchment squares. Drape with oil-sprayed plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot until slightly more than doubled in bulk and very soft, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, pour oil into a large, deep, heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven, until it reaches 2 inches up side, leaving about 2 1/2 inches headroom. Clip a deep- fry thermometer to pot and heat oil over medium to 350 degrees to 360 degrees. Working in batches of 3 so as not to crowd pot, carefully use parchment to transfer donuts to hot oil and cook, flipping a few times, until puffed and golden brown all over, 2 to 3 minutes total for donuts (1 1/2 to 2 minutes for holes), maintaining oil temperature between 350 degrees and 360 degrees at all times. Transfer donuts to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet; let cool 10 minutes.
• While still slightly warm, dip top of each donut in glaze until halfway submerged, turning as needed to evenly coat one side, then place, glaze-side up, on rack. Let stand until glaze sets and donuts are cool, about 1 hour.

Steps:

• For the doughnuts: Add the granulated sugar to the warm milk in a medium bowl, and then add the yeast. Allow it to sit until the yeast starts to bubble, 5 to 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, beat the eggs and then pour them into a bowl with the melted butter, whisking constantly. Add the butter/egg mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer. Pour in the milk/sugar/yeast mixture. With the hook attachment, turn the mixer to low speed.
• Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, and then retrieve 1/2 cup at a time and add it to the mixing bowl, allowing it to slowly incorporate into the liquid mixture.
• Continue mixing for 5 minutes after the flour is combined. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl and then mix about 30 seconds more. Then place the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 8 to 12 hours.
• The next morning, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature and rise, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Put the dough in a warm spot, if necessary, to facilitate rising.
• Turn out the dough on to a floured surface and roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick. Use a doughnut cutter (or 2 concentric cutters) to cut out the doughnuts. Remove the holes and transfer the doughnuts to a lightly-floured baking sheet lined with a baking mat or parchment. Then - and this is the vital part - cover the doughnuts lightly with tea towels and place it in a draft-free area, at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It will take that long for them to rise. If they don't seem to be rising much, move the pan to a warm place.
• Melt the shortening in a pot over a medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer. (Or you can drop one of the doughnut holes in the oil, if it sizzles and immediately rises to the surface, the oil is ready.) The doughnuts should immediately float to the top and puff up. Then use a metal spoon or spatula to carefully flip them over to the other side. Remove them from the oil as soon as they're golden brown on both sides (this should take less than 1 minute in total). At the end, drop in the doughnut holes and fry them until they are golden brown.
• Place the doughnuts on paper-towel-lined-plates to drain. Don't worry if they're a little imperfect; if your fingers leave impressions when you dropped them into the oil, that just means they were extra light and fluffy.
• For the glaze: To glaze the doughnuts, mix the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cold water, salt and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Drop in the doughnuts one at a time. Quickly turn them over then remove them. Place them on a rack so any excess glaze can drip off.
• To make the most of the glaze, set the holes underneath the doughnuts so they can catch the extra good stuff.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the yeast with 3/4 cup of the warm milk and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the flour mixture rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Once 30 minutes have passed, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 1 teaspoon yeast with the remaining 1/4 cup milk (the milk will be room temperature at this point). Add the rested flour mixture along with the vanilla and egg yolks and mix on low until the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is smooth, about 30 seconds. Turn off the mixer and add 1 cup of flour, along with the sugar and salt. Mix on medium until the dough starts to come together, about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix on medium until it's incorporated, about 30 seconds.
• Remove the paddle attachment from the mixer, and switch to the dough hook. Start adding the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time (turning the mixer off for each addition) and knead the dough on medium until it completely pulls away from the side of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky, about 1 minute. The dough will be very soft and moist but not so sticky that you can't roll it out. (For this step, you may only need to use as little as 1/4 cup flour, so there may be flour leftover.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Once 30 minutes have passed, gently press down on the dough to remove any gas bubbles then chill, covered, for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
• When ready to roll out the dough, line a baking sheet with a lightly floured non-terry towel. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using doughnut or cookie cutters, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes. (For filled doughnuts, don't cut out the holes.) Arrange the doughnuts on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between doughnuts. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap and let them proof in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. Check to see if the doughnuts are ready every 5 to 10 minutes. To test, use a fingertip to lightly touch one of the doughnuts. If the dough springs back immediately, it needs more time; if it springs back slowly, it's ready; and if the dough doesn't spring back at all, it's over-proofed. You can punch down and reroll over-proofed dough once.
• While the doughnuts are proofing, line a baking sheet with 2 layers of paper towels and place a wire rack on top of the towels. In a heavy-bottomed large pot or deep fryer, heat at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360°F. Working in batches, use a slotted metal spoon or spatula to carefully place the doughnuts in the hot oil. Fry, flipping once, until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer as done to the wire rack and return the oil to 360°F between batches. Let the doughnuts cool slightly before glazing with the Basic Sugar Glaze or Chocolate Glaze .