Top Pot Doughnuts

I just returned from another weekend in Seattle and for the first time, I actually went to a Top Pot Doughnut shop.  I've had their doughnuts before because they serve them at Starbuck's and I've seen their shops in Seattle when I visit because there is now one right across the street from our old house in Wedgwood.   Now, our daughter, lives in another old neighborhood of mine on Capitol Hill and right around the corner from her house is a Top Pot.

There were not eateries like this in my old neighborhoods when I lived in Seattle.  And our daughter literally lives steps away from my old house on Capitol Hill where I lived when I was her age.  There are so many more luxuries and temptations lurking around the corner in Seattle neighborhoods more so than when I lived there but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  Being that I'm one that mostly gives in to temptation, it's probably a good thing they didn't exist when I lived there.  When Top Pot popped up in Seattle in 2002, a girlfriend said to me, "Sylvia, you've got to go to Top Pot Doughnuts.  There's one right across from your old house.  They're healthy doughnuts!"  What are healthy doughnuts, anyway?  Being a dietitian, my first thought was, "Boy, this company has sure come up with a selling gimmick."  Remember when Krispy Kreme donuts was the latest craze?  I'm not sure what it is about doughnuts, but everyone loves them! (to the point of believing they're healthy!) I use to take my kids to our neighborhood doughnut shop when they were little which was a special treat and fun outing.  It wasn't across the street in those days…but a little hole-in-the-wall shop, down at University Village across from Lamonts (a long time ago!)  I don't even know what it was called but it wasn't a chain, just a little local doughnut shop.  University Village was full of individually owned shops back then, not the big, designer chains that it is now.  I avoided the good food/bad food philosophy when raising my kids and they've both grown to love all kinds a foods and were never picky eaters.  Even now, I will not forbid "junk" food if it's homemade.  I think that is a good rule.  Most people will not make things from scratch so if they don't make it, don't eat it.  However, Top Pot Doughnuts are practically homemade…and if you don't have a shop nearby, go ahead and make them yourself.


Here are some tips to making your own Top Pot Doughnuts:

• It's best to weigh the flour on a kitchen scale instead of using measuring cups.
• Never drop the doughnuts flat into the hot oil.  Insert them along their sides, like a coin into a slot, so that they don't splash.
• Filter the frying oil and save it for reuse.  Doughnuts improve as the oil takes on their flavor.
• You need a warm, sealed environment with a little moisture for letting the dough rise which is called proofing the yeast dough.
• Top Pot bakers keep their extra-thick glazes just hot and thick enough to properly coat their doughnuts with one dip but this thinner home version is at room temperature which requires two dips.

Before I give you the recipe, you are probably wondering why they are called Top Pot.   Two of the co-founders had spied a vintage rustic (and rusty) neon sign gleaming above a boarded-up Chinese restaurant called "Topspot".  They bought the sign and then left it idle in a backyard for four years, further rusting and creating a home for raccoons.  Then, when the sign was finally driven off to be restored, the center "S" fell off, leaving the words "Top Pot" behind.

The sign became Top Pot's symbol of blending the old with the new.  The founders sought to create a doughnut shop that moved away from the fluorescent-lit fast food aesthetic.  Instead, they created an oasis, where patrons could slow down and savor the nostalgia and taste of a secret 1920 doughnut recipe in a gorgeous vintage environment.

However, on this day, it was too nice to sit inside so we enjoyed our doughnuts outside

Vanilla Raised Doughnuts

Makes about 16 doughnuts or 4 dozen doughnut holes (total time ~ 4 hours)

1 cup skim milk
1-1/2 vanilla beans, split and seeds scraped
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Four 1/4-ounce packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
500 grams bread flour, sifted (3-2/3 cups)
Boiling water
Vegetable oil, for frying

1. In a small saucepan, warm the milk, vanilla seeds and 1 tablespoon of the sugar over moderate heat until the temperature registers 105° on a candy thermometer. Transfer to the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast and let stand until foamy, 5 minutes. Add the shortening, egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and beat at medium speed just until the shortening is broken up. Beat in the salt, baking powder and mace. At low speed, add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough is firm but still tacky (you may need to add more or less flour to achieve the desired consistency).


2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times; pat it into a disk and transfer to a floured baking sheet. Dust with flour and cover with a towel. Place the baking sheet in the center of a turned-off oven. Set a large roasting pan on the bottom rack and fill it halfway with boiling water. Close the oven door and let the dough stand until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.


3. Line 2 baking sheets with wax paper and dust with flour. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and roll out to a 12-inch round, 1/2 inch thick. For doughnuts, use a floured 2 - 3/4-inch doughnut cutter (or 2 - 3/4-inch and 1-1/4-inch cookie cutters)

and stamp them out as close together as possible; alternatively, for doughnut holes, use a 1-inch cookie cutter.

Transfer the doughnuts and/or holes to the baking sheets and return to the oven. Refill the roasting pan with boiling water and close the oven door. Let stand until the dough has doubled in bulk, 45 minutes.

4. Set a rack on a baking sheet and cover with paper towels. In a large saucepan, heat 2 inches of oil to 365°. Add 3 or 4 doughnuts at a time; adjust the heat to keep the oil between 350° and 360°. Fry the doughnuts until golden brown, 1 minute per side.

If frying doughnut holes, cook them in batches of 12. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnuts to the paper towels.

Glaze the Doughnuts 

Vanilla Glaze

Makes 1-1/2 cups
3-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 tsp. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp table salt
2-3 Tbsp. hot water

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients except the hot water. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat at low speed until smooth; add the hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze is thin enough for dipping. Use right away, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Sugared Doughnuts

Vanilla Sugar: In a mini food processor, pulse 1 cup sugar with the scraped seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean, just until the vanilla is evenly dispersed. Roll doughnut in sugar mixture.