Another recipe I need to share from Memorial Day weekend are the donuts I made for breakfast on Sunday morning. This was an experiment because I've never made homemade donuts and I thought this recipe would be interesting because you can also use the dough for brioche rolls or bread. I got the recipe from the blog hummingbird high where she used the dough - which by the way, only took about 15 minutes to make - to cut into donuts instead of putting it into the usual bread loaf pan. I love brioche, too. It's the only kind of bread they serve at one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle, the Skillet Diner. They use brioche for their hamburger buns, sandwich bread, french toast, etc. This donut recipe is perfect using brioche because it is subtly flavored with honey and produces a wonderful, buttery crumb when fried. It's everything a donut should be - light, fluffy and airy. Brioche is not as sweet as the usual donuts so getting the right topping on it was a little tricky but we had fun experimenting with different toppings. Powdered sugar wasn't quite sweet enough
and the icing I saved from the apple cake from Friday night was too much, although they looked fantastic!
We decided that the best topping was the Hershey's chocolate and butterscotch topping used for our espresso drinks!
These had the perfect amount of sweetness so I'm going to include a honey glaze topping to use with this donut recipe.
Here are a few notes about this donut recipe:
Don't panic if this recipe appears to make a large batch of dough. Simply freeze the excess dough you might have. Instructions for freezing are included in the recipe. To make a more manageable amount of donuts, divide the dough into three portions and freeze the rest. One portion of dough should make around six donuts.
Remember that yeast is a living thing, so be nice to it. Don't activate it by using boiling hot water — if the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Instead, be sure to use water that's pleasant for a warm bath; you should be able to stick your finger in it and not scald yourself. Water from the tap when it's just starting to get warm is the perfect temperature for activating dough.
The recipe requires you to roll out the chilled brioche dough before stamping out donuts. The dough may need to rest for about 10 minutes before you can roll it out easily. To get a bit more stretch in the dough, knead the dough for around 30 seconds by taking the ball of dough and folding it over on itself several times on a floured surface. It's the only kneading you'll need to do for this recipe.
You don't need a deep fryer to make donuts. I actually have a deep fryer and this is what I used but also a cast iron skillet will turn out great donuts. Make sure your pot is deep enough to hold at least 2 inches of oil, with at least 2 inches of clearance from the top of the pot. You also don't really need a candy thermometer, but it makes your life a lot easier if you've got one.
Although the recipe produces about enough dough for three dozen sets of donuts, you can divide the dough into several portions and freeze it for up to two weeks. That way, you can have donuts almost every day for the next few weeks! If you don't freeze the dough, you can keep it in the refrigerator up to 5 days before you use it which is what I did so I could make it ahead of time before I used it when all my guest were here. What guests would not like waking up to freshly made donuts? NONE!
We decided that the best topping was the Hershey's chocolate and butterscotch topping used for our espresso drinks!
These had the perfect amount of sweetness so I'm going to include a honey glaze topping to use with this donut recipe.
Here are a few notes about this donut recipe:
Don't panic if this recipe appears to make a large batch of dough. Simply freeze the excess dough you might have. Instructions for freezing are included in the recipe. To make a more manageable amount of donuts, divide the dough into three portions and freeze the rest. One portion of dough should make around six donuts.
Remember that yeast is a living thing, so be nice to it. Don't activate it by using boiling hot water — if the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Instead, be sure to use water that's pleasant for a warm bath; you should be able to stick your finger in it and not scald yourself. Water from the tap when it's just starting to get warm is the perfect temperature for activating dough.
The recipe requires you to roll out the chilled brioche dough before stamping out donuts. The dough may need to rest for about 10 minutes before you can roll it out easily. To get a bit more stretch in the dough, knead the dough for around 30 seconds by taking the ball of dough and folding it over on itself several times on a floured surface. It's the only kneading you'll need to do for this recipe.
You don't need a deep fryer to make donuts. I actually have a deep fryer and this is what I used but also a cast iron skillet will turn out great donuts. Make sure your pot is deep enough to hold at least 2 inches of oil, with at least 2 inches of clearance from the top of the pot. You also don't really need a candy thermometer, but it makes your life a lot easier if you've got one.
Although the recipe produces about enough dough for three dozen sets of donuts, you can divide the dough into several portions and freeze it for up to two weeks. That way, you can have donuts almost every day for the next few weeks! If you don't freeze the dough, you can keep it in the refrigerator up to 5 days before you use it which is what I did so I could make it ahead of time before I used it when all my guest were here. What guests would not like waking up to freshly made donuts? NONE!
Special Equipment:
a 3-inch donut cutter, preferably with a 1-inch diameter hole
a deep-fryer or a cast iron skillet (see notes above)
a candy thermometer
a slotted spoon
paper towels
For the Brioche Dough:
(makes around 24 donuts)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, around 100 (F) or below
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
8 large eggs, lightly beaten at room temperature
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
vegetable oil, for frying (around 3 cups) I used safflower oil.For the Honey Glaze:
(makes enough for 6 donuts, quadruple if making 24 donuts)
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon honey
4 tablespoons whole milk
In the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 1- 1/2 cups lukewarm water, 1 tablespoon active dry yeast, 1- 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, 8 whisked eggs, 1/2 cup honey and 1 - 1/2 cups melted unsalted butter.
Sprinkle 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour over the wet ingredients, before turning the mixer on to its lowest speed and mixing in the flour until just combined.
You may notice lumps in the dough, but don't worry — these will disappear in the finished product.
Cover the bowl loosely with a flour cloth or a plastic wrap (it's important to let this dough breathe a little, so your cover doesn't have to be airtight) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 2 hours, before covering tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerating.
The dough can be used as soon as it's thoroughly chilled, at least 3 hours.
It's a little hard to work with when it hasn't chilled properly, so be sure to chill it for as long as it needs to get it to firm up. You can refrigerate the dough for 5 days; after 5 days, divide the dough into 1-pound portions in an airtight container and transfer it to the freezer. The dough will keep for up to 2 weeks in the freezer. When using frozen dough, thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before using, before allowing the usual rest and rise times.
To Make the Donuts:
On frying day, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and use kitchen scissors to cut off a 1-pound portion. The portion should be around the size of a grapefruit. Dust the portion with more flour and quickly shaping it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a little bit as you go. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Using a 3-inch donut cutter, stamp out 3-inch diameter rounds with 1-inch diameter holes. Allow the dough to rest on a lightly floured surface for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, fill your deep-fryer or cast iron skillet with at least 3 inches of oil. Bring the oil to 360 (F) to 370 (F), as determined by the candy thermometer.
Carefully drop your stamped donuts into the hot oil, two or three at a time depending on the size of your cast iron skillet. Be sure to leave plenty of room for the donuts to float to the surface. Do not overcrowd, or they will not rise nicely. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until light golden brown.
Remove with a slotted spoon, draining the donuts of grease on a plate lined with a paper towel, and let cool slightly before glazing.
For the Honey Glaze:
Place 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar in a medium bowl and slowly whisk in 1 tablespoon of honey and 4 tablespoons milk. Continue whisking until you get a smooth, pourable glaze. Transfer the glaze to a shallow bowl and dip the tops of each donut into the glaze, before using a spoon to gently flip the donut to cover its bottom with glaze. Transfer to a wire rack over a baking sheet to catch any excess glaze drippings, before consuming immediately.
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