Doughnut Recipes Easy

FOR BREAD MACHINE:

• Put the water, buttermilk, beaten egg, and melted butter in the pan of the bread machine. Then, add the dry ingredients, except for the yeast, which was weighed with a scale. Make a small hole in the dry ingredients, and then pour in the yeast. Use the “dough” setting on the bread machine.

FOR STAND MIXER WITH DOUGH HOOK, OR BY HAND:

• The dry ingredients should be put in a bowl. Put 6 tablespoons of lukewarm water in a cup and sprinkle the yeast on top. Leave it alone for about 5 minutes, until the yeast starts to react. You can help it along by adding a pinch of sugar. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and yeast mixture. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and run the mixer until a dough forms, then keep going for about 5 minutes. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes by hand. Cover and let it sit for at least two hours, depending on how fresh the yeast is, the temperature of the water, and the temperature of the room.

BOTH BREAD MACHINE, STAND MIXER/HAND INSTRUCTIONS FOLLOW BELOW:

• When the dough has doubled in size, put it on a surface dusted with flour and knead it lightly. Cut it in half and keep half of the dough covered so that it doesn’t get skin. Roll out half of the dough to about 1/2-inch thick with a rolling pin. Cut with a sharp, round cookie cutter with a diameter of about 3 inches. Then, use a smaller cookie cutter with a diameter of about 1 inch to make holes and save the holes. Or you could buy this doughnut cutter and save yourself a lot of trouble.
• Put each doughnut on a piece of parchment or waxed paper and then on a cookie sheet. Put the tray in the oven (turn it on for 1 minute, SET A TIMER, and then turn it off again, just to make it barely warm).
• Next, bring some water to a boil and pour it into a measuring jug. Put the jug of water and the tray of doughnuts in the oven. This will make steam, which will keep skin from forming. Cut the rest of the dough into quarters, and then cut each quarter in half to make 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball and place it on a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper on a cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the oven with the other doughnuts to rise until they are twice as big.
• The oil should be heated to about 350oF (180o). If you don’t have a thermometer, use a doughnut hole to test the temperature of the oil. If the hole doesn’t start to fry right away, the oil is too cold. If the hole turns brown right away, the oil is too hot. Change the heat as needed.
• You can use the paper to carefully lower the doughnuts into the hot oil. When the bottoms are golden brown, flip them over. When they’re done, take them out and put them on a paper towel-lined plate.
• When the doughnuts are cool, roll them in sugar to get a uniform coating. If you want to fill the big doughnuts, poke a hole in the middle with a skewer, then put some room-temperature jam or slightly warmed Nutella in a piping bag and pipe it into the doughnut. Using an ISI whipper, pipe fresh cream into a doughnut that has been cut in half. If you want, you can add jam first.

To make the dough:

• Add the lukewarm water, sugar, yeast, lemon zest, rum, vanilla extract, and eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use a fork or a whisk to mix it.

If you are using active dry yeast, make sure to first activate it by mixing it with a teaspoon of sugar and a cup of warm water. Wait a few minutes until the top is foamy, and then add the rest of the ingredients as directed.

• Put a dough hook on the stand mixer and put the flour, salt, and nutmeg in the bowl. Knead the dough on low to medium speed for about 5 to 8 minutes, until it is smooth and shiny and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl.
• Then, while the mixer is still going at a medium-low speed, add the butter one cube at a time. It will look like it’s not coming together but don’t worry. Just keep adding it, and it will eventually come together into a sticky dough.
• Once you’ve added all the butter and the dough is mixed but still sticky, knead it on low to medium speed for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until it becomes smooth and elastic again and starts pulling away from the sides.
• Move the dough to a large bowl that has been lightly floured or greased to keep it from sticking. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight to rise.
• When your dough is ready, punch it to deflate it, move it to a clean, lightly floured surface, and give it a quick knead. Make about 18 pieces of dough that each weighs between 60 and 65 grams. (I always do this with a kitchen scale)
• Each piece of dough should be rolled into a smooth ball and put on a baking sheet with squares of baking paper.
• Cover them with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and let them rest and rise for another 2 to 4 hours. (The exact time will depend on how warm and humid the room is where you are letting them proof.)
• You don’t want your doughnuts to rise too much, or they’ll be hollow on the inside and soak up a lot of oil. When the dough is done, heat about 1.5 liters of vegetable oil in a pan with a heavy bottom. Between 170 and 180 degrees Celsius is a good range for the oil. That is between 340 and 350F.
• Fry 3–4 doughnuts at a time for 2–3 minutes on each side, or until golden. Put them on a plate with paper towels on it. Let them cool down all the way before you fill them and sprinkle sugar on top.

To make the Bavarian cream filling:

• In a medium-sized pot, heat the milk until it just starts to boil.
• In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks, egg, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together in a separate bowl.
• Once the milk is hot enough to scald, slowly pour 2/3 of it into the egg mixture while whisking so you don’t cook the eggs.
  Once you’ve warmed up the egg mixture, put it back in the pan with the rest of the milk and keep whisking it until it thickens.
  Cook for another 1–2 minutes to make sure the cornstarch doesn’t leave a taste in your mouth.
• Once it’s done, add the vanilla and butter and whisk until everything is smooth and silky.
• Put the pastry cream through a sieve into a clean bowl to get rid of any cooked egg lumps and bits.
  Cover the surface with cling film (plastic wrap) to keep the skin from forming. Let it cool for about an hour at room temperature, then put it in the fridge to finish cooling.
• Move the cold pastry cream to a mixing bowl. It will be stiff and gelatinous. Use an electric hand mixer to mix it until it becomes creamy again.
  Whisk the cold heavy cream into stiff peaks in a separate bowl, then add it to the pastry cream. Mix everything together at a medium-high speed until it’s smooth and all the ingredients are mixed in.
• Put the Bavarian cream in a disposable piping bag and cut the end off before using. A piping nozzle is not needed.

assembly:

• Coat the doughnuts in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and place them vertically on a baking tray.
• Cut the middle (where the white line is) with a small knife or scissors to make a hole for the filling.
• Fill with the vanilla cream that has been made. When they start to grow, you’ll know you’ve put in enough.