Hot, Fresh Glazed Doughnuts

I love doughnuts. Unfortunately, it’s not like we can run out to a Krispie Kreme shop around here, but making them is even better! And how can you resist? We’re talking about doughnuts!!!!

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Difficulty: Intermediate

Servings: 10-12

Prep Time: 90 minutes   Cook Time: a few minutes  

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (or two packages) yeast
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Powdered Sugar Glaze:

3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 tablespoons hot water

*For a fruit-flavored powdered sugar glaze, add some fruit syrup in place of part of the water.

Chocolate Glaze:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 tablespoons hot water

Directions

Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the yeast in a large bowl. In a small pan, heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt on low. When the butter is almost melted, turn off the heat and stir for a few minutes while the butter finishes melting. (I like to turn the heat off completely at this point to keep the mixture from getting too warm. I don’t want to risk killing my yeast.)

Pour warm milk/butter mixture into the bowl with the flour and yeast.

Add eggs. Using an electric mixer, mix on low for 30 seconds then on high for 3 minutes. Stir in the next cup and a half of flour with a spoon as much as possible, then begin kneading. Add a little more flour if necessary to make a soft but not sticky dough. Let rise in a covered, greased bowl for about an hour.

Punch dough down and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll out to a half-inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter, or if you’re like me and you don’t have one, just use anything that works! I don’t need no stinkin’ doughnut cutter.

I use a large round cookie cutter and the small end of a large funnel.

Reroll dough as needed to cut out all your doughnuts. How many you get will vary by how you rolled your dough and the size of your cutter, but I get 10 to 12, with a little bit of dough leftover. I make “doughnut” holes out of them. No wasting doughnut dough!

Cover and let rise till nice and light, about another hour.

Fry in hot oil one to two minutes per side. I put my gas cooktop on 5, which is medium. (If your oil is too hot, your doughnuts will brown too quickly on the outside and not be done inside–be sure your oil temperature will allow you to fry one full minute per side. Oil temperature should around 365-degrees.)

Now you’re in fresh doughnut heaven! Drain and cool, then glaze!

If you like to make them with a powdered sugar glaze on one side and chocolate glaze on the other, the quantities in these glaze recipes works. If you want all powdered sugar glaze, or all chocolate glaze, then double the glaze recipe you prefer.

For the powdered sugar glaze:

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium-size bowl. Add sifted powdered sugar and hot water; stir well. If necessary, add additional hot water to bring glaze to drizzling consistency.

For the chocolate glaze:

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter; stirring to blend. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium-size bowl. Add sifted powdered sugar and hot water; stir well. If necessary, add additional hot water to bring glaze to drizzling consistency.

Spread powdered sugar glaze on one side of the doughnuts.

Using tongs, dip the other side into the chocolate glaze.

Place on waxed paper. Glaze will set in a few minutes. Add chopped nuts or candy sprinkles if you like!

Categories: Breads, Breakfast, Pastries, Yeast Breads

Submitted by: suzanne-mcminn on July 24, 2010