The
doughnuts were delicious! They had the right amount of sweetness once
glazed. I ended up making a chocolate glaze as well,
and those were my favorite! I urge you to give these a try! Enjoy!
homemade glazed doughnuts
Ingredients
Doughnuts
1-⅛
cup Whole Milk, Warm
¼
cups Sugar
2-¼
teaspoons (one Package) Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
2
whole Large Eggs, Beaten
1-¼
stick Unsalted Butter, melted
4
cups All-purpose Flour
¼
teaspoons Salt
Shortening
GLAZE
1½ cups
confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup
half-and-half, plus more as needed
1/4 tsp.
vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze
2 oz.
finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
¼ cup
half-and-half
1 cup
confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Directions
To Make
the Dough:
Make
sure milk is nice and warm, but not overly hot.
Add
sugar to milk. Stir to dissolve.
Add
yeast into a small bowl.
Pour
milk/sugar mixture over yeast. Stir gently, then let sit for 10 minutes.
Melt
butter in separate bowl until butter is almost melted. Stir to finish melting
so butter won’t be overly hot.
Add
beaten eggs to melted butter, stirring constantly to make sure the butter’s not
too hot for the eggs.
Add the
egg/butter mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.
With the
mixer on 3 or medium-low speed, pour in the yeast mixture.
Allow
the dough hook to stir this mixture for a couple of minutes, making sure it’s
thoroughly combined.
With the
mixer still going, add helpings of the flour mixture in 1/4 to 1/2 cup
increments until all the flour is gone.
Stop the
mixer, scrape the bowl, then turn the mixer on the same speed for five whole
minutes.
After
five minutes, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl.
Turn on
the mixer for 30 seconds.
Turn off
the mixer and allow the dough to sit in the bowl undisturbed for 10 minutes.
After 10
minutes, transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough to coat, then
cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place straight in the fridge.
Refrigerate
dough for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
To Make
the Doughnuts:
Remove
bowl from fridge and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll out
to 1/4 to 1/3-inch thickness.
Using a
3-inch cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, then roll out remaining dough and
cut as much as you can, etc.
Cut
holes out of each round using a 1 1/2-inch cutter.
I used a pint glass along with a shot glass for the holes
Cover
with large dish towel and place in a warm place in your kitchen.
Allow
doughnuts to rise undisturbed for at least 1 hour; 1 hour 15 minutes if
necessary. Doughnuts should be visibly puffier and appear to be airy.
To Fry
the Doughnuts
Heat
plenty of vegetable shortening in a large pot until the temperature reaches 375
to 380 degrees—do not let it get hotter than 380 degrees! 375 is ideal; keep
the thermometer in the pan to continually monitor.
One to
two at a time, gently grab doughnuts and ease them into the hot oil. Allow them
to cook 1 minute on each side; they will brown very quickly.
Remove
doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, allowing all oil to drip off.
Place
doughnut immediately on several layers of paper towels. Count to five, then
flip it over onto a clean part of the paper towels. Count to five, then flip it
over again; the purpose, obviously, is to drain as much grease as possible
before it soaks into the doughnut.
Repeat
with remaining doughnuts and holes. The holes will cook more quickly than the
doughnuts; about 30 seconds per side.
Allow
doughnuts to slightly cool.
To make the vanilla glaze, whisk
together the confectioners’ sugar, half-and-half, and vanilla extract.
Add more half-and-half 1 teaspoon at a time as needed to achieve your
desired consistency. Dip both sides of each doughnut in the glaze, gently
shaking off any excess. Return to the wire cooling rack with a baking
sheet set underneath to catch drips.
To make the chocolate glaze,
place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the half-and-half
until simmering, then pour over the chocolate. Whisk together until the
chocolate is melted. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
Dip one side of each doughnut in the glaze, shaking off the excess.
Return to the wire cooling rack.
Let the glaze set before serving.