Ingredients
- to we’ve cracked the code to make it achievable for home cooks.
- to to to heat up or cool down to the right temperature.
- to though making the dough is obviously the place to start, getting over the Fear/Hassle of Frying is often the first hurdle. Luckily, the executive pastry chef for the Neighborhood Restaurant Group has a plan for that.
- “Clear everything off the counter before you start frying,” says Naomi Gallego. “Dale Earnhardt doesn’t have stuff on his dashboard.”
- hand — a wok works particularly well — and a thermometer is all that’s standing between you and doughnut heaven.
- to to to really, back to the beginning of the process: The day before you want to fry the doughnuts you’ll need to make the dough, so it can ferment slowly in the refrigerator. It can take as little as six hours, but longer isbetter.
- d mixer. The mixture will seem too wet, almost like a cake batter. Do not lose heart. Let the machine, fitted with a dough hook, do its magic.
- 10 10 minutes, aided by scraping the bowl a few times, that soggy mass will meld into a supple, slightly sticky ball.
- “When that dough comes together, it’s a thing of beauty,” Gallego says.
- ve some coffee and check your news feed.
- allego and Tiffany MacIsaac, chefowner of Buttercream Bakeshop in Washington, D.C., offer tricks for home cooks that can help get those yeasty darlings fried just right.
- ›› Letthe doughnuts rise on individual squares of greased parchment paper.
- to to wok works so well is that its wide expanse gives the frying doughnuts room to expand, yet its belly is shallow enough for doughnuts to slip in and be easily retrieved.
- to a thermometer — preferably one that clips to the side of the pot — so that you can keep an eye on the oil temperature.
- to 330 cook who might be frying two or three doughnuts at a time, it’s better to err on the side of keeping the oil slightly cooler, about 330 degrees.
- We found in testing this made the frying less scary — no hot spatters.
- to sheet to cool for a bit.
- to them back on the rack to drain.
- to to bit of patience requires you to wait till the glaze has set, which can take up to an hour. This may become too torturous, however, so eat at will.
- And then there’s the midriff.
- to 10 to the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes before frying, as a way to help them hold their shape and possibly yield that perfect midriff when they hit the oil.
- Although the midriff is a worthy aspiration, it absolutely won’t make or break the flavor of the doughnut as long as everything else has gone right.
- to goal is to strive for perfection,” MacIsaac says. “But don’t let perfection be the enemy of just getting in the kitchen and cooking. I’ve never had a freshly fried doughnut I didn’t love.”
Preparation
Step 1
6 steps to better doughnuts
Homemade doughnuts can become more than an occasional treat — once you know the tricks of the trade.
Frying (and oil): Sometimes the amount of oil that is needed for frying doughnuts — or anything else — can seem intimidating, especially when you aren’t sure what to do with it when you’re finished frying. The simple answer is that you can reuse the oil for future frying, usually several times, if it’s properly stored. First, be sure to keep the original container; if you don’t have it anymore, then you can use a large glass jar with a lid. After you’ve finished frying, remove any large bits of fried debris, cover the pot, and let the oil cool back down to room temperature. Place a funnel lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter on top of the oil container and strain the oil into it. Seal and store in a cool, dark place or, in hot weather, in the refrigerator. To dispose of the cooking oil, chill it in the refrigerator so it solidifies, then discard with your garbage.
Freezing: You can freeze both the dough and the fried, unglazed doughnuts. For the dough, cut out the doughnuts, let them proof (along with any scraps), place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze until solid, then store in the freezer in plastic zip-top bags. Let them defrost completely at room temperature before frying. For the cooked doughnuts, follow the same freezing process, then defrost fully and microwave on LOW for 10 seconds before eating.
you’ll ever eat
Storing: It’s not often you hear this, but glazed doughnuts are best kept in the open air to keep them from weeping or becoming soggy. Doughnuts can hang around (as if!) for up to two days, placed on a baking rack to provide complete air circulation. You can pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds to perk them up.
Timing: Depending upon your cooktop and whether it’s gas, electric or induction, you may have to adjust the frying times. Bottom line, you’re looking for a golden brown exterior, and this may take anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes per side, so keep a close eye on the doughnut while it’s frying and pull it out when you’ve got the optimal color. Test the frying time with a couple of scraps or doughnut holes first; keeping the oil temperature between 325 and 350 degrees should help keep the doughnuts from going over to the dark side.
Glazing: You’ll want to make a lot of glaze — about double what you think you need — to coat each doughnut completely. It won’t go to waste and can be refrigerated for months. The flavor is easy to change up by adding fresh citrus zest, substituting lemon or other types of fruit juice for the water or adding fresh herbs and spices.
Flavoring: The accompanying recipe makes a double batch of dough and yields a few scraps, so you may like to try savory applications, too. (The small amount of vanilla bean in the dough does not skew sweet.) You can toss just-fried doughnuts or holes with olive oil or melted butter, Parm and crushed red pepper flakes, or make a monkey bread. — Kristen Hartke