Yeast Doughnuts

So, I have a secret to share, but please do not tell anyone else my secret.  Do you swear you won't tell anyone?  This is kinda a big secret, so you've got to swear.  Okay, I believe you.  Here it is: I LOVE doughnuts.  I love doughnuts so much that if I could eat at least 5 a day and not suffer any ill consequences, like fat-ass syndrome, or the need to help out the ol' pancreas with exogenous insulin, then I would do it.  I would eat AT LEAST 5 doughnuts per day.  At this point, you may be laughing...that's real nice.  Go ahead and laugh at my addiction...real nice.  But in all seriousness, aren't doughnut delicious?  And I'm not talking about the nation-wide chain kind either.  I'm talking about the local bakery kind or the lone, independent coffee and doughnut shop.  Now, get yourself these ingredients and start making these very simple, very delicious, doughnuts, but make sure that you have lots of other people to share these with, as the recipe makes a lot of doughnuts.  

Little pearls of wisdom:

--These doughnuts really taste best eaten the day of, but aren't horrible the next day either.

--The doughnut holes don't flip well because they're more round than flat.  What I did, and recommend, is cooking two holes at a time for one minute by holding them under the oil with a metal turner.

--If possible, weigh all your dry ingredients, as it is more accurate, which is what is best for baking.  This recipe is courtesy of Alton Brown, the master of weighing dry goods with some changes based on my experience making them as well as those of my favorite food blog, besides my own, Sydney @ crepesofwrath.net.

--For those of you that have baked bread, but not other yeast goods, please take note that in step 5, my dough never completely pulled away from the bowl like it does when I bake bread.  I stopped the mixing after the 5 minutes and didn't have any issues at all.
--The glaze is thick, but you want it that way.  Also, it tastes best once it has dried on the doughnut.  I preferred the cinnamon-sugar, but to each his own.

Your Ingredients

The combined dough rising in a warm area.

Roll out the dough and cut the doughnuts using the biscuit cutter or doughnut cutter. 

Let the doughnuts rise for 30 minutes.

Doughnuts after the 30 minute rise.

Once your oil is heated to 365 F, add the doughnuts to the oil, taking care to not over crowd the pan.

Flip the doughnuts after one minute.

If you're using the cinnamon-sugar, take the doughnuts from the oil and toss them into the cinnamon-sugar mixture right away.

If you're glazing the doughnuts, let them cool completely and then glaze them.

Yeast Doughnuts

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups milk (I used 1%)

2-1/2 oz vegetable shortening (~1/3 cup)

2 packages of instant yeast, or 2 scant tablespoons/14 grams of dry yeast from a jar

1/3 cup warm water (95 F to 105 F)

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon (I used cinnamon because I prefer that flavor)

23 ounces all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface (this is about 5-1/3 cups, but weighing is the best way to measure all dry goods **see little pearls of wisdom**)

Oil for frying (I used canola and filled my pan with about 2.5 inches of oil, but less would have worked)

Directions

1.  Heat the milk in a medium pan until just warm enough to melt the shortening.  Melt shortening into the milk and set aside to let cool to lukewarm in temperature.

2.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and stir gently.  Let dissolve for 5 minutes. 

3.  After that time, add the milk/shortening mixture into the yeast mixture.  Then add the eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon (or nutmeg, or a mixture of both), and half of the flour.

4.  Using your paddle attachment, mix on low speed until the flour is incorporated, and then on medium until well combined.  Repeat with the remaining flour.

5.  Now, using your dough hook, beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is smooth, ~4-5 minutes.

6.  Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl and allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

7.  On a well floured surface, roll the dough out anywhere from 3/8-inch thick to 1/2-inch thick.

8.  Using a 2-1/2-inch doughnut cutter or large and small pastry rings, cut out doughnuts.  Set on floured baking sheet, cover with a hand towel or tea towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

9.  Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a heavy bottom, deep pan to 365 F.  

10.  Once heated, gently place the doughnut into the oil 3-4 at a time, depending on the size of your pan/deep fryer.
11.  Cook for 1 minute per side and then flip.  Transfer to a cooling rack with paper towels, or directly into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Let cool 15-20 minutes before glazing, if desired.

Cinnamon-Sugar
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoons cinammon

Glaze
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Enjoy!

Mmmm...glazed!

Pretzel Bites (with a surprise twist)!

One of my favorite food blogs is Crepes of Wrath.  I adore the photographs and how well she keeps the blog up.  Now that I am ONE DAY from finishing my internship, I hopefully will be able to keep up my blog posting as well as be able to focus on taking better photos!  This recipe comes from her blog and I hope you love it as much as I did.  Making bread and bread type products isn't very hard, you'll just need some time to let the dough rise.

They are so great right out of the oven, just don't burn your tongue!  They are best enjoyed on the day of, but if you keep them longer than 24 hours, store them uncovered, as they get soggy that way.  Enjoy!

Your ingredients...quite simple.

Prepare all ingredients below and mix with your dough hook until the dough pulls away from the bowl. 

Knead into a ball on a lightly floured surface. 

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise about 1 hour until the dough is doubled in size.

Divide into eight equal portions and then roll those portions into logs about 20-22 inches in length. 

Cut the dough logs into 1 inch pieces and let rise, covered for 20-30 minutes.

Boil 8-10 pieces at a time for 30 seconds per batch.   Put the pieces onto a cookie sheet and brush with the egg mixture.  Sprinkle with salt to taste and enjoy.

Homemade Soft Pretzels 

For the pretzels:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (I used rapid rise yeast and it worked just as well)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

For cooking the pretzels:
vegetable or olive oil (for oiling your bowl)
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Coarse sea salt, fleur de sel, or kosher salt

1. For the pretzels: combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or a food processor and beat or pulse until well incorporated. Let stand for 5 minutes.  If you're using a stand mixer, use your dough hook, add in the salt and 4 1/2 cups of flour, and then mix or pulse on low speed until combined.  Bring the speed up to medium and continue kneading or pulsing until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes.  If the dough appears too wet, you can add more flour a 1 tablespoon at a time.  Remove the dough from the bowl or processor, place on a flat, lightly floured surface, and knead into a ball with your hands.

2.  Lightly oil a large bowl with vegetable oil or olive oil, then add the dough and turn it to coat with the oil. Cover it with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. 

3.  Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a flat, lightly floured surface.  Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each.  Roll each piece into a long rope that is about 22 inches long.  Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces, then cover and allow to rise again for another 20-30 minutes.

4.  When the dough has risen again, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add in the baking soda.  Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches, about 8-10 pretzels at a time is a good number.  Boil for about 30 seconds, then remove the pretzels with a large, slotted spoon or spatula.  Place pretzel bites on a lightly greased baking sheet, being sure that they are not touching one another.  Brush the tops with the egg and water mixture and sprinkle with the coarse salt.  Place the pretzels in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

5.  Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating.  These are great fresh from the oven or room temperature.

 Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzel Bites!

We decided to try and make cinnamon-sugar pretzel bites from a few of the pretzels and it turned out pretty good.  Follow the steps below for a nice sweet treat.

1.  Boil the pretzels as above and brush them with the egg mixture, but do not salt them.

2.  Bake as directed and let them cool completely.  

3.  Make a cinnamon-sugar mixture with a ratio of 3 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon.

4.  Melt 1-2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a bowl.  Toss the pretzels in the butter in small batches and then coat them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and enjoy! 

**Do not put the cinnamon-sugar on top of the pretzels prior to baking them.  The mixture will burn and not really give the good cinnamon-sugar taste you've come to expect from pretzels**