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The American Classic
Doughnuts Recipe

Everybody loves the "holed" classic doughnuts recipe. Especially the thinly glazed ones. Just like with other traditional pastries the doughnut is closely tied to its country's culture. The US American lifestyle!

Classic Doughnuts

For some reason, people tend to gravitate towards the traditional made doughnut when put next to the thickly iced and colorful variants. 

We seem to have an appetite for things in "balance", when fat and sugar are in equal or near equal ratios. That's probably the reason why cake is the big contester of this delicious treat.


Let's Make Classic
Doughnut Memories

Dough:

  • 350 g strong flour
  • 24 cl whole milk
  • 2 ½ tsp dry yeast
  • 30 g fine sugar
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 110 g unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg

Glaze:

  • 200 g powdered sugar
  • 5 to 6 tbsp water
  • 10 to 15 drops lemon juice

Dough:

  1. Take half of the flour and blend with yeast. 
  2. Add some of the lukewarm milk to the flour-yeast mix, gradually add more until you have a paste. Let it react for 15 minutes.
  3. Blend the flour-yeast mix with yolks, salt, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. 
  4. Beat sugar and softened butter until smooth and creamy. Add to step 4.
  5. Add the rest of the flour and knead. 
  6. At this point, the trick is to add just enough flower until the dough has a non-sticking, tender consistency. Adding too much flour will harden the doughnuts.
  7. Knead until the dough is smooth, soft and elastic.
  8. Cover dough with a clean kitchen towel and proof for 45 minutes at room temperature. After, punch the air out of the dough as you knead again.
  9. Roll out the dough to the thickness of a normal sized pinky finger (approx. the thickness of a AA battery).
  10. Using a 7,5 - 8 cm (3 inch) doughnut cutter, cut out the shapes and lay them on a with flour dusted surface .
  11. Let the doughnuts rise in a warm place to double in size. This can go from 10 to 30 minutes. The proofing is done when you gently dent the dough with the fingertip and the hole hardly jumps back. If it jumps back immediately, more proofing is needed.
  12. Heat a deep pan with enough frying oil. The ideal oil temperature is 180°C to 185°C (356°F - 365°F).
  13. Carefully introduce the doughnuts into the hot oil. Try not to press on the dough too much. Fry approximately 1 minute on each side or until golden brown.
  14. Drain doughnuts on paper towel.

Warm glaze:

Always use warm glaze on warm doughnuts for best results.

  1. Add water and lemon drops to icing sugar and stir well until smooth and silky.
  2. Warm up glaze in a small bowl, a little larger than the doughnut.!
  3. Dip half of the warm doughnut in the sugar solution and let drain on a rack.
  4. Dip the other half of the doughnut in the glaze if you so wish. A more economic way of applying the glaze is by using a pastry brush. The sugar layer shouldn't be to thick otherwise it will overpower the dough taste. A light layer will do.
  5. Let the glaze solidify in the refrigerator.


TIPS:

  • Good frying oils are arachis and culinary olive oil.
  • All ingredients at room temperature.
  • Use lukewarm milk.
  • Soften butter in microwave without melting.
  • Use enough frying oil.

Tools to make the
classic doughnuts recipe

Hand mixer (or stand mixer), 8 cm (3 inch) doughnut cutter, measuring spoons, silicone spatula, sieve.

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