Adventures in Doughnut Making!

I have been wanting to try making homemade doughnuts absolutely forever!  I mean, I've made homemade bagels, tortillas, granola bars - doughnuts just seemed like the next one to try.

As luck would have it, my February/March issue of Taste of Home included a feature on doughnut making, so Saturday morning I gave it a try.  I chose the yeast doughnut recipe, as opposed to the cake doughtnut recipe, which used baking powder.  (Like any true daughter of the South, I have a weakness for a fluffy Krispy Kreme doughnut, and these seemed similar.)

I started these at about 8:00 or 8:30 on Saturday morning, and we had them for brunch at about 11:00; so they are definitely time-consuming.  It's not that the process is difficult; it was mostly the two risings.  The dough turned out very smooth and easy to work with.

I don't have a doughnut or biscuit cutter, so I use a large glass for the doughnut and a small jar to cut the hole.

Now, the dough was supposed to double in size both at the first rising and when the doughnuts were shaped, but mine did not seem to rise much at all either time.  I conjecture that this may have had to do with the yeast, which was two packets that had been a while in my pantry, instead of in the fridge with my other yeast.  Also, on that snowy morning our kitchen was somewhat cold, which may have affected the rising.  I think the stunted rising may have contributed to my subsequent problem.

I actually did not need a huge amount of oil to fry the doughnuts, and they turned out a beautiful golden color.  While still warm, I dipped them in a thin powdered sugar and water glaze, and topped them with sprinkles or powdered sugar.  I couldn't believe how much they looked like real doughnuts!

However, there was one catch.  When my husband and I excitedly bit into the first batch, we discovered that some of the doughnuts were still doughy inside.  Some were just about completely cooked, but a few were definitely inedible.  

I was pretty disappointed (after 3 hours of work!), so I thought it was worth it to try Michael's suggestion of baking them for a little while at a low temperature, even though I wasn't sure what that would do to the glaze.  We tried first at 250, but ultimately switched to 325.  Actually, it worked.  The glaze did really melt or run, and the doughnuts cooked through.  It definitely dried them out a little, but they were still tasty.  In every other respect, the doughnuts were delicious and very authentic.

I think that if the doughnuts had risen more and been less dense, they might have cooked more thoroughly.  Also, I think the oil getting increasingly hotter as I continued to fry them may have made the later doughnuts brown too quickly, before they were cooked.  This is a problem that is hard to avoid without an electric skillet or a deep fryer, and it is why I have been somewhat leery of deep frying.  I'll be looking for one of those on the yard sale circuit this summer!

Despite the slight setback, I'm rather more into making the doughnuts now than otherwise.  I might try the cake doughnut recipe next time.  And I'll be sure to invite some friends over, because a whole batch of doughnuts is a lot for a small family to eat!

Check out more DIY projects over at A Soft Place to Land.