Can you believe in our little podunk town we don't have a donut shop? There used to be one but their donuts were really icky so they didn't last long. We didn't make donuts at the bakery because the building was not equipped with fryers or hoods, and we couldn't even outfit the place with them because the shop was protected by the historical society. Anyway.. we didn't have donuts.
I've never made them before either! I have known too many people who tried making them in the past only to have them burn their kitchens down. Yikes. Now that I know more about frying and what not, I know if your oil is too hot and you're not careful, that can happen! I used my wok to help keep my oil at a constant temperature where it is more difficult when using the stove.
Here's the recipe I used:
1 cup milk, heated
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) yeast
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
7 cups flour
Heat the milk and add warm water to the bowl. Put in the yeast and let it proof for 15 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, mixing well until creamy. Alternate adding the flour and milk/yeast mixture. About halfway through, add the salt. Once the flour has been added, dump the dough onto a well floured counter and knead until you have a really nice, soft dough.
Put in a bowl and allow to rise until double in size.
After the dough has doubled, roll out and use a circle cutter to cut the dough, and then a small circle cutter to remove the center. Put these on sprayed cookie sheets and cover with towels until they're almost double in size.
Look at my big helper! She has been bugging me ALL WEEK to make these! A perfect treat for Friday night. She even got to stay up late to enjoy them.
You want to make up your glazes beforehand. I have three different kinds. Original glaze which is just powdered sugar and a little water. Maple glaze which is powdered sugar, maple syrup and a little water. And finally chocolate glaze. I melted two tablespoons of butter with 1 1/2 cups of chocolate in a saucepan. Add about 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and a little water once the chocolate is melted. Mix well to smooth everything out. I also bought those chocolate sprinkles from the store to put on top! (per Paige's request)
I had my oil heated to about 370*. These don't take long to fry up. Carefully CAREFULLY place the donuts into the oil.
When they're nice and golden on one side, flip them over so the otherside can cook. When both sides are golden, remove from the oil and let drain on paper towels. After you've done all the donuts, fry up those donut holes!
This is the fun part. Use a teaspoon to put the glazes on the donuts. After Jim put on the chocolate glaze, Paige put the sprinkles on.
Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_8263z5fdc3
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