Doughnuts are hard to beat as a sweet treat but the traditional method of frying them and making the dough can be hard to do from scratch.
However, if you’re up for a challenge, this recipe creates the tastiest homemade doughnuts ever, even better than from the shops.
They can take quite some time to perfect though, but the end result is definitely worth it.
Jane’s recipe was also super easy to follow, with the step-by-step guide stating everything you need to achieve the doughnuts.
I managed to make around 12 doughnuts from this recipe, but they could have been made smaller which would make more sweet treats.
Ingredients:
Dough:
450g strong white bread flour
50g caster sugar
Half a teaspoon of salt
14g dried active yeast
75g unsalted butter, cold
200ml full-fat milk
One teaspoon of vanilla extract
Two medium eggs
Two litres of sunflower oil, for frying
Method:
Start by sifting the flour into a large bowl before adding the caster sugar, yeast and salt and mixing it.
Next, rub the butter into the mixture so it resembles breadcrumbs. Gently heat the milk until warm and add it to the mix along with the vanilla extract and eggs, mixing with a spatula.
Knead the dough together for around seven to 10 minutes and once done, it should be springy to touch and not sticky.
Transfer into a lightly oiled bowl and cover the top of the bowl with clingfilm, allowing it to rise for one to two hours, or until doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out onto a floured surface until it is 2cm thick and take a 9cm round cutter to cut out some doughnuts.
In the middle of each ring, use a smaller cutter, around 4cm to cut and form a ring. Re-roll the dough until it has all been used up.
Add the doughnuts onto a lightly floured tray, cover with clingfilm and leave for another one to two hours, or until doubled in size.
Now it is time to fry the doughnuts. Heat the oil to 170C, testing this with a thermometer, before carefully lowering the doughnut into the oil.
If you do not have a thermometer, you can test the temperature of the oil with a piece of bread. It should turn a golden brown colour in 20 to 25 seconds, but not burn.
Fry on each side for one to two minutes until they are a nice golden colour. Once golden, remove and place onto some kitchen towel, then onto a cooling rack.
Once cooled, decorate them how you wish. Jane recommended using an icing mix and topping them with sprinkles or freeze-dried raspberries.
Alternatively, chocolate can also be used and topped with chocolate curls or chocolate sprinkles.
If you don’t fancy icing or chocolate, you can coat the doughnuts in cinnamon sugar, using 125g caster sugar and two teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
