I’m kind of new to the ebb and flow of day to day food writing. Food reading? That’s old hat, for as long as I can remember. But food writing … more
I’m kind of new to the ebb and flow of day to day food writing. Food reading? That’s old hat, for as long as I can remember. But food writing day after day, month after month, is kind of alien to me.
So I’m paying attention. It’s resolution time! In food, that means salad greens, packed with virtue.
I love salad greens. And broccoli. Mustard greens. Kale. All kinds of veg. Even as a kid I loved it all. But writing about broccoli? I’ll leave that snoozefest to the experts.
I’d much rather talk about the joy of watching doughnuts raise on a lazy Saturday morning. Or the way the glaze splinters when you break one open.
For me, many good things in the kitchen start like this. With butter and milk, melted and simmered for a moment.
Then poured into the dry ingredients (flour, salt, cream of tartar, baking soda, sugar, freshly ground nutmeg and yeast) that have already been mixed with the cider vinegar and eggs.
You’ll need to add some more flour by the tablespoon to get the dough just right.
The dough should be a bit sticky, but easily scraped off the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
Then turned out on some unbleached parchment paper
Flour a doughnut cutter
And cut out rounds. Then space them on rimmed baking sheets.
And wait for them to rise. They tend to rise tall, not wide. Don’t be jealous of my even rise. I owe it to my Brod & Taylor
Then fry in hot oil (but first dirty the oil a bit, so your doughnuts will fry golden brown and beautiful).
They brown quickly.
So light and airy. Much more fun than broccoli (due respect to the veg).
Don’t forget to fry the holes. Holes are doughnuts, too. Maybe make a few heart-shaped doughnuts.
Dip in some simple glaze.
Admire your handiwork.
Now here are all the details…
- 2½ cups (350g) all-purpose gluten-free flour (I use Better Batter), plus more by the tablespoon (9g)
- 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar
- 2½ teaspoons instant (breadmaker or rapid rise) yeast
- ½ teaspoon fresh finely-ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 extra-large egg plus 1 extra-large egg white
- 9 ounces milk (low-fat is fine, nonfat is not; nondairy is fine)
- 4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter
- Oil for frying
- 1 cup (120g) confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tablespoons (42g) Lyle’s Golden Syrup (or honey)
- 2 to 4 tablespoons water
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, place 2½ cups flour, the xanthan gum, salt, cream of tartar, baking soda and sugar. Whisk to combine well. Add the yeast and optional nutmeg, and whisk again to combine well. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the vinegar and the eggs, and mix to combine.
- In a small saucepan over a medium-low flame, heat the milk and butter, stirring frequently, until the butter is melted and the milk begins to simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool a bit until it reaches about 110 degrees F.
- With the mixer on low, add the melted butter and milk in a slow, steady stream until the liquid is absorbed by the dry ingredients. The dough will be very wet. With the mixture on the lowest speed, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of flour, 1 at a time, mixing well in between additions until the dough comes together more. It should still be wet and sticky if you touch it with your hands, but it should be easy to scrape it off the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula (see photo). You may not need both tablespoons of flour.
- Turn the dough out onto a sheet of unbleached parchment paper. Top with another sheet of parchment paper and roll about ½ inch thick (see photo). Remove the top sheet of parchment, and dust the dough very lightly with a bit more flour (see photo). Flour well a doughnut cutter, and cut the dough into doughnut shapes. Transfer the dough cut-outs to a rimmed baking sheet, separating the doughnut shapes from the holes. Gather scraps and reroll, then cut more shapes. Place the baking sheets in a warm, draft-free spot and allow to rise until about 150% of their original size (see photos). The dough should mostly rise vertically rather than spreading horizontally too much.
- In a large, heavy-bottom stock pot, heat at least 2 inches of oil to about 350 degrees F. Once the oil reaches temperature, fry a few old chunks of bread in the oil. They will blacken pretty quickly. Discard them. Fry doughnuts and holes in the hot oil in small batches, about 1 minute (or less) per side, until golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack lined with paper towels.
- While the doughnuts are cooling briefly, make the glaze. In a small-to-medium-sized bowl, place the confectioner’s sugar. Add the syrup or honey, and mix to combine into a thick paste. Add water, a tablespoon at a time, and mix well until you have achieved a smooth and thickly pourable glaze. Dip the top of each doughnut and doughnut hole in the glaze. Right the doughnuts and return to the wire rack to set.
- Store uncovered at room temperature for the day, no longer.
Love,
Me
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