Time to make the donuts!

For a couple of months of now, I've been wanting to make homemade donuts for the family. I have memories of my mom making them for me when I was little except she made them from canned biscuit dough. She would fry them up in her cast iron skillet, and I would shake them in a paper bag full of sugar. It was such a treat for me, so it's something I was excited to do for my son. And while I was daydreaming about how happy my son would be to see me making donuts in the kitchen, how he would ask me to make them every weekend, how excited he would be to cut the donuts out with the cutter... he was completely oblivious in real life. He preferred to play Subway Surf on the couch and watch Cars on TV. And when I gave him a little donut hole to start off with, he reacted the same as if we got them from Shipley's. Fun. But I haven't given up hope yet.

Yeast Raised Donuts

recipe from King Arthur Flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

3 cups (12 3/4 oz) unbleached all purpose flour

1 large egg

1 cup (8 oz) milk

2 tablespoons (1 oz) butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 cups (2 lbs) vegetable oil or shortening (2 1/2 lbs), for frying 

1.Whisk together the dry ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk, butter and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture, mixing until well combined.

3. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead for 6 to 8 minutes by hand or mixer until you have a smooth, soft dough.

4. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, turn it over to grease the top, and let it rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in bulk.

5. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

6. Gently roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with a round cutter.

7. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise again for about 1 hour, until doubled again.

8. Place oil or shortening in a heavy pan or deep skillet and heat to 350°F.

9. Place the doughnuts in the oil, two or three at a time, and fry until golden brown.

10. Turn over and cook the second side. This should be no more than a minute on each side. Overcooking will make the doughnuts tough.

11. Drain on paper towels.

Glaze

recipe from The Pioneer Woman

3 cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 cup Cold Water Or Milk

1. Mix all glaze ingredients in a bowl until completely smooth.

2. One by one, dip doughnuts into the glaze until halfway submerged. (Note: completely submerge doughnut holes, then remove with slotted spoon.)

4. Remove from glaze, then turn right side up on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to catch dripping glaze.)

5. Serve warm if possible, or room temperature.

Baking Bread

Yeast used to intimidate me. Just everything about it. Using the right temperature to activate it, waiting hours for it to rise. Then after the first rise, you let it rise again. Then hoping that it doesn't fall during the baking process. It just seems like this long, scary ordeal. But despite all of that, I tried making bread a few weeks ago... and it turned out fine! I used King Arthur Flour's recipe for their classic white sandwich bread, and it was a hit with my family. 

  

I placed all the ingredients (recipe listed below) in my stand mixer, and after it reached the right consistency, I stuck it in an 8 cup pitcher and covered with a tea towel.

  

Here it is after it's first rise. The pitcher really helped me see when the dough doubled in size.

 

Once doubled, I gently punched it down and shaped it into a loaf. I covered it with a towel and let it rise one more time. After it's final rise, I baked it off in the oven. My house smelled fantastic and the bread was so, so delicious. I can't wait to try out more recipes!

Classic White Sandwich Bread

recipe from King Arthur Flour

1 1/3 to 1/12 cups of lukewarm water

1 heaping tablespoon of honey

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons soft butter

4 cups AP Flour

1/3 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk granules

Mix all the ingredients in the order listed, and mix and knead - by hand or using a stand mixer - to make a smooth dough. It won't be particularly soft or stiff, it should be smooth and feel bouncy and elastic under your hands.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup. Cover it, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes, till it's become quite puffy, though not necessarily doubled in size.

Gently deflate the dough and shape into a fat 9" log. Place in a lightly greased 9x5 loaf pan. 

Cover the pan, and let the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes, till it's crowned 1" to 1 1/2" over the rim of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350.

Bake bread for 20 minutes. Tent it lightly with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, till it's golden brown. An instant read thermometer inserted into the center will read 195 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove the bread from oven and turn it out onto a rack to cool. When completely cool, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature.

Extras

-I used SAF Instant Yeast

-My dough rose pretty quickly and under the recommended times. It didn't affect the final result.

-I started off using the smaller amount of water. It was a bit humid that day, so I knew it would affect my dough.

-I lined the pan with parchment paper. This made it easy to lift the loaf out after it finished baking.