Last week Ange of All Trades came to visit and introduced me to donuts by Cartems Donuterie. Oh my! These were yummy donuts. After trying gourmet, it will be hard to go back to mass produced goods from Tim Horton’s. Who am I kidding? If you bring over Timbits or a sour cream glazed donut, I’m not exactly going to turn either one down!
Of course you know where this story is heading. it suddenly occurred to me that I have never attempted to make donuts. This is mostly because they are an affordable guilty pleasure and frying stuff at home is too messy.
Imagine my excitement when I came across a recipe that promised a batch of light and fluffy donuts (yeast, not cake) that are baked instead of fried. I knew I had to give it a try!
This simple and easy to follow recipe will yield 12-14 soft, airy donuts. I opted to dip them in cinnamon sugar but a vanilla glaze or chocolate drizzle would be just as nice!
Baked Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk, heated to 115 degrees
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2½ to 3½ cups unbleached flour, divided, plus more for kneading
- 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons cinnamon, mixed together
In a large bowl, stir together flour, yeast and salt. Set aside for later. Cream butter and sugar together. Using medium speed, beat in egg until well incorporated. Add vanilla and continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy.
Attach the dough hook and turn mixer to low. Slowly add half of the warm milk, followed by 1 cup of flour. Continue mixing on low, adding the rest of the milk and another cup of flour. Continue adding the rest of the flour until the dough sticks to the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should be soft and moist, but not sticky.
Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in a lightly greased mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down the dough and roll it out to about ½” thickness. With cookie or biscuit cutters, cut out 3″ circles with 1″ holes. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, place the doughnuts 1″ apart. Cover with plastic wrap or clean tea towel and let rise until almost doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).
Bake in preheated 400F oven until light golden in color, 5-8 minutes. Dip the hot doughnuts in the melted butter and then coat with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve immediately; doughnuts are best eaten the same day they are made.
Adapted from recipe found at Brown Eyed Baker. The ingredients are the same but the directions have been altered slightly. I made the dough, similar to how I normally prepare bread.
Don’t be alarmed if your donuts look disappointingly dull when you take them out of the oven. Mine resembled dry bagels minus the egg wash. They need to be dressed up before looking anything like “real” donuts!
Also, dipping the donuts in butter and the cinnamon sugar coating was really messy! Try using a pastry brush to lightly coat the warm donut before dipping into the sugar.
I’m so glad I discovered how easy it is to bake your own donuts. This recipe is definitely a keeper and I look forward to baking more for friends and family!
What’s cooking in your kitchen this Wednesday?
You may enjoy these popular posts:
Wow! As if three kids including a newborn isn’t enough work for you! Way to go Shani! These look delish! I have to give this a try some time!