Doughnut Resist

I was fascinated with what the yeast can do to breads such as Baguette, Ciabatta (Italian pronunciation: [tʃaˈbaːta], literally "carpet slipper"), Foccacia (Italian pronunciation: [foˈkatʃːa]) , Pizza (Italian: [ˈpit.tsa]) , and Doughnut among others. If you will take a look at the history, growth and nutrition, reproduction, uses and other elements of the yeast you will have nosebleed, so to make it simple in baking point of view it is use as leavening agent, where it converts the fermentable sugars present in dough into the gas carbon dioxide. This causes the dough to expand and rise as gas forms pockets or bubbles. When the dough is baked the yeast dies and the air pockets "set", giving the baked product a soft and spongy texture...still has nosebleed?

After having tried baking baguettes, now for my daughter's wish i made her and her cousins some Doughnut. It was not as soft and spongy as Krispy Kreme or even taste exactly like it but they enjoyed it with gusto and was asking for more. My daughter who was also curious (just like her mom) and overwhelmed with the dough made a few pinches thus releasing some air and deflate the dough.

There are a wide varieties of doughnut to choose from, this can be sweet or occasionally savory. In different parts of the world they have their own variation of doughnut, it can be made as simple the one in Persia where they have zoolbia and bamiyeh, a fritter that comes in different shapes and sizes coated in sugar water syrup or a Bean paste doughnut where it is widely available in Japan bakeries, it is similar to Germany's Berliner except it contains red azuki bean paste.

I made mine easy and simple. Mix all the ingredients together proof, shape, proof, fry and sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar. Yes it's as simple as that, but remember Patience is a virtue because for the first proofing you need to let it rest for an hour and the next proofing about 15 minutes. By the way, proofing has two meanings one having to do with yeast and the other having to do with the dough. Proofing yeast occasionally refers to the process of mixing only water and yeast and proofing dough refers to a specific rest period within the more generalized process known as fermentation.

Doughnut

Makes 24 regular size pieces

For the dough

• 3-1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp instant yeast
• 1 cup warm water
  
• 1 pc egg
• 1 pc egg yolk
• 1/4 cup butter (cut into 1/2" cube, keep refrigerated)
  
• 1 gm bread improver

For frying

• 3 to 4 cups vegetable oil

For dusting

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

To mix. In a medium bowl mix the flour, salt and sugar. Set aside. Stir yeast and warm warm together, add egg and egg yolk. Mix well and set aside. Using your fingers toss butter into flour until butter is size of cornmeal. Add yeast mixture and work mixture into a dough and knead for 10 minutes. Let rest until double in size.
To form. Roll the dough either square or rectangular shape into 1/2" thick (or depending on how thick you want your dough). With a cookie cutter of about 4" in diameter cut the dough and using the smallest cookie cutter punch the center to create a hole. Place the formed dough in a baking sheet with parchment paper and let rest for 15 minutes before frying.

To fry. Heat oil until it reaches 320 F. Dip each doughnut in the cooking oil and cook until both sides are golden brown. Drain in paper lined tray.

To dip. Mix the white sugar and cinnamon and dust or sprinkle it on top of the doughnut.

Make sure to try this recipe because it's one snack that you "doughnut" want to miss and of course! the best combination for these is coffee.

Happy Eating!


By His Grace,