Baked Doughnuts from 101Cookbooks

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Baked Doughnuts Don't over bake these, if anything, under bake them a bit -

they will continue baking outside the oven for a few minutes. You want an

interior that is moist and tender - not dry. Also, be sure to cut big enough

holes in the center of your doughnuts - too small and they will bake entirely

shut. Remember they rise, and they rise even more when they are baking.

 

1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)

1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

5 cups all-purpose flour (alternately, white whole wheat might work - haven't

tried it yet)

A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

 

Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the

yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Be sure your milk isn't too hot or

it will kill the yeast. Stir the butter and sugar into the remaining cup of warm

milk and add it to the yeast mixture. With a fork, stir in the eggs, flour,

nutmeg, and salt - just until the flour is incorporated. With the dough hook

attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed. This

is where you are going to need to make adjustments - if your dough is overly

sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry? Add more milk a bit at a

time. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and

eventually become supple and smooth. Turn it out onto a floured counter-top,

knead a few times (the dough should be barely sticky), and shape into a ball.

Transfer the dough to a buttered (or oiled) bowl, cover, put in a warm place

(I turn on the oven at this point and set the bowl on top), and let rise for an

hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on your floured

countertop. Most people (like myself) don't have a doughnut cutter, instead I

use a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to stamp out circles. Transfer the circles to a

parchment-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a

smaller cutter. If you cut the inner holes out any earlier, they become

distorted when you attempt to move them. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise

for another 45 minutes.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes -

start checking around 8. While the doughnuts are baking, place the butter in a

medium bowl. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two. Dip

each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugar bowl. Eat

immediately if not sooner.

Makes 1 1/2 - 2 dozen medium doughnuts.