OCTOBER DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE: Let's Go Nuts for Doughnuts! | The Daring Kitchen

OCTOBER DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE: Let's Go Nuts for Doughnuts! The Daring Kitchen: "The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious."

I have actually never made homemade doughnuts by myself, however when I was 5 I did help my mom with this task as well as many others in the kitchen.  It was a great time, it did make me late for work the Sunday, oops. I took them to work with me as a bribe it worked.  I only made a half batch of doughnuts because I may have eaten the whole batch. Is there anything better than a fresh glazed doughnut hole?

The original recipe did call for all purpose flour, but I substituted whole wheat pastry flour instead.  They turned out light and fluffy even with that replacement. 

• 1.5 cups milk
• 1/3 cups vegetable shortening
• 4.5 tsp yeast
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 4 2/3 cups flour

1. Mix milk and shortening in a suace pan over low heat unitl shortening is melted
2. Place yeast and warm water in a bowl for 5 minutes until yeast blooms
3. Place yeast mixture and shortening mixture in the bottom of a stand mixer
4. Add in eggs, sugar, salt and half of the flour, mix until combined
5. Add the other half of flour
6. Beat with dough hook for 3-5 minutes, until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl
7. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl
8. Let raise until doubled in size
9. Roll out onto a flour surface
10. Cut appropriate size and shape of doughnuts or doughnut holes
11. Let raise for 30 minutes
12. Fry in 365 degree oil until golden brown





This is the dough after beating for 5 minutes.  It is very elastic and ready to go into a lightly oiled bowl to raise.





This is a snaphot of the dough after it doubled in size, waiting to be poured out and rolled out.





This shows how light the dough was after it had a chance to raise.





Doughnut holes in the forground and doughnuts in the background after they have raised.