New Year's Resolution Take 3: Donuts!

Last week I was wondering if I should bother doing another baking quest, I kept missing months. I had a really tough and busy year in all areas of my life. I wasn't sure if I should bother.

Then I got pumped up again. Several friends asked me about what I was going to make this year. Strangers asked me if I had a New Year's resolutions and I found myself on the "no resolutions but learn a new skill" soapbox. Of course, we all should keep working on being healthier and give up bad habits. It's just not as fun or delicious! So I'm sticking to my ongoing baking quest even though I really struggled this year fitting in the time to do it.

The tough part was figuring out what to make. I like to pick stuff that I struggle with or have no clue where to begin. I was considering layer cakes (like fancy ones or the ones that a Grandma would make), pastries, bars or donuts. I narrowed it down to donuts and cake. I was still torn.

I did an informal poll amongst my friends via text message and Facebook to help me decide. 
Drum roll....

I'm making donuts for 2014!

Right now I drive 15 minutes to get decent donuts from one of those little mom and pop places called Baker's Dozen in Overland, Missouri (they don't have a website). Ya know...where it's owned by local. Where the only other thing they sell are beverages. No barista with multiple sentence, complicated orders. It's coffee (regular and decaf) and a refrigerated case with soda, juice and milk. Most importantly, they have real donuts. Crispy on the outside, tender and fluffy on the inside. Not greasy. The kind I want to know how to make. 

Cake donuts. Raised Donuts. Fritters. Iced. Glazed. Sprinkled. Sugar coated. Spiced. Savory with sweet.

I have tried homemade donuts only once before. I made them for Chanukah years ago. I used vegetable oil and fried them in a dutch oven on my stovetop with a candy thermometer. I struggled keeping the temperature constant. The oil got too hot at some point and it broke my candy thermometer.  They also had a weird vegetable oil aftertaste. The kind that coats your tongue in a gross way. 

My plan is to make donuts that would make Homer Simpson murmur dreamily (mmm. Donuts). I had a couple of things to figure out first.

Deep fat fryer
I need to make sure I don't have to worry about stocking up on candy thermometers. I did a little research on the best fryers thanks to an article in March 2013's edition of Saveur which did a whole feature on donuts. Then armed with coupons we bought the Waring Pro at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Different oil
I want to get rid of that greasy aftertaste. Saveur listed several to try (Canola, Safflower, Peanut). I am going to try them and figure out my favorite. 

Attempt 1: Top Pot Sour Cream Old Fashioned Donuts
I found the recipe on The Messy Baker's blog. I made a couple of adjustments. I tried them with peanut oil. Instead of rolling them out, I hand shaped them (Saveur tip) so they wouldn't be too tough. 

I made them unglazed, with chocolate icing and sprinkles (my youngest's preference) and regular vanilla glaze.

Honestly, I thought they were just okay. The good news is that they weren't greasy. What was wrong though? I don't know if it was the nutty flavor of the peanut oil that I didn't like. Perhaps it was because I found the crispy outside-fluffy inside ratio was off (too crispy). I might have cooked them too long. Or even though I didn't roll them out, they seemed sort of tough. I also didn't get the glaze right. It wasn't translucent. Anyway, I have all year to figure it out.

However, my husband liked the crunchiness. My youngest gave them a 7 (out of 10). So not bad for a first try.

Now Bake That! (or fry it)

Slightly sour December

Well not quite "December". I'm a few days late. Sorry readers! Anyway.

Sourdough bread. It seems intimidating. In fact, it's been so intimidating that I have been putting it off all year. So I decided I need to find a simple version of it. I found it....Alton Brown's Knead Not Sourdough!

The lack of kneading wasn't what attracted me to the recipe. My 6qt Kitchenaid mixer is my iron work horse. It's the lack of complicated, multiple steps that drew me in. You mix it and leave it on the counter for 19 hours.  Then roll it a little in some flour and let rise it again in a tea towel. Since I just got home from holiday traveling and I'm behind on my deadline, sign me up for simple and easy!

This is what it looked like after resting for 19 hours. Super bubbly.

Okay, it wasn't with some, um, issues. You have to preheat a dutch oven and then pull it out and slide the fermented dough in it. It stuck on an edge and I decided to give it a quick shake to get it in. I forgot to use hot pads. Oops! I burnt my thumb and finger. Burn gel, five bandaids later and a set of latex gloves and I was ready to keep on going.  

Now I did one extra trick, which I learned from making ciabatta. The bread is first baked with dutch oven's cover on. Then you uncover it for the last 15 minutes of baking. When I uncovered it (with hot pads on this time), I sprayed my oven walls with water using a squirt gun to create steam and to make that crispy crust. 
Here are the results:


The squirt gun trick worked. The crust was crispy and chewy and the insides fluffy.

My husband said it was amazing! He also warned me that the loaf might be "missing" in the morning. 

Compared to sourdough I have had other places it didn't have a super strong sourdough flavor. Probably because it wasn't made from an aged starter. Slightly sour worked just fine though because it tasted amazing to me too!

Now Bake That!