Doughnut Time!

Today I ventured into as yet uncharted territory: the making of doughnuts.

As I mentioned in this post, I went to Top Pot in Seattle this month and picked a copy of their cookbook. When my roommate, T, went through the book, she spied a recipe that tickled her fancy right away: the Pumpkin Old-Fashioned Doughnuts. T, like me, loves pumpkiny baking, and since I had some of the stuff stashed in the freezer after making the pull-apart loaf, I was in.

Here is the recipe, which I lazily cut and pasted from this site (thank you, Nicky).

Pumpkin Old-Fashioned Doughnuts

For the Doughnuts

• 3 cups cake flour, plus more for rolling and cutting
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. iodized salt
• 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. shortening/vegetable lard
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• Canola oil, for frying

For the Pumpkin Glaze

• 4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 tsp. light corn syrup
• 1/4 iodized salt
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup hot water

1. To make the doughnut dough: Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice together into a medium bowl, and set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the sugar and shortening for 1 minute on low speed, until sandy. Add the egg yolks, then mix for 1 minute on medium speed, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if necessary, until the mixture is light colored and thick.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three separate additions, alternating with the sour cream and pumpkin, mixing until just combined on low speed and scraping the sides of the bowl each time. The dough will be sticky, like wet cookie/biscuit dough.
4. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap/cling film, for 45 minutes (or up to 24 hours).
5. Meanwhile, make the pumpkin glaze: Place the confectioners sugar, corn syrup, salt, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin and vanilla in the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the machine on medium speed, add the water in a slow, steady stream, and blend until all the sugar has been incorporated, scraping the bowl a few times if necessary. Set aside.
6. Using a candy thermometer to measure the temperature, heat oil (at least 2 inches deep) in a deep fryer, large pot, or high-sided frying pan to 325 degrees F. Roll out the chilled dough on a generously floured counter or cutting board to 1/2 inch thick, or about 8 inch in diameter, flouring the top of the dough and the rolling pin as necessary to prevent sticking. Cut into as many doughnuts and holes as possible, dipping the cutter into the flour between each cut. Fold and gently re-roll the dough to make extra holes (working with floured hands makes the dough less sticky), and cut again.
7. Shake any excess flour off the doughnuts before carefully adding them to hot oil a few at a time, taking care not to crowd them. Once the doughnuts float, fry for 15 seconds, then gently flip them. Fry for 75 to 90 seconds, until golden brown and cracked, then flip and fry the first side again for 60 to 75 seconds, until golden. Transfer to a rack set over paper towels/absorbent paper.
8. While the doughnuts are still quite hot, dip the side with the deepest cracks on each into the warm Pumpkin glaze. Let dry on cooling racks, glazed side up for about 15 minutes.

Needless to say, these came out just amazingly. I especially loved all the little "Timbits"! Of course, now we have a bunch of doughnuts kicking around the house, but I've had worse problems.

One issue I had was that there was too much glaze for the number of doughnuts I had, so I have put the remaining glaze aside for another use. I'm not sure what that use would be at this point, but it's there should inspiration strike.


As you can see from the photo, I deep fried in my wok. This is my preferred deep frying vessel and it always works great.

This was definitely a worthwhile experience and I'm sure I'll be making more recipes from the book, but next time a yeast doughnut, perhaps. I have my eyes on the Raspberry Bullseyes!