whine & dine

I like donuts. I’m not one of those who will queue for three hours, nor someone who insists that friends studying/working in cities like London or Sydney must buy me Krispy Kremes whenever they come back on summer/winter break. (I only requested for Krispy Kremes once!) But I do like donuts. And I don’t understand this donut craze in Singapore now, though I reckon it’ll phase out soon enough – just like what happened with Bubble Tea and those Roti-Boy/Mama/Papa/family-member coffee buns and so on.

As those of you who read this space should know by now, I recently started work in a restaurant kitchen. It’s definitely tiring stuff, but I’m enjoying it. However, one thing that cooking for a living has made me miss is cooking at home for fun – pottering around in the kitchen just ‘cos I feel like making [insert dish], because I’m having dearly loved friends over and want to whip up a meal for them that I’ve spent days or even weeks planning, or – better yet – because I want to surprise my bunny once she gets home from work.

Thankfully, being in a professional kitchen 6 days a week hasn’t made me want to hurl the moment I step in my house and set eyes on my own beloved kitchen. That would pose a few problems, the biggest of which being that this job is clearly not for me. I’m glad to report that on my first day off, after having spent the morning rolling around in bed and getting a (foot) massage, my main activity of the day constituted flour, eggs, milk, yeast, sugar, and deep frying – that’s right, I made donuts. Mini donuts, if you will, since I didn’t feel like doing the entire recipe (I halved it) and used a tiny cutter since this way the entire thing can fit in your mouth (albeit rendering you unable to speak for a minute or so) and one won’t sprinkle sugar everywhere when munching on these deep-fried, sugar-coated goodies.

So here’s the recipe I used, and for those of you who love donuts, but – like me – can’t be arsed to spend hours at a time queueing for them, I’d recommend making your own. Sure, it also takes about 3-4 hours from start to finish, but at least you’re not stuck in a line, and most of that time is just spent letting the dough rise. Besides, none of those shops can beat a fresh donut, rolled in sugar while it’s still hot out of the oil.

Yeasted Doughnuts
(adapted from Baking Illustrated)

1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus 3 tbsp, and extra for dusting
¼ tsp salt
3½ tbsp caster sugar, plus extra for rolling (about ½ cup should suffice)
1/3 cup milk at blood temperature (about 35°C)
1 egg
1 1/8 tsp instant dried yeast
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 6 pieces
vegetable oil for deep frying
1 tbsp ground cinnamon, optional

Beat the milk, egg, and ½ a tbsp of sugar together lightly in the bowl of your standing mixer, then add the yeast and stir it in gently. Set the mixture aside in a warm place for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together 1½ cups of the flour, salt and the rest of the sugar in a medium bowl. Once there are bubbles on top of the yeast mixture, secure the bowl in your standing mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, and mix on low speed until a ball of dough forms; about 3 minutes.

Add the softened butter once piece at a time, waiting about 15 seconds between additions. Continue mixing for about 3 minutes longer, adding up to 3 tbsp of the remaining flour if necessary, until the dough forms a soft, but elastic ball.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled medium bowl and cover with cling film. Let the dough rise in a warm and draught-free place for 2 to 2½ hours. After it has nearly doubled in size, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, using a rolling pin, gently roll it to a thickness of 1-1½cm. Cut the dough out using a 1½-2 inch cutter, gathering the scraps and re-rolling if necessary. Place doughnut rings and holes on a floured baking sheet. Loosely cover with cling film and let rise at room temperature until slightly puffy, 30-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, fit a candy thermometer in the side of a medium saucepan. Place oil in until the pan is at least half-filled, and there should be at least 2 inches of oil. Gradually heat the oil over medium high heat until it reaches a temperature of about 180-190°C. Fry the doughnuts 3-4 at a time until golden brown, about 20-30 seconds per side for the rings, and 15-20 seconds per side for the holes. Remove the doughnuts from the oil and drain on a rack lined with kitchen paper until cool enough to handle, then roll in sugar (well mixed with the cinnamon if using) and eat as soon as possible!

Yields about 20 small doughnuts, and will keep for a day in an airtight container at room temperature.