Homemade Yeast Donuts

So, the kids wanted donuts. I thought, sure, we can do that. And since there was a Packers game this weekend, we made Green Bay Packers donuts.

I started researching the art of donut making and found that the traditional way of making donuts is to fry them in lard. Lard is cheap compared to other natural oils like tallow, olive oil, coconut oil, and butter. Lard has a high smoke point, making it an ideal choice for frying.

The process of making the donuts involves an overnight rise. This allows the donuts to be cut and fried right away the next morning so that they are hot and fresh for breakfast.

Homemade Yeast Donuts

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Equipment

• stand mixer
• donut cutter
• 2 large sheet pans, lined with parchment paper
• large dutch oven
• food thermometer
• paper towel lined plate
• cooling rack
• small bowl for glaze

Ingredients

  

Donut dough ingredients

• 1⅛ cup Milk
• 10 tbsp Salted butter
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 2½ tsp Instant yeast
• 4 cups All purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt
• 2 lbs Lard

Glaze Ingredients

• 6 tbsp Salted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp Milk
• 6 tbsp Heavy cream
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 3 cups Powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp Sea salt

Instructions

 

Dough Instructions

• Begin by heating the milk and butter in the microwave until the butter is melted.
• Check the temperature of the butter and milk. It will probably be too hot to mix with the yeast at this point. Allow to cool to 110℉.
• Once the butter and milk are 110℉, pour into the stand mixer bowl. Add the sugar and yeast and rest for a few minutes to allow the yeast to bubble and foam a little bit.
• Add flour and salt to the bowl.
• Using the dough hook attachment, knead the dough for 5 minutes.
• Remove the dough hook and form a dough ball with your hands. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Making the donuts and glaze

• In the morning, remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator and let the bowl sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
• Flour a work surface and roll the dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Using a donut cutter, cut as many donuts out as possible, staying close together so that you have less to roll a second time.
• Place the cut rings and donut holes onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan, cover with a towel and set aside. The donuts will rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the temperature of the house.
• Reroll the dough that is left over to 1/2 inch thick and cut out more donuts. This recipe will make about 2 dozen donuts and 2 dozen donut holes.
• While the donuts are rising, heat the lard into the dutch oven over medium heat and make the glaze.
• Melt the butter in a mixing bowl in the microwave.
• Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, cream, and salt. Stir to combine.
• Microwave the glaze for 30 more seconds and stir. If the glaze is too thick, add up to 2 tablespoons of milk. I like to separate the glaze into 2 different bowls. I make a slightly thinner glaze for the donut holes.
• Monitor the temperature of the hot lard. It is ready to fry when the temperature is 350℉. If the temperature rises above 350℉, turn down the stove and allow the temperature to drop before continuing.
• Once the lard is ready, drop about half of the donut holes into the dutch oven. Fry for about 30 seconds and turn the donut holes with a slotted spoon. Once the donut holes are golden all around the outside, remove the donut holes to a paper towel lined plate and allow to cool slightly.
• While the donut holes are still warm, but not scalding hot, dip them into the glaze and place onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
• Once the donut holes are done frying, begin frying the rings. Gently remove the rings from the sheet pan and carefully place about 4 rings into the hot oil. Fry for about 30-45 seconds, or until they are golden brown. Flip the donuts with the slotted spoon to fry the other side for the same amount of time.
• Remove the rings from the hot oil and allow to slightly cool on the paper towel lined plate.
• Once the donuts are cool enough to touch, dip the top half of the donut into the bowl of glaze. Cover the glaze with sprinkles right away as the glaze hardens quickly and once it is hard, the sprinkles will not stick.
• Continue frying, dipping and sprinkling until all the donuts are a masterpiece waiting to be eaten.
• These donuts can be eaten as soon as the glaze is no longer wet to the touch. They are best tasting the day of frying but are not bad the second day.