Irresistible little mini ring donuts, made with our ultimate doughnut recipe, which can be used for any kind of doughnut.
Who doesn’t love a donut? Fresh from the fryer, coated in sugar, glazed to perfection or filled with something sweet. The options are endless and oh-so delicious!
One of the great things about homemade donuts (aside from them tasting so much better than shop-bought ones) is just how easy they are to make. They are a little time consuming in terms of allowing the dough to rise but as long as you’ve got a few hours and things to do, the preparation and cooking is simple.
Despite the fact the donuts I’ve made a photographed are mini-ring donuts, this recipe can be used for any donut of your choice. Larger sugared-ring donuts, glazed donuts, iced-ring donuts, or filled with jam, custard, Nutella…whatever your favourite may be! This recipe can works for them all.
Mmm…donuts!
Ingredients:
Milk
As donuts use a rich dough, you will need a little milk, butter/margarine, sugar and egg. Full-fat milk is preferable but it’s entirely up to you what kind you use. Dairy and soya are both good choices that I have had success with.
Butter or Block Margarine
Butter will give the richest flavour to your donuts but margarine is actually what is used in most store-bought donuts, purely due to it being a cheaper ingredient. If using margarine, just be sure to opt for a block margarine, as opposed to a soft spread.
Strong Plain Flour
Like many yeast-dough recipes, these jam donuts call for a strong flour. Strong flours give a slightly higher concentrate of gluten, meaning they bake with a stronger structure, which is perfect for catching the gas bubbles created from the yeast. A little bit of science in baking!
A regular plain flour can be used in a pinch but you will need to knead it a lot more, to help make the most of the lesser amount of gluten.
Caster Sugar
Again, with a rich dough a little bit of sugar is a must. And donuts are a sweet treat, so let’s make that dough extra indulgent! Caster sugar is preferable, as it’s finer texture mixes well with the other ingredients.
Instant Yeast
There was a time when you could buy various types of yeast but nowadays, Instant Yeast is the most accessible. It also works brilliantly in many recipes but especially in Donuts, as no extra measuring or preparation is required to activate it.
Free-range Egg
An egg adds the final bit of richness you want in a squidgy little donut. The size of the egg is not crucial, just be sure to use free-range.
Love this? Try this:
Donuts
PRINT RECIPEINGREDIENTS
- 120 ml Milk
- 60 g Butter or Block Margarine softened
- 7 g Instant Yeast usually one sachet
- 275 g Strong Plain Flour (Bread Flour)
- 40 g Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar)
- 1 Free-range Egg
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small pan, warm the milk until it's lukewarm. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the yeast and sugar, stir to combine. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the butter, milk and egg. Mix to form a soft dough.
- On a floured surface, knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes, before transferring to a a lightly oil bowl and cover with a lightly oiled piece of clingfilm. Leave in a draught-free place for 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Once the dough has risen, knock it back and knead it lightly on a floured surface. For ring donuts, roll the dough to about 1cm thickness, before cutting to your desired size, either with a donut cutter or two round cutters (one smaller and one larger).
- Transfer your donuts to an oiled tray/board/plates and cover with a piece of lightly oiled clingfilm. Leave in a draught-free place for about 1 hour until the donuts have doubled in size.
- Fill a pan with around 1 litre of oil (sunflower or vegetable is ideal) and heat to 180°c/350°F. Once the oil is hot, carefully drop your risen donuts into the oil. The number of donuts you can fry at once will depend on your pan size and donut sizes. Just be cautious not to overcrowd your pan, as each donut added will lower the oil temperature and affect the overall frying.
- As soon as your donut is golden on one side, flip it over with some chopsticks to fry the other side. Once both sides are golden, remove from the oil and place on some kitchen roll to absorb the excess oil.
- If you plan to sugar your donuts, roll them in some caster sugar whilst still warm. Alternatively you can glazed them, which again should be done whilst still warm. Or if icing your donuts, wait until they are cool before finishing.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
2 responses
Oh my gosh these look AMAZING! x
I have never made donuts before but, my boys love them and I’d like to perfect this recipe.