Go to the Recipe: Old-Fashioned Doughnuts
Can't wait to try these! ChefSteps never disappoints.
Cool recipe - I read 120 g of sugar and 18 g of butter ... 18? Can that be correct?
i'm nna try them tonight! yum
Hey René, the ratios are correct but the amounts were meant to be doubled to match the yield. Thanks for bringing that up, we just fixed it.
Great recipe! I'd love to find some of those pastry rods for myself, where could I purchase those?
Thanks Nathan, we made ours but you can typically find them on amazon sold as marzipan spacers. Another thing that works great that I have been using lately is silicon rolling pin spacers. Here is the link, http://www.amazon.com/Casabella-Silicone-Rolling-Spacer-Bands/dp/B0058VX11Q/ref=pd_sim_sbs_79_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1ZDMAD25JK22XAG8ES4Z&dpID=41U0v12zQnL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_ .
Amazon has them but like Nick said, magazines or something similar is just as good. I grabbed some old trim from my garage. If you want to go mega cheap go to your hardware store and by some of that plastic composite trim and cut it to the size you want. I think 8ft is 3$
Damn you yet again, ChefSteps. Damn you.
(I'm only hating on you right now because I'm a dude who's on the Fit Girl diet. Dudes should not be on the Fit Girl diet. Old-Fashioned maple-glazed donuts are my Kryptonite. That last picture....How could you?)
Or you could go to your hardware store and buy a 1/2" by 3 or 4 foot wooden dowel. Cut it in half. You could acquire a collection of these in different thicknesses for different rolling projects.
These look great and I will make them for a Halloween Party.BUT HOLD YOUR ARTERIES! My German grandmother made donuts very similar to these. When? In a 2 pound Maxwell House coffee can she poured bacon drippings. When the can was full, she would melt the drippings and clarify them through cheesecloth before treating us all to her homemade sour cream donuts. I can attest that because it was a rare treat, my arteries have so far sustained the assault. And my memories of her are warm.
What would it take to make these a pumpkin version, besides liberal inclusion of spices with the dry ingredients? I feel like a bit o' spice and some orange gel food coloring would do the trick.... ;-)
I think you could sub some of the sour cream for pressure cooked or store bought pumpkin puree. But you would need to run a few trials. I agree a bit o' spice and food coloring will get you most of the way there.
I simply use two dowel rods that I lay down and put the dough between to roll. The rolling pin will roll the dough until it rests on the dowels. The dowels keep the dough at a level and equal height. Of course, I've got an 18" 15 lb. rolling pin with ball bearings that I got from a desperate baker for $5 years ago. I use the dowel rod method for rolling my cut out cookies that I sell. They are always the same thickness and the same size once baked.
Just invited Mr. H. Simson over.
Can you prep at night and fry the next morning?
Definitely, I prefer doing it that way.
I'm not sure if I just can't figure it out or if it isn't fixed correctly, but when I choose any yield in the ingredients portion, the steps with individual ingredients list half as much.
This recipe is great! The dough was much easier to work with than I expected based on making a similar recipe from the Top Pots donut book. Taste was outstanding. If your donut cutter is a little smaller, just shorten the cooking time a few seconds. Can't wait for the yeasted donut recipe.
first attempt = mega fail. The dough was properly chilled, but I used a marble countertop to roll to 1/2" thickness - which resulted in dough sticking to the table top no matter how much flour I used. I am going to try again using a sheet pan with greased parchment paper - using the sides of the sheet pan as my thickness guide. Wish me luck!
They didn't turn out half bad for a first attempt! I rolled out the chilled dough on a floured wooden cutting board and didn't have any problems with sticking. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
how long do the fried donuts stay fresh for? 1 day?
Made them without issue last night but found them quite tough and dry. I'm guessing the dryness comes from over frying them but what about the toughness? Would overcooking cause that as well or mixing too much? I turned the mixer off as soon as the flour was incorporated.
I've made yeast donuts before and found them tough as well so was hoping cake ones would fix that but it didn't. How do you get that melting tenderness like krispy kreme for example?
Mine came out a little heavy - not light and airy in the center. It could have been a variable temp of the oil or perhaps rolled too thin. I will try once more, but I want to try with a different pastry flour. Big question - I used Bob's whole wheat pastry flour but they are much browner than yours. I am sure I need a white pastry flour. What pastry flour do you use?
So, the pumpkin lover in me couldn't resist trying this. Swapped about half the sour cream for puree (cheap stuff from the store, nothing special), added an bit of spice (again, pre-mixed, because I make impulse buys like a pro), and some orange coloring. Texture was great, and for me the flavor was awesome. We made a pumpkin batch and a plain one, and the pumpkin ones are getting eaten as we make them, so they get roommate seal of approval too I suppose. Next time I would crank the cinnamon though, or try something for a bit more of a punch. Either way, great idea!
When I made mine we took the leftover dough from the first time rolling it out and dusted off the flour to roll it again. The few we got from that second set came out clearly tougher. So, overworking it could be an issue, and I imagine extra flour from that would dry them out as well. *shrugs* Let's see what the experts think ^.^
I am by no means an expert, but I have always heard that whole wheat flour is heavier in general. I just used all-purpose flour for mine and they came out alright. I would try a white flour and see if that helps things for you.
Pure evil, and thanks for sharing. I'll make time for a batch of maple glaze, and maybe hack a blueberry version. Cheers. -GK
Great job. I had to try them, they came out crispy and airy. I did cut back on the salt just a little, my preference. But these are absolutely great.
I knew that I was making these the moment I saw the email. These were absolutely outstanding! Easily the best doughnut I have ever eaten. Thanks for the great recipe and video.
continued fail :-( I'll try again in the future, unsure what went wrong. Perhaps higher altitudes require an adjusted recipe? I live a 2,100 ft above sea level.
Ah! We're so glad to hear it and those look incredible! Thanks so much for sharing, Michael.
Oh yum. They look great! Thanks, John!
Let us know how the blueberry version goes if you attempt it!
Hi Andrew, two days max. Eating them fresh or one day out is definitely preferable. Thanks!
Yum. So glad to hear it!
Frustrating! We'll check in with Chefs Nick and Ben to see if altitude could be a factor but we're guessing that's likely not the issue. Can we ask what went wrong the second time? Feel free to email info@chefsteps.com and we are happy to try to help.
Great! So glad you enjoyed, Jason!
Love the idea of experimenting with the pumpkin and thanks for letting us know how it turned out!
I am going to have to try this for sure, looks like a great recipe. Saturday morning, hurry up and get here! PS: Diner tip: Spudnuts Donuts put Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme to shame. Too bad they don't have the national recognition of DD... much moister, not at all dry like DD.
Oh god, that sounds orgasmic, I wonder if frying them in ghee would also work!
Hi Jeff, we use a brand local to the northwest called Shepherd's Grain!
"Stop buying them at the store, start making them yourself." Beautiful sentiment, Nick Gavin.
Im having a hell of a time getting my hands on white pastry flour....I read up a bit and found that some people consider white pastry flour, cake flour and call whole wheat pastry flour simply pastry flour. Can any of you shed some light on this issue for me? I made these with some Arrowhead whole wheat pastry flour and they came out ok but with a bit more of a gritty texture than i was expecting...
These were good, but they were a little bready for my taste. I'd like to make them slightly richer and more moist (without compromising the crust too much). Suggestions? (A little bit of oil, more yolks, butter?)
I'd also like to make an alternative Chocolate version.
Is there an e-mail list to get notified of updates?
Is there a way I can make ahead of time till certain point and put in cooler until next day to fry?
My oil was at least 340, and potentially about 350 at times, but these took on an insane amount of oil (and oil flavor). I always thought that oil being too cold would cause this problem... They were also really sticky still when rolling out and cutting...is it possible they were too wet?
Made em' at my client's office!
Finally got round to making these! I have no stand mixer so I had to use the good 'old fashioned' technique of hands and elbow grease! Thanks for the recipe! - do I have to keep them chilled in the fridge to be near their best for the next day?
Hi Charlie, these look fantastic! We actually recommend storing these in airtight container at room temp!
Has anyone attempted to roll and cut the donuts and holding them in the fridge for a few hours before frying? I am curious to see if I can prep them at home and fry at a different location.
Hi, made these with my daughter and had a great time cooking. The donuts had an oily flavour (used canola oil). Any reason why this happend?
Hi Rodrigo, thanks for your question. It sounds like the oil may have been older, or you can try cooking them in slightly hotter oil for less time. We hope this helps!
Hi Miwako! This would absolutely work!
Hi, i got the trouble with the oily flavor too, i used a new frying oil to fried it and w a high heat. Is there a way to avoid the oily flavor? After frying for few donuts, the bubble in the oil getting more and flow out from the pot. May i know why is it?
Hi Sherry, you can try a higher protein flour and see if that has any affect!
In response to several of the doughnut questions below...my chef brother and I have been making our grandmother's recipe for 40 years (very similar to this) and here's what we've learned:
Hope you all enjoy this and let us know your thoughts! Thxs.
I tried the recipe for Chefsteps Old Fashion Donuts fried at 340 deg and they were AWESOME. Not the least bit greasy even just a few seconds out of the fryer they were ready to eat or glaze.
Mine came out way too greasy. Though, I also have been using various forms of Cake / Pastry flour with mixed results. I'm going to buy the flour CS uses below and see what happens.
I believe the oily flavor comes from using brand-new unused oil. In restaurants, after the fryer is filled with brand new oil, a large batch of something starchy and slightly moist (tortilla chips, frozen egg rolls, etc) will be fried in the oil to 'season' it. Chemically, steam released from these foods during frying break down (hydrolyze) the fat triglycerides into free fatty acids adding lots of 'deep fried' flavor to the oil, in addition to color and volatile flavor compounds from the fried items (maillard products). If you want that authentic deep fried flavor, you need to season your oil with a batch of starchy food before frying your donuts.
I cannot stand the taste of any vegetable oil. Peanut oil is the absolute best! It's the only one I use. The processing of the peanuts into oil renders it non allergenic. Try it. I think you'll notice a good difference.
