Baked Doughnuts

I have been trying to find a yummy baked doughnut recipe for quite some time, but the recipes I've tried in the past resulted in a doughnut that was, in my opinion, too dense. It was after making the orange-cinnamon honey sticky buns, that I found a dough that was easy to work with, and resulted in a more airy texture. So I adapted that recipe for my doughnuts.

May I just say that these are DELICIOUS! The dough is pretty quick to throw together, and easy to work with. They do take a while to rise, but what do you expect if you want nice and fluffy doughnuts? They are well worth the wait!

I actually think that these turn out fluffier if you either omit the refrigeration, or refrigerate the dough during its "ball stage" and allow it to come to room temperature the next morning, before shaping into doughnuts. (Then allow the shaped doughnuts to rise for 1 hour before baking). However, I realize this means you would have to get up almost 2 1/2 hours before you want to enjoy your breakfast, so in the recipe below I cut the waiting time about in half, so that you only need to let the already-formed-and-refrigerated doughnuts come to room temp before baking. It's your choice if you want to sacrifice some fluffiness for time. They are yummy either way : )

I made mine into maple glazed doughnuts, but if you prefer to make them chocolate, feel free! Or you could even dip them in butter and then roll them in cinnamon sugar... yum!


Baked Doughnuts

Dough adapted from 17 and Baking's Sticky Buns
Glaze adapted from this site
Makes 16 doughnuts

Dough

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup warm water (105ºF to 115ºF)
2 tsp. instant dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar, divided (or honey sucanat)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup whole milk or buttermilk, room temperature
2 1/4 cups flour, divided (or 10 oz Soft White wheat flour)

For Maple Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon maple extract
pinch of salt

For Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoons milk
pinch of salt

Instructions:

To make the dough: Lightly butter a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer bowl combine water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, and let stand about 5 minutes, or until foamy.

Add remaining sugar, salt, butter, egg, milk and 1 1/2 cups of the flour. On low speed, mix until combined. Switch to dough hook, and slowly add remaining flour, with mixer on low, 1/4 cup at a time. Once all the flour is in, increase speed to medium and mix until dough is smooth and slightly tacky, but not too sticky. If the dough is too wet, add 1-2 tablespoons more flour. Continue mixing for 3-4 minutes. Turn off mixer and shape dough into a ball.

Put dough in greased bowl, and turn so that it gets lightly covered in butter. Cover with plastic wrap so that it will not be exposed to much air. Allow to rise in a warm place until double (about 2 hours). After it has doubled, punch down, and turn out on a lightly floured surface. Divided into 16 equal portions (a kitchen scale makes it easy!). With each piece of dough, roll into a ball, and then press your thumb through the center of the ball to form a ring. Using the rest of your fingers, continue to make the hole larger until it is about 2 inches wide. (When the doughnuts rise, the hole will close if it is not wide enough). Place onto greased cookie sheets, allowing room for them to rise. Cover doughnuts with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or allow to rise one additional hour at room temperature).

The next morning, remove doughnuts from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Remove plastic wrap and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown (try not to overbake, or they won't be as soft).

To make maple or chocolate glaze: Combine all glaze ingredients and stir until smooth. If too thick, add a little milk.

Spread glaze on doughnuts (you can do this while they're still warm if you want), and enjoy!