CINNAMON SUGAR DOUGHNUTS - THE DARING BAKERS

October represent the beginning of fall (my favorite time of the year) and is the month of pumpkins, Halloween and doughnuts! Why doughnuts, you'll ask me. Well, because all Daring Bakers around the world have been asked to bake that irresistible old-fashioned goody whicht has made the reputation of chains like Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Doughnuts.

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of "Butter Me Up" who chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

It might sound very odd to you, but unlike many Americans or children around the world, when I was a kid I was not a big fan of doughnuts ("Berlin Balls" more exactly). I can't really say why that treat did not particularly appeal to me, but although the flavor of doughnuts didn't repulse me it never made me drool. I tolerated doughnuts...

Thankfully, with age my tastes changed and I grew very fond of that fluffy, "oily" (good ones should not be soaked with fat, they should just be brushed be the delicate fingers of oil that is brought at the right temperature) and sugar coated snack. Thankfully I was able to join the ranks of doughnuts lovers and finally got to understand what all the buzz is about when it comes to eating those tender regressive pastries to surfeited collapse. A guilty pleasure that is so worth the calotrie intake.

Making "Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts" for this month's challenge was a first for me. Strangely enough I had not tackled the art of doughnut-making until now even if I bake a lot and make breads on a weekly basis. I never got around to baking that speciality from the past as I am a little apprehensive when it comes to using boiling oil because I tend to be afraid of the mess it'll leave in my kitchen (you know, the oil spurting all over your floor, walls and fourniture) and the thick greasy as well as smelly cloud that might enshroud the apartment.

Anyway, considering the fact that I prepared that recipe while cleaning the apartment, blogging and being in a totally rotten/quarrelly mood, I must say that my "Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts" turned out pretty well. The whole process was quite straight forward, fast, easy and clean. At 10am I started mixing all the ingredients together with my beloved retro red Kitchen Aid and by 1.30am we were already frantically gobbling my freshly fried, warm and divinely smooth doughnuts.

This time I decided not to make many changes to the original recipe. I prepared "Berlin Balls" filled with homemade blackcurrant jam and plain "Cinnamon Sugar Ring Doughnuts" . The Alton Brown recipe produced pillowy doughnuts that melted in the mouth and were just impeccable. The cinnamon sugar (with a hint of cardamom) sublimated both fried cakes in a marvelous manner and the gorgeous tartness of the jam contrasted perfectly with the roundness of the dough.

I wish to thank Lori for having chosen that awesome challenge. Thanks to her I have discovered that it is possible to make the most scrumptious doughnuts at home, effortlessly. I'm definitely going to make more of them babies in the future.

This bread is getting yeastspotted by Susan’s Yeastspotting!

~ Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts ~
Recipe from Alton Brown.

Yields 20 to 25 doughnuts & 20 to 25 doughnut holes, depending on size.

Equipment required:
A Dutch oven or deep skillet (I prefer using a Dutch oven to reduce splatter).
Deep fry thermometer, candy thermometer or any thermometer that will withstand and measure temperatures of up to 190° C (380° F).
Metal slotted spoon, metal slotted spatula or tongs (do NOT use plastic - it will melt!).
Cookie sheets or a wire rack lined with paper towels to allow doughnuts to drain.
Electric hand mixer or stand mixer, or a bowl and a spoon if you are able to utilize a lot of elbow grease.
Doughnut or biscuit cutters or you can use a glass and a piping tip for the center.
Pastry bag (filled doughnut) or a squeeze bottle with a good tip that will poke a hole in your doughnuts.

Preparation time:
Hands on prep time - 25 minutes
Rising time - 1.5 hours total
Cooking time - 12 minutes

Ingredients for the "Dough":
1 1/2 Cup (360ml) Milk
1/3 Cup (70g/2.5oz) Unsalted butter
4 1/2 Tsps (2Pkgs./14g/0.5oz) Active Dry Yeast
1/3 Cup (80ml) Warm Water (95°F to 105°F / 35°C to 41° C)
2 Large eggs, beaten
1/4 Cup (60g/20z) White Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp (9g/1/3oz) Sea salt
1 Tsp (86g/1/4oz) Grated nutmeg
4 2/3 Cups (650g/230z) All Purpose Flour + extra if the dou gh is to wet & for dusting surface Peanut oil, you need 3 inches of oil in the pan (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying) Ingredients for the "Cinnamon Sugar":
450g (1 pound) White granulated sugar
2 Tbs Ground cinnamon
1 Tbs Ground cardamom

Method:
1. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (It should not be warmer than 50° C/120° F otherwise you'll kill the yeast! Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.).
2. Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes (it should get foamy).
4. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
5. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour.
6. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
7. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
8. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth (not sticky), approximately 3 to 4 minutes (if you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky).
9. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
10. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 9mm (3/8-inch) thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).
11. Cut out dough using a 65mm (2 1/2-inch) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 22mm (7/8-inch) ring for the center whole.
12. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
13. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 185° C (365 °F).
14. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (my doughnuts only took about 30 seconds on each side at this temperature).
15. Drain on paper towels and toss in cinnamon sugar. Let cool.

Filling Directions (only for doughnut balls):
Once you have coated your doughnut balls with cinnamon sugar and let them cool, fit a pastry bag with a plain doughnut tip (or a 1/4-inch (6 mm) tip) and fill with the preserves (you can also use a squeeze bottle). Poke the tip three-fourths of the way into the "Berlin Balls" and squeeze in the preserves, pulling the tip out slightly as you squeeze to fill them as much as possible.

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Etant donné que je suis en vacance et que je n'ai pas beaucoup de temps pour bloguer, je n'ai malheureusement pas pu faire une traduction française de ce billet et je m'en excuse auprès de tous mes amis lecteurs et blogueurs francophones!

C'est pourquoi je vous suggère de vous rendre sur le blog mentionné ci-desso us. Vous y trouverez cette recette en version française.

Chez Isa de "Les Gourmandises d'Isa" (Canada)
Chez Vibi de "La Casserole Carrée" (Canada)