Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts - Mark Klebeck [29]
- Transfer the dough to a baking sheet/tray sprinkled with 1 tbsp flour, shape into a flat square 6 in/15 cm across, dust lightly with flour, cover with a dish/tea towel, and set aside.
- Create a proofing box in your oven: Bring a large kettle of water to a boil. Pour 8 cups/2 L of the boiling water into a 9-by-13-in/25-by-35-cm (or similar) baking dish, and set it on the floor of your oven. Place the sheet/tray with the covered dough on the middle rack of the oven, close the door, and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (For tips on making your dough ahead of time.)
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll into an 11 in/25 cm by 12 in/30 cm rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or a large, sharp knife, trim about 1/2 in/12 mm off of each edge, then cut the dough into 12 bars, each 5 in/10 cm by 11/2 in/4 cm. Gently transfer the bars to two lightly floured baking sheets/trays, arranging them at least 2 in/5 cm apart, and let rise in the oven (with new boiling water), uncovered, for another 30 to 45 minutes, until doubled in size.
- Using a candy thermometer to measure the temperature, heat oil (at least 2 in/5 cm deep) in a deep fryer, large pot, or high-sided frying pan over medium heat to 350°F/180°C. (For frying tips.) When the bars have doubled, carefully place one or two in the oil, taking care not to overcrowd them, and fry for about 30 to 40 seconds, or until light golden brown. (Note that the bars will look more brown when they’re done than they do in the oil.) Carefully turn the bars and fry for another 20 to 30 seconds, until golden on the second side, then transfer to a cooling rack set over a layer of paper towels/absorbent paper to cool, rounded side up.
- Cool the bars completely. When cool, dip the most rounded side of each into the warm Maple Icing. (for icing tips.) Let dry on cooling racks, iced side up, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Tip: To keep the bars’ shape when transferring them to the oil, lift them off the sheets with a flat spatula or a rubber baking scraper. Work from the long side, because lifting them from one short end will stretch and distort their shapes.
HICKORY DICKORY DOCK
At Top Pot, we roll a docker over the dough to poke holes in our yeast-raised bar, bismark, and bullseye doughs before the second rise, to prevent bubbles from forming in the dough during frying. It makes for smoother, more even doughnuts, but if you’re not a perfectionist, it’s not necessary. If you don’t have a docker but want to give it a try, use a wooden skewer to poke holes about 1 in/2.5 cm apart all over the yeast-raised doughnuts mentioned above.
PERSHINGS
MAKES ONE DOZEN large rolls
NAMED FOR GENERAL PERSHING, THE ONLY U.S. GENERAL TO BE PROMOTED to the army’s highest rank while he was still alive, pershings are, we assume, the epitome of formed, raised doughnuts. Use a flat metal spatula to lift them off the baking sheet, so the spirals stay intact. Slide your hand underneath the top of the doughnut after you dip it into the glaze, to prevent it from unraveling as you take it out—it’s messy, but fingers really do work best.
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ROLLS
3 tbsp (four 1/4 oz/7 g packages) active dry yeast
1 cup/240 ml very warm water (about 105°F/40°C)
1/2 cup/100 g sugar, plus 1 tbsp
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground mace
2 tsp iodized salt
4 to 41/2 cups/550 to 620 g bread/strong flour, plus more for rolling and cutting
1/4 cup/55 g shortening/vegetable lard, trans-fat-free preferred
3 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
FILLING
1 tbsp whole milk
1 large egg
1/2 cup/100 g sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Canola oil, for frying
Big batch Simplest Vanilla Glaze or Top Pot’s Vanilla Doughnut Glaze
TIME
1 hour active time, plus glazing