Underproofed – leads to stiffer (denser) donuts that don't puff up well when fried. Cracked donuts – this may have happened if you used a cutter and it wasn't sharp enough to cut through the dough cleanly. Or the dough is underproofed or too cold.
Not enough water, cold batter temperature; donuts tumed too soon; too much batter dropped for size of cutter, donuts dropped too deep in shortening.
Stiff/Dense Donuts: Under proofed dough. Poke the dough, if it springs back too quickly they are under proofed and need more time. Cracked Donuts: The donuts could be under-proofed, you didn't get a clean cut on the donuts when cutting them out, or the dough was too cold.
A cake doughnut, on the other hand, is made from what's essentially cake batter, and gets its lift from chemical leaveners (baking powder and/or baking soda). Ideally the inside is moist and crumbly, and either dense like a muffin or fluffy like birthday cake.
When touched, a properly proofed donut will hold an indentation without collapsing. If the indentation returns to the surface, the donut is underproofed. If the donut collapses when touched, it is overproofed.
Water makes for a lighter dough with a more delicate bite. Milk produces a tender and soft dough with more of a chewy texture. These are super important in donuts as they provide richness as well as making them fluffy.
All-purpose flour works well for doughnuts since it has a moderate amount of gluten–the binding protein commonly used in baking. This gluten content helps create a dough that is strong enough to trap air, which helps create the fluffy doughnut texture we all love.
Cornstarch not only acts as a thickening agent, but it can also be used in baked goods like cookies, brownies and cakes.
The correct temperature for frying is 180C/350F. I'd recommend a sugar thermometer for this (they're cheap and take the guesswork out of deep-frying) but if a 2cm cube of bread browns all over in 60 seconds, the oil is the ready.
Baking Soda – when combined with baking powder produces a chemical reaction that makes the dough rise. Thus, making it soft and fluffy.
We have found that peanut oil or vegetable shortening yield the best texture for donuts, with shortening producing the crispest exteriors. However, frying in shortening can result in a somewhat waxy/fatty mouthfeel, but not everyone finds that to be the case. High-quality shortening will help avoid the problem.
You want to make sure the oil is always between 365 F and 380F. If it starts to edge up toward 400 F, add some cold oil to cool it down. If it dips below 350 F, remove the doughnuts temporarily, which will allow the oil to climb back up.
What kind of oil is best for cooking donuts? The best oil is the one with the least flavour. Vegetable oil and canola oil are both very good in this respect. The most important thing is to use the same oil for the same kinds of foods, since oil readily absorbs flavours and aromas.
Doughnuts are made using the simplest of pantry staples, including flour, yeast, baking powder or baking soda, sugar, butter, and oil for deep-frying. Here's a quick overview of essential doughnut-making ingredients.
Cornstarch typically makes for a crispier finish than flour. Cornstarch absorbs moisture from the food and expands, giving deep-fried foods a crispy coating. When the food is fried, the moisture cooks out of the cornstarch, leaving a crackly, puffy coating on the outside.
Now, Cake Doughnuts get their rise, not from yeast, but from baking powder which makes them pretty quick and easy to make. The batter is similar to a sponge cake batter, and once made, cover and let sit at room temperature until firm enough to roll (about 30 minutes).
A batch of original glazed starts with Krispy Kreme doughnut mix, water and yeast, the same single-cell fungi used to make bread rise. The yeast is what makes the original glazed so light -- it puffs the dough up with air, so it's not dense like a cake doughnut. (More on this in the next section).
Cake doughnuts use baking powder in their recipes which give them their cake-like texture. Instead of baking powder yeast doughnuts substitute with yeast to produce a doughnut that is lighter and fluffier. Making yeast doughnuts can take a bit of time due to the proofing process which allows the dough to rise.
This 1kg mix will make approx. 20-25 donuts depending on size.
Flavor and fragrance ought to be distinctive, well-balanced - sweet but not cloying - and appealing enough to demand a second bite. If it's a raised donut, a whiff of yeastiness promises authentic, old-fashioned goodness.
A typical fried glazed donut will be around 269 calories, while a baked donut will have much fewer. The difference is the fact that you won't be dealing with any extra fat from the oil from frying when you bake.
Proofing Give donuts ¾ proof, approximately 30 – 40 minutes with just enough moisture to prevent crusting, allow donuts to dry 5 – 10 minutes before frying.