Yeast Doughnuts

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Having read several comments about the doughnuts being too heavy i did a little experiment (well, it's more like an accident but still. I used Active Dry Yeast instead of Instant Yeast the first time i made them and they turned out perfectly, after the first rise, after cutting out the shape i left it to rise for another 30 - 45min before frying them and they were light and airy and perfect.

For those who don't know the difference, with ADY, it can raise the dough several times (sometimes 2-3 times and requires 'activation' by leaving it in warm water for 10-15min for it to become foamy before use in the recipe. While instant yeast can be added directly into the mixture.

When I tried to use Instant yeast the next time i made them and for some reason the doughnuts came out heavier and more dense then my previous batch. I’m not sure why, but all in all, i get better results using active yest rather than instant.

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Seriously, those who have complained of these donuts being heavy are either doing something really wrong, or are used to eating pure air. These donuts are AMAZING. I had never made donut dough before, and needed to come up with some for my husband to roll and fry at a Rotary donut sale. When our batch of dough was fried up, all of the 'regulars' said they were the best donughts they had ever had. There was such a reaction, we decided to try them at home while my in-laws were over for an early Christmas celebration. They immediately decided it was a new tradition. They are amazingly light, and, the perfect amount of sweetness to combine with the glaze. If the dough itself was more sweet, the donuts would be too sweet with glaze, and they would not be so light. We also made a couple of jelly-filleds in this batch, and they were awesome. Yum yum yum!!!!

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its odd the recipe measurements are sometimes by weight and then by cup.
there was a lack of sugar and the donuts, while good, don't really have that kickin taste i have come to expect from Alton Brown

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Alton Brown is the Man!
With a few alterations this recipe made some killer pumpkin doughnuts. I replaced 3/4 c of the milk with 3/4c pumpkin and increased the sugar to 1/3 c. In addition I added 3/4 tsp of homemade pumpkin pie spice to replace the nutmeg. The glaze is ok but a simple dusting of powdered sugar spiked with some more pumpkin pie spice is delectable.

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I love Alton, but NOT these donuts. They were too heavy. When I think of a yeast donut, I think of something light and fluffy that melts in your mouth - these are not they. My family enjoyed them, but I am still on the hunt for a better recipe - hopefully one that isn't as messy as this one!

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I made this recipe the night before and instead of the first rise, just put it in the fridge over night. First thing in the morning I rolled out and bench proofed. The time in the fridge really helped the dough stiffen up so that it wasn't sticky when I rolled out. They were delicious! After learning how wonderful homemade doughnuts are, I won't be going back to stale store-bought ones again.

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These are pretty foolproof if you're weighing the flour. Resist the temptation to add more. It's really sticky, but I just stopped the mixer 3 or 4 times, stirred it around with a spoon to make sure the hook got at the whole mix evenly and turned it back on again.

I didn't use a gallon of oil. Just 1.5 inches in a cast iron frying pan.

Fantastic results. These are better than any I've ever bought.

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For those of you who are wondering, I used 5 1/4 cups of flour. I KNOW this isn't necessarily an accurate conversion, but it worked most excellently.
Like I said, these donuts are perfect! I've made them so many times, and it's proved my theory that you can always count on Alton Brown

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I just made these doughnuts with my 5 year old granddaughter. We had more fun than we've ever had and they came out delicious! She even helped me make the dough. I fried them and she dipped them in ganache and put sprinkles on them. It makes a lot of dough so I'm hoping I can punch it down and freeze it to use another day. But, I'll use this recipe all the time. My first time making doughnuts and they came out perfect.

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These are my daughter's favorite doughnuts, so I make them fairly often. However, the stickiness of the dough made it a chore, until today when I measured my cookie cutters. (I don't own pastry rings. My smallest cookie cutter measures 1.5" in diameter. To get the proportion right, I was using a 3.75" cutter for the doughnuts. As you can imagine, this made enormous doughnuts that were impossible to maneuver from the countertop to the sheet pan without terribly distorting them. Today I used the cap from a bottle of vanilla extract (just under 1" and my 2.5" cutter. This simple change made the whole process more enjoyable and successful. The doughnuts held their shape and fit easily onto my bench scraper as I moved them to the sheet pan for their final rise.