Name: Puffy Potato Donuts with Tahini Vanilla Pastry Cream
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT0H45M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT12H0M0.000S
Yield: 20 donuts
Ingredients: 4 cups (520 grams) bread flour, plus more for dusting; 6 tablespoon (68 grams) potato flour (see Cook’s Note); 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar; 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 cup (240 grams) buttermilk or whole milk, warmed (105 to 110 degrees F); 2 tablespoons (25 grams) coconut oil or neutral oil, room temperature, plus more for the bowl and your hands; 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract; 4 large eggs; 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature; 2/3 cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 6 large egg yolks; 1 1/2 cups (360 grams) heavy cream; 1 1/2 cups (360 grams) whole milk; 4 teaspoons vanilla bean paste; 1/2 cup well-stirred tahini; Neutral oil, for frying; About 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar, for rolling; Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

Special equipment:

a deep-fry thermometer; a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip

For the potato donuts: In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, whisk together the bread flour, potato flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and eggs and mix to combine into a stiff dough, starting the mixer off on low and increasing the speed to medium when you’re confident that flour won’t fly everywhere. Forming this stiff dough may take a couple of minutes, but it’ll get there. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing to incorporate between each addition. Once all of the butter is incorporated, continue kneading on medium for 10 to 15 minutes, until smooth and still rather sticky. You can test to see if it’s ready by pinching off a small ball of dough and stretching it between your fingers; if it gets thin enough without breaking so light shines through it, it’s ready.
Lightly oil a clean bowl and then use oiled hands to stretch the dough into a ball with a smooth taut surface. Place the dough top down into the oiled bowl and then turn it over to fully coat the dough in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours, or in the refrigerator overnight.
Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces and shape into smooth taut balls by stretching the ends under, pinching them, and then rolling them around a few times so they’re smooth. Place the balls 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (see Cook’s Note).
For the tahini vanilla pastry cream (you can do this the day before or the day of frying): Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the egg yolks and then the heavy cream and milk, whisking well until smooth. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened and a few small bubbles pop to the surface and the mixture coats the back of a spoon, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and tahini and pour into a heat-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that it touches the surface of the pudding. Refrigerate until cooled and thick, about 2 hours or overnight.
The day of frying: Fill a loaf pan with boiling water and place it in your oven. Gently loosen the plastic wrap on the donuts so it’s just sitting on top of the donuts, and stick the pans in the oven. Proof until the donuts are doubled, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
When the donuts are about 10 minutes away from being proofed: Fill a large heavy bottomed pot (ideally cast iron) with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil and clip a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350 degrees F. Gently, very gently, use an oiled fish spatula to lift donuts from the pan to the oil and fry just a few at a time (you want there to be an inch or so of space between them as they’re frying). Fry about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes per side until deep golden brown with an internal temperature of around 150 degrees F (they’ll rise substantially in temperature right out of the oil, reaching about 180 to 190 degrees F). Transfer to a wire rack.
When the donuts are just cool enough to handle, spread the 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow bowl and roll the donuts in the sugar. Let cool fully, or if you’re going to eat them immediately, you can fill whatever you’re going to eat with pastry cream. To fill the donuts, use a chopstick to poke a hole in a side of a donut without going all the way through. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip with pastry cream and pipe cream into the donuts. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Cook’s Note

If you can’t be bothered to find potato flour, substitute 3/4 cup (95 grams) of bread flour as a good alternative. Don’t want to wait for the dough to proof overnight? I get it. You can fry these the same day. You’ll lose some depth of flavor but you’ll still end up with great donuts. To do this: Cover the dough balls loosely with plastic wrap and stick them in your oven along with a loaf pan filled with boiling water. Close the door and proof until doubled, about 30 minutes (it will take closer to 60 minutes if the dough is cold from being refrigerated if you made it the day before).