BAKED DOUGHNUTS

I can’t go another minute without telling you that these baked doughnuts…well, they will probably change your life just like they did mine.

Imagine the fluffiest, chewiest morsel of doughnut goodness, warm from the oven and coated in a glorious butter, cinnamon-sugar mixture. And the doughnut holes? Utterly unreal.
Why is it that something so bite-sized can be so addicting?

The astounding thing is that they are baked. BAKED! Baked and not fried.
I’m not arguing that these baked doughnuts are healthy, by any means, but compared to their fried cousins – well, I’ll take these soft, tender baked doughnuts any day.

I made a personal goal before baking these that I would only eat two doughnut holes. Two. You know, limiting refined sugars and carbs and blah, blah, blah, whatever, because I was powerless (powerless!) to eat less than five of the doughnut holes in order to gain a perfect perspective on whether these should be made again.

INGREDIENTS
DOUGHNUTS:

•  1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees
•  2 teaspoons instant yeast
•  2 tablespoons butter
•  2/3 cup granulated sugar
•  2 large eggs
•  5 cups all-purpose flour
•  A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated
•  1 teaspoon salt

TOPPING:

•  1/2 cup butter, melted
•  1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
•  1 tablespoon cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and sugar. Add the butter. Mix the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt. Beat the dough with the dough hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon and eventually your hands) for 2-3 minutes at medium speed. Adjust the dough texture by adding flour a few tablespoons at a time or more milk. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be very soft and smooth but still slightly sticky - don't overflour! Knead the dough for a few minutes (again, by mixer or by hand) and then transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size (the exact time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen).
2. Punch down the dough and roll it out to about 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured counter. Using a doughnut cutter or a 2-3 inch circle cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough. Carefully transfer the circles to a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. Be sure to make the holes large enough that as the doughnuts rise again and bake, they don't fill in the doughnut hole with the puffiness of the dough. Cover the tray with lightly greased plastic wrap. (At this point, you can refrigerate the doughnuts overnight or proceed with the recipe.) Let the doughnuts rise for about another 45 minutes, until they are puffed and nearly doubled.
3. .......................................

for full instruction please see : www.melskitchencafe.com

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