There’s a first for everything, and a few weeks back was my time to foray into the world of homemade doughnuts (also known by New Englanders as the donut).
For years I’d hoped Santa would bring me a deep fat fryolater in my stocking so that I could whip up delicacies like tempura, chips, and of course – hot and deliciously-fresh doughnuts.
Low and behold, the answer manifested itself when I was stranded Stateside last month due to the Volcano. Note: Not a sentence that I thought I’d ever actually write.
I was visiting my favourite bakery, Clear Flour, in Brookline, MA when I spotted a new addition to their ever-perfect bread and pastry menu – baked doughnuts with dried currants. Once again, so delectably perfect in its creation I was barely out the door and was covered head to toe in cinnamon and sugar deliciousness. Even though not filled with anything, the dough they make the doughnuts from was so creamy and rich it made for a sweet moist custardy-like interior.
I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to make the same thing at home without finding out their exact recipe, so I did the next best thing – an excessively sad amount of web research to see what I could find in the way of baked doughnut recipes.
What I came up with was based off of this amazing blog I came across by a woman named Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks, and a whole lot more research to ensure I was going to get the right consistency. Because of my hectic schedule I hadn't had time to go to the ‘real’ grocery store and get the required yeast, active dry. Instead I was stuck with fast action. Now for those of you who’ve tried to use a different yeast than what the recipe calls for, you'll know of the excessive differing opinions on how and in what like-to-like quantities it should be used.
Ever the management consultant I consulted numerous sources of data and came up with a solution that would result (I hoped) in the most successful outcome. I used approximately 2/3 the amount of the active dry, and instead of a dough hook attachment which I’m pretty sure I’ve lost under my couch, pummelled that dough within an inch of it’s life. I couldn’t find dried currants so instead swapped in some highly successful dried blueberries.
4 hours, 2 dough rising sessions, and head to toe flour coverage later, I took the doughnuts out of the oven to quickly cover them in melted butter and more cinnamon and sugar than should be legal. They were at their peak eaten immediately, but managed to make their way to Curley’s 'curry extravaganza' later that night to the welcome bellies of friends who, also now covered in cinnamon and sugar, were singing their praises.
Note: Not quite to the Clear Flour calibre I shall continue practicing until either a) I can find that magical recipe or b) my ‘practice’ at doughnut making (and consumption) exceeds the weight limitation on my bathroom scale.
