Baked Donuts

"Doughnuts" were the very first thing that got me interested in baking,many moons ago!My sister and I would make loads of them in summer vacations.And obviously it would be just 'enough' for the two of us!!!. Doughnuts were cake like but deep fried and simply sprinkled with caster sugar.That was then!!


But now 'donuts' have  become an entirely new concept-firstly they are made with yeast,then they have fillings with a huge variety of sprinkles and icings are quite colorful.


I looked around for a recipe of 'donuts'and found this  one which is baked and not fried(a fewer calories)!!

Baked Donuts
Minimally Adapted from here

1/3 cups warm milk,  (divided)
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
 2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Be sure your milk isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast. Stir the butter and sugar into the remaining cup of warm milk and add it to the yeast mixture. With a fork, stir in the eggs, flour - just until the flour is incorporated. With the dough hook attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed.If your dough is overly sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time and if its too dry add more milk a bit at a time. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and eventually become supple and smooth. Turn it out onto a floured counter-top, knead a few times (the dough should be barely sticky), and shape into a ball.

Transfer the dough to a buttered (or oiled) bowl, cover, put in a warm place and let it rise for an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick.  I used a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to stamp out circles. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. If you cut the inner holes out any earlier, they become distorted when you attempt to move them. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Bake these at 160 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes - start checking around 8. While the doughnuts are baking, place the butter in a medium bowl. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two. Dip each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugar bowl. 


Super yum!!Enjoy while they are still hot!