Baked Doughnuts

Having a break from school has turned me into even more of a baking addict.  There are so many recipes I have lined up to work through for the next few weeks!  Tonight, baked doughnuts were on the agenda, and I must say... they were DELICIOUS!

To make the Doughnuts

• 1 1/3 cups warm milk
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tbs butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt

Place the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer
Stir in the yeast and sugar
Add the butter
Mix the eggs, flour, and salt
Beat the dough with the dough hook attachment for 2-3 minutes at medium speed
Adjust the dough texture by adding flour, a few tbs 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 OVER FLOUR
Knead the dough for a few minutes 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

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 (I improvised)
Carefully transfer the circles to a parchment 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

Let the doughnuts rise for about another 45 minutes, until they are puffed and nearly doubled

Bake in a 375 degree F oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 - 10 minutes
Start checking the doughnuts around minute 8
They should still be pale on top, not golden and browned, and just barely baked through

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes
Top with your favorite toppings!  I used the same chocolate glaze from the cream puffs.

Enjoy!