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spiced easter doughnuts on a wire rack
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Spiced Easter Doughnuts

A fluffy fried doughnut flavoured with orange zest, lemon zest and vanilla. Rolled in sugar and mixed spice for a hot-cross-bun/Easter flavour.
Course Bread and Yeast Doughs
Cuisine British
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Rising time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Servings 15 doughnuts

Ingredients

For the tangzhong:

  • 30 g plain white flour or wholemeal spelt flour
  • 80 g boiling water

For the dough:

  • 25 g vegetable oil
  • 40 g cold water
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2 orange, zest finely grated
  • 1/2 lemon, zest finely grated
  • 2 tsp instant yeast
  • 120 g flour (I used a mix of plain white & wholemeal spelt flour here)
  • 40 g potato starch or cornflour
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar or caster sugar
  • 1/2 tsp fine table salt
  • vegetable oil for frying

For rolling:

  • 75 g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp mixed spice

Instructions

Make the tangzhong:

  • Combine the wholemeal spelt flour and boiling water in a large mixing bowl and stir until fully mixed and slightly sticky.
    30 g plain white flour or wholemeal spelt flour, 80 g boiling water

Make the dough:

  • Stir the vegetable oil and cold water into the tangzhong then let the mixture to cool to lukewarm.
    25 g vegetable oil, 40 g cold water
  • Mix in the egg and egg yolk, vanilla, orange zest and lemon zest until smooth.
    1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, 1/2 orange, zest finely grated, 1/2 lemon, zest finely grated
  • Add the yeast, both types of flour and potato starch (or cornflour) to the bowl. Add the sugar and salt on top then stir to get a rough dough.
    2 tsp instant yeast, 120 g flour (I used a mix of plain white & wholemeal spelt flour here), 40 g potato starch or cornflour, 1 tbsp granulated sugar or caster sugar, 1/2 tsp fine table salt
  • Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with a little more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and less sticky.
  • Place the dough back into the bowl and drizzle on some oil, turning the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel (or reusable shower cap) and leave somewhere warm to rise until doubled in volume - 1-2 hours.

Shape & prove:

  • Punch down the risen dough and tip out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out until the dough is roughly 1.5cm thick. Use a circular cutter to punch out 6cm circles. Use a 2cm round cutter to punch circles out of the centre of each round (I use a large piping tip to do this as I don't have a round cutter which is small enough).
  • Place each shaped ring onto its own small square of baking paper and set onto a baking sheet. Cover and leave to rise for 30-45 minutes until the doughnuts look puffy and when gently poked, an indentation is left in the dough.

Fry the doughnuts:

  • Fill a heavy, medium pot with a 5cm depth of vegetable oil. Place on the stove over a high heat until the oil reaches 180°C. Turn the heat down to low.
    vegetable oil
  • Gently transfer a risen doughnut to the pot of hot oil (you can either peel off the square of parchment or add the doughnut to the pot along with the parchment - it will peel off as the dough fries and you can remove it from the oil). Cook for around 1 minute on each side, flipping over so both sides are golden.
  • Remove with a slotted spoon to a wire rack to cool briefly before tossing in a mixture of caster sugar & mixed spice.
    75 g caster sugar, 1 tbsp mixed spice
  • Fry all the doughnuts, keeping an eye on the temperature of the oil & adjusting the heat to maintain it at 180°C.

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