“Donut Making: The Lost Art”
I believe donut making truly is a lost art. With the advent
of premixes, poorly trained bakers, aging donut shops, and pre-frozen donuts, I’ve noticed that traditional,
high-quality “yeast” donuts are just not around anymore. Moreover, what yeast donut recipes do exist,
especially ones found on the Internet, are incomplete and untested recipes that end up with the flavor and
consistency of bread.
The traditionalist bakers and donut makers of yesteryear (the ones from whom I learned) would not appreciate me giving away trade secrets. That’s the way it is with bakers—they made everything from scratch and guarded the recipes well!
This is going to make a lot of people rethink their donut
recipes they have acquired from the Net, in all honesty! While a recipe can often be an effective introductory
tool, some things can only be learned from experience.
Here’s the first lesson. Would a gourmet chef prepare a chicken soup with no chicken stock? Of course not. So, what’s the number one reason most donut shops produce lousy raised donuts? They don’t add “stock.” And what would stock be for raised donuts? Brew.
Brew is heavily yeasted dough that has reached peak
fermentation activity then refrigerated for 24 hours before baked. Brew dramatically improves flavor for all
raised donuts. (Why are they called “raised donuts”? Yeast!) Brew will dramatically improve flavor, reduce
preparation times, and consistently lead to quality raised donuts.
Generally, I like to put aside about three to five pounds of
brew in a plastic bag and refrigerated for about 30 minutes after mixing is complete. The next day, when you’re
ready to bake, you “activate” your brew. Here’s how:
Use a container (a five-gallon bucket works great) and place
in it the previous day’s brew. You can also place the brew on a rolling table and cover it in plastic wrap.
About an hour later, the exposure to room temperature air has activated the yeast in the dough. Cut the brew
into 4-by-4 inch cubes and incorporate into your general donut dough.
So there you have it! The next time you make donuts, be
creative, be creative, be creative! And always look at the finished product in your case and wonder if you
could have done it any better or sweeter. Have fun in the shop, and enjoy listening to your customers: they
will always appreciate your hard work by buying your donuts.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ed Chastain is a recognized authority on the subject of donuts, breads and pasties. His web site, http://www.donutedvd.com, provides a wealth of information on everything you'll ever need to know about entering the donut business. A professional baker for 15 years and skilled in the art of making and creating quality yeast donuts with attention to traditional, unique and donuts lost over time. |
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