Yeast Donut Recipe And Essential Key Ingredients

(Yeast Donuts)  

FLOUR- SUGAR-YEAST- SHORTENING  

I feel it is necessary and essential to give you information on key ingredients used to prepare yeast and cake donuts. Not all flour is equal! Referenced below is the minimum you should know about flour. Within the dvd donut training video I demonstrate the yeast donut recipe below and listed below is a complete yeast donut recipe with essential ingredients, donut calculations, desired batter outcome calculations and step-by-step descriptions for batching, mixing, incorporating scrap dough, floor time, bench time “balling your dough” and additional batching techniques for a well rounded understanding of yeast donut making methods. The yeast donut video training will bring the related information referenced below into actionable information.

FLOUR
The primary ingredient for donuts is flour and is the most important; only wheat flour can produce yeast donuts, because it is the only flour that contains gluten. Gluten makes up the cell structure in yeast donuts. This possibly explains why flour is bleach for pastry products. I recommend a high quality bakers flour (soft and hard) that has low ash content, the lower the ash, the higher the quality of flour. Ash is the product/ingredient used for wheat extraction  

There are primarily two types of protein levels in wheat flour.  

●Spring wheat (harvest) contains higher protein levels from 12.0 to 14% protein
●Winter wheat (harvest) contains lower protein levels from 10.0 to11% protein
●I use higher protein flour for breads and donuts.
●I use lower protein flours for muffins, pastry and sweet rolls.
●To hard of flour makes donuts dry and tough.
●To soft of flour makes donuts with soft shells that collapse when iced or glazed  

I have found a medium that works for me. I purchase All Montana flour (hard) and Montana winter (soft) as follows; 50% (Hard flour)
50% (Soft flour)  

I incorporate the two flours using a wire whip in large mixer “enough for a week” the combination of the two flours makes for a really nice donut! However you can use All Purpose flour and omit salt. I enjoy batching my own brew as I can trouble shoot problems before they arise. Experiment with the two flours and find what works best in your geological location.  

Tip;
In higher altitudes flour absorbs more water and I recommend reducing the hard flour “60% soft and 40% hard flour” and this will produce tender donuts with good yield.

SUGAR
Sugar provides yeast food and acts as a tenderizer and sugar helps with browning of the donut while being fried.  

Tip:
Too much sugar and salt will retard the yeast in the fermentation stage; also if your donuts are prematurely browning in fryer, reduce sugar in said recipe.  

Yeast
There are two types of yeast you can use, Whole yeast “compressed fresh” and instant yeast. I use whole yeast for larger batches and instant yeast for smaller batches.  

Whole yeast potentates the flavor of your brew and delivered in a case of 25 two pound blocks. Two pounds per 20 pounds of flour is ample for fermentation as a starting point.  

Instant yeast is great for smaller batches and easily available.

Shortening
Shortening does more than add moisture; it prevents fryer shortening absorbing into the donut upon frying. Also with proper shortening levels in brew, in combination with good proofing techniques you can produce a donut with low fat absorbing qualities and achieving a donut with good volume and shelf life.

Tip:
Weigh a donut ring prior and after frying to determine fat absorption qualities of brew. Should yeast/cake donuts absorb shortening after frying and appear greasy, consider increasing shortening levels in batch and increase frying temperature by 5 degrease

Yeast Donut Recipe
(Batching your brew)  

In a large mixing bowl (pre-warmed); add 2 cups water @ 115°F and incorporate yeast with wire whip. Allow 5-8 minutes for yeast to activate, stir in potatoes and eggs.  

In sauce pan, scald milk, incorporating shortening, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla and salt using remaining ¼ cup cool water for desired brew temperature (see calculations.)  

In a large mixing bowl with dough hook
●Stir in half milk mixture.
●Add 2 ½ pounds flour
●incorporate 15-20 seconds on low speed
● Add remaining milk mixture
●Add remaining flour, hold back ½ pound until satisfied with consistency of
brew or until dough clings to hood and moderately stiff.
●Incorporate scrap dough as referenced above  

●continue incorporating dough for additional 3 to 4 minutes on Medium
speed until smooth and elastic.  

(NOTE:) Review dvd video for complete donut making techniques and methods. The donut
recipes within are tested and proven and demonstrated within dvd training “ADVANCED RAISED TRAINING COURSE.”

Tips for Batching, mixing and Incorporating Your Brew  

Donuts such as raised glazed “rings” I generally mix a separate batch of dough thinner, for a light and tender donut and prepare a separate batch of dough “thicker” for all other donuts. All other donuts need moderately stiff dough “more forgivable” to produce donuts that will accept icings, toppings without collapsing bars, rounds with enough density for hand made donuts and products.  

When preparing a batch of yeast dough, trust fermentation! And rare a problem arises due to fermentation times, however the more active yeast dough is, the better your donuts will (as to suggest) bounce when placed into the fryer and active dough is desirable for dough quality/consistency in regards to predictable floor time/bench time, balling/loafing and proofing the donuts, based on peak fermentation activity and active dough produces a end- product with better volume when the donut is fried. Trust me when I tell you! With 60 pounds of dough on the bakers bench, dough consistency is utmost important!  

Note: Just make sure you can keep control over your batch “poundage” based on your
skill level and know that dough stiffness will affect dough activity.
And as to suggest thick or stiff dough, takes longer to activate in referance to fermentation times.
 

To assist consistent fermentation times, I always use consistent and adequate amounts of yeast and adjusting water temperature ‘using donut calculations referenced above” for desired dough activity. After mixing your finished dough, dough should stretch 4-5 inches and break clean when donut ingredients are incorporated properly with proper mix time.

Floor Time  

Floor time is needed to allow the dough to recover from the abuse from mixing time and also for yeast dough to produce heat from fermentation, before balling dough.  

Step 1- Immediately following mixing the finished dough, check the elasticity of yeast dough, by stretching the dough (see video) and the dough should stretch 4-5 inches, then break. Should the yeast dough stretch 8-9 inches the dough is not completely mixed and requires 2-3 additional minutes of mix time.

Step 2- Take yeast dough to baker’s bench, remove dough, and lightly flour and cover in
plastic 35-45 minutes. (Do not use a towel as this will absorb moisture) and Take an initial dough temperature reading of the finished dough and document dough initial temperature.  

Step 3- Internal temperature should rise 8-10 degrees depending on dough activity activity. Following 35-45 minutes of bench time, the increase in dough temperature is an indication of dough fermentation activity, document this reading for tomorrow nights bake and document correct final mix outcome calculations.

Balling your dough

How do I know when to ball my dough?
How do I know when to roll my dough?

Why Loaf my dough?
Balling/loafing your dough is the second stage of fermentation and much like floor time referenced above, the dough after loafing needs time to recover from the abuse. And particularly yeast donuts require this second stage of fermentation to assist the dough to reach peak fermentation activity, prior to donuts being placed within the proof box. Unlike traditional pastries that need retarding over night. Quality yeast donuts require peak fermentation activity throughout all stages of the fermentation process.

How do I know when to ball my dough?  

Between 35 and 45 minutes remove the plastic that covers your dough, your dough internal temperature will have increased by 8-10 degrees, doubled in size, soft and smooth in a way that suggests the feel of velvet, consider loafing your dough  

Step 1- Determine what donuts and how many you need. This will determine number and size of dough to be loafed. I generally ball/loaf 5 pound loafs when working with larger batches or specialty donuts (see video)
Step 2- When finished balling/loafing cover in plastic and allow balls of dough to rest and double in size, approximately 20-25 minutes.