doughnut diaries: churro donas recipe (4/25)

Since October of 2022, I’ve been working on developing a brioche doughnut recipe. Y'all...it's a process.

If you’ve been following my Instagram stories, you’ve probably seen some photos of my doughnut making experience.

I always thought doughnuts were like…sort of simple? Make dough, fry, eat. Done.

After about eight attempts (nine now as you’re reading this) at making brioche doughnuts, I can honestly say I have found a new appreciation for the fried little dough balls. They can be finicky and temperamental, which is…not at all what I was expecting (doughnuts definitely have Taurus energy - not sorry).

deep-fried brioche, i love you

What do I know about brioche doughnuts so far? They’re actually more versatile that I thought. In the past, when it came to making high fat ratio brioche, I always had okay luck. I live in Texas. It’s hella warm here and for some reason the dough just doesn’t seem to stand up to the heat? Probably baker’s error as well…to an extent, you know?

So, I looked to the professionals. Claire Saffitz has a delicious brioche recipe in her book Dessert Person. As doughnuts, they had solid flavor and texture. I found them to be a really delicious and classic doughnut.

Baking with Butter has a brioche doughnut recipe that calls for less butter and eggs, resulting in a dough that is much easier to work with. I liked the ease of the dough, however the flavor suffered because of the reduced amount of butter. Paired with a really flavorful filling, these doughnuts hold up well. I do like that the ratios in this recipe are altered for a beginner baker, and I appreciated this recipe at the beginning of my testing stages.

The most flavorful brioche doughnut recipe I’ve tried so far is from ibakemistakes. The flavor is phenomenal, and calls for a lot of butter, making it a really rich and flavorful brioche doughnut. My only issue was getting a good rise, which was once again, baker's error and not the recipe's fault (I was…impatient). But the flavor? Perfection. 10/10. 

I took what I’ve learned from all my tests and gave my own recipe a go.

For a fluffier doughnut, I went ahead and used half milk, half water. Water really lightens up the texture, and the doughnuts get a lot of lift as they fry. I incorporated milk powder as both a flavor enhancer and softener for the dough. I think it can be omitted without a problem if you don't have it on hand. 

And lastly, I punched up the butter amount. I wanted lots and lots of butter.

a recipe for brioche doughnuts (4/16)

• 60 grams water, warm (plus a tsp of honey)

• 60 grams whole milk, warm

• 7 grams yeast (added to milk and water)

• 25 grams granulated sugar (I am considering increasing to 45 grams)

• 375 grams bread flour

• 30 grams milk powder (for flavor and texture)

• 165 grams eggs (about 3 large; can be cold)

• 5 grams sea salt

• 165 grams salted butter, cubed and slightly softened (added after kneading dough for 5-8 minutes)

1. Activate the yeast in milk and water with a bit of honey or sugar.

2. Add yeast/liquid mixture, sugar, eggs and flour and milk powder to stand mixer bowl. Add the salt and begin mixing with a dough hook on speed 2.

   1. Mix until gluten begins developing (5-7 mins), then add in the butter, one cube at a time.

3. Continue kneading on stand mixer speed 4 until a soft, smooth and supple dough forms that pulls away from the sides. This took about 30 minutes for me. (The dough is going to be pretty soft fyi)

4. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, and proof for 1.5-2 hours, or until doubled.

5. Knock the air out of the dough, cover bowl with plastic wrap and set the dough into the fridge for an overnight proof.

   ---

6. Next Day: Turn the cold dough out onto a clean surface.

7. Separate into 50 gram pieces, and roll each piece into a ball, pressing down gently to flatten the top into a doughnut shape.

   1. Place the doughballs onto parchment (I like to cut individual parchment squares for each piece of dough)

8. Allow to rise another hour (covered loosely) or until almost doubled, and springs back slowly when pressed. 

9. Heat a heavy bottomed pot with 3-4 inches of canola oil (or neutral oil) to about 340 F. (between 335-345 F is okay; definitely use a thermometer) 

10. Fry each doughnut for 2 minutes on each side.

    1. Fry one first and check for doneness. If it’s still raw, lower oil temp by 5 degrees and fry for closer to 3 minutes, each side.

11. Place doughnuts onto sheet pans lined with paper towels. Allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes before coating in sugar/seasoning of choice.

An official recipe will be out soon with more details - y’all are getting a little sneak peek. I’d like to tweak a few more things. Sub a whole egg with an egg yolk, and try all milk instead of half water, half milk (for flavor mostly, I actually do like using water). Like I said, recipe testing is a daunting process (that I am madly in love with).

Churro baby <3

Earlier this month, I made churro doughnuts that were filled with homemade cajeta. The flavor of those doughnuts were the best I’ve had from my own kitchen so far, however the texture of the actual dough was not quite right. Too dense, the dough didn’t rise and yeah, just a whole lot that went wrong.

That cajeta though? Delicious. It was a little too runny to work as a doughnut filling, but the flavor was damn perfect.

Fast forward to two weekends ago, I made churro doughnuts again using the brioche doughnut recipe I just shared. I rolled the doughnuts in sugar and Ceylon cinnamon (200 grams sugar (or 1 cup) + 1 TB cinnamon), which is a brighter and more floral cinnamon compared to what you would use for cinnamon rolls.

I didn’t make cajeta, but I did have a can of dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is (in my opinion) way too sweet, so I folded the caramel into a batch of vanilla pastry cream to lighten up the sweetness and texture. It was so damn good.

I used ibakemistake's Vanilla Pastry Cream recipe for filling the doughnuts. This vanilla pastry cream has been my go-to for a while now, it’s so damn delicious.

I adjust the cornstarch to 50 grams (I like it thiccc). When you add in the butter at the end, also add in an entire can of dulce de leche. I also encourage you to add a bit more salt, since I didn’t do that and regretted it (the dulce de leche just adds so much more sweetness, so you kind of need the salt). Anyway, whisk it all in and smooth it out with an immersion blender for extra creaminess (not necessary to immersion blend but it works wonderfully).

Definitely prepare the filling a day in advanced. Fill the doughnuts once they are cooled, and enjoy.

Dulce de leche can be purchased in the can (I’ve seen it at Target). You definitely need a thick and dark dulce de leche for this recipe, so if you’re doing the boiled can of condensed milk method, boil that can for at least 3.5 hours, maybe even 4. Don’t be scuuured. Also, definitely boil multiple cans at once so it’s extra worth all the hassle. I always boil at least 3.

Here’s a Youtube video explaining the boiling process for dulce de leche (along with 3 other methods):

Filling the Doughnuts:

• Allow the doughnuts to cool completely before filling

  • Doughnuts can be coated in the cinnamon sugar about 10 minutes after frying

• Once the doughnuts are cooled, create holes in the sides using a chopstick, paring knife or a palette knife (details later)

• Fill a pastry bag with the dulce de leche pastry cream. Be sure to use some sort of nozzle tip (it doesn’t have to be perfectly round, but it should have some sort of larger opening, like an open star tip) to stab into the doughnut hole

• Fill each doughnut until they become heavy (this took me a few tries to get right), being cautious to not over-fill so the filling doesn’t ooze out

Doughnut Tips – Korean Doughnut Shop ASMR​

So I did sort of briefly mention my brioche doughnut journey has been a little bit of a struggle. Here are some things that really send me spiraling on a Sunday afternoon:

• Raw middles – I hate this! Number one reason why I don’t fry doughnuts at 350 F anymore. Fry at a lower temp for longer – allows the middles to cook without the outsides browning too quickly

  • Also flatten your dough balls for even cooking (don’t flatten them down like pizzas, but more like little doughnut shapes)

• Huge air bubbles while frying – these aren’t the worst thing, but they really intimidate me for some reason? I’m always worried if I poke the air bubbles, a bunch of oil will just seep into the dough and make it super heavy/greasy/unpleasant

• Dense doughnuts – sometimes dough just doesn’t wanna proof or whatever and it makes me so mad lol

• Underfilled doughnuts – I am convinced a paring knife isn’t enough to properly poke a doughnut hole with enough space for a filling, but I’m also an impatient Aries so I think this is just baker’s error

I’ve searched for some solid tips – looked at blogs, videos and books. Nothing really, really helped me though until I came across an ASMR video featuring the doughnut making process at a Korean bakery called Butter Book. Sometimes watching the process will give you all the answers you need. There’s no talking in this video because it’s doughnut ASMR, but it’s very relaxing and pretty insightful.

Some takeaways that I immediately applied (that led to success):

Roll out the dough before cutting into dough balls

• I don’t use doughnut cutters when I make doughnuts because I hate wasting the scraps. Roll the cold dough out onto a flat surface using a rolling pin after it’s overnight rise to knock out all the air. Don't roll it out flat like cinnamon roll dough, just enough to get the air out (about 12 inches in diameter?) Cut the dough into square shapes and weigh each piece – 50 grams. 

• Roll each piece into a ball and press down gently

• This tip helped prevent the dreaded air bubbles I’ve encountered while frying, thanks to the dough being rolled and knocking out excess air

Fry at a lower temp (335 F-340 F)

• Fry each side for about 2-2.5 minutes. Sometimes I fry for 2 minutes on each side, and then flip them again to go for 30 seconds to 1 minute more on both sides, depending on how dark they are. 

Lighten up the doughnuts

• If your doughnuts are coming out too dense, try subbing in a bit of water for milk (about half and half if possible)

• Water produces a much lighter, more airy texture

Filling the Doughnuts

• Okay, so this blew my mind in the video. I’ve struggled with creating enough space in my doughnuts for fillings using just a paring knife. In the video, the bakers use a small palette knife to make holes and create more space 

• Stab the side of the doughnut with the palette knife tip to create entry, and then jam the handle into the hole, making space inside for filling

• It works so well! It might seem like your squishing the heck out of your doughnut but don’t worry, those babies spring back

My thoughts on doughnuts so far…

What I like most about doughnuts (so far) is they’re a perfect vehicle for a lot of flavor packed into a handheld pastry. There’s also very little decorative pressure? Literally fill with jam or custard, dip into a glaze, or add a bit of a sprinkle-sprinkle, and done! I’ve seen some cute doughnuts with little flowers and thoughtful decorative pieces as well. Chocolate pearls and crumbles, things like that. 
But the possibilities of incorporating flavors and textures are limitless. I think my next batch will be lemon cream + blueberry goo filled doughnuts. That’s a pretty safe combination of flavors, but baby is still practicing.

Some flavor ideas I have floating in my head are:

Toasted Malted Milk Cream

Peppery/Spiced Apricot Jam and Mascarpone

Black Cocoa Cookies & Cream

Ube Cookies & Cream

Thai Tea Cookies & Cream (omgaaaah)

Matcha Cream with a Strawberry Shortcake Crumble and/or Compote

Burnt Honey and Brown Sugar Milk Cream OR Burnt Honey Dalgona/Latte

Do you have any doughnut dreams? I’d love to hear about them. <3

- Channey