Cinnamon Sugar Sourdough Donuts Food

SOURDOUGH DONUTS WITH CINNAMON SUGAR

Steps:

• Combine the warm milk, butter and egg with the starter in a mixer bowl. With the mixer running, add sugar, spices, salt and 2.5 cups of the flour. Mix until it forms a thick batter.
• Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour (amount of flour may vary based on the hydration of your starter). The dough will start out quite sticky. Knead on medium low speed for 15 minutes (speed 2 on my stand mixer) until the dough clings to the hook and clears the sides of the bowl.
• Scrape the dough into a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth ball. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover and set the dough aside at room temperature for fermentation.
• After 1 hour uncover the bowl, lift one edge of the dough over into the middle of the dough. Repeat with the other three sides of the dough then flip the dough over. Cover the bowl and set aside.
• Every hour for another 2-3 hours repeat the folding as described above. After 3-4 hours of fermentation the dough should be lively, elastic and airy. If the dough is still sluggish give it another hour or two at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. While the dough is still cold, without kneading, roll to 1/2" thick on a lightly floured surface.
• Use a 4" round cutter to cut donuts. Use a 1.5" cutter to cut center hole. Line the donuts on a well-oiled, parchment or silpat lined baking sheet, leaving space between the donuts for the dough to rise (I used 2 baking sheets). Reroll the scraps of dough and continue cutting donuts until all the dough is used up. Brush the tops of the donuts lightly with oil.
• Cover the sheet pans with plastic wrap and set aside to rise. The donuts are ready when you poke the dough and the dent slowly fills in. If the dough bounces right back it's not quite ready. This rise should take about 1 1/2 hours. The time will vary based on the temperature of the room.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 quarts of oil to 350F° in a large heavy pot. Fry the donuts a couple at a time, about 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown and puffy.
• As you take each donut out of the oil, immediately roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat the entire donut. Set on a cooling rack while you fry the rest of the donuts.
• Best eaten warm or within a couple of hours of frying.

SOURDOUGH CINNAMON BUNS

Steps:

• Make sure your starter is active - it should be nice and bubbly. If it isn't, feed it and wait until a tsp of the starter floats in warm water.
• Tip all the ingredients for the dough, except the butter, into a bowl and mix with your hands to form a shaggy dough - make sure all the flour from around the bowl is mixed in. Leave the dough in the bowl, covered with a damp cloth, for 30 mins.
• Work the butter into the dough with 1 tsp salt. Once fully combined, tip the dough onto a surface and knead gently for 5 mins until smooth and springy. Form the dough into a ball and sit back in the bowl. Cover and leave somewhere warm-ish for 3-4 hrs until the dough has just about doubled in size.
• Meanwhile, make the filling by beating together the sugar, butter, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Set aside at room temperature to keep soft.
• Butter and line a square baking tin - smaller tins (20 x 20cm) will hold nine buns, larger tins (25 x 25cm) will hold 12. Tip the dough onto a floured surface and roll it to a rectangle roughly 50 x 25cm. Spread the filling over the rectangle so it's completely covered. Roll the dough along the long edge into a tight swiss-roll type sausage. Cut your dough into pieces and arrange them, spiral side-up, in the tin. Leave for 1 hr at room temperature, then cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cover the tin with foil and bake on a baking tray (this will stop any leaking mixture dripping into your oven) for 30 mins, then remove the foil and bake for 10-15 mins more to brown slightly.
• Meanwhile, mix the golden syrup with 1 tbsp boiling water. As soon as buns come out of the oven, brush them generously with the syrup, then leave to cool a little. Lift the buns out of the tin while still warm and leave to cool on a wire rack. To make the icing, beat the soft cheese, sugar and vanilla until thick but drizzly. Drizzle over the buns when completely cool.

CINNAMON SUGAR DONUTS

Steps:

• Batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add egg yolks and sugar. Mix on medium speed just to combine, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is pale and fluffy and ribbons start to form, about 3 minutes. Reduce to medium speed, then slowly stream in the melted butter, followed by the buttermilk; mix until combined, about 5 seconds.
• Turn the mixer off. Add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and baharat. Mix on low speed just to combine, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and continue mixing until dough is smooth and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 20 to 30 seconds.
• Tape a 12" x 16" sheet of parchment paper to your work surface to keep it from slipping. Generously dust the parchment with flour. (Keep extra flour nearby to use as needed.) Scrape down the paddle attachment, then turn all the batter out onto the floured surface. The batter will be very sticky and loose. Dust the top of the batter with more flour, all the way to the edges; flour your hands thoroughly. Place a second piece of parchment paper on top of the flour-dusted batter. Roll the batter between the parchment paper into a ½-inch thick rectangle, about 10" x 14". Using only the weight of the rolling pin itself, very gently ease it along the parchment paper-first from top to bottom, then from side to side-to evenly flatten the batter without rolling it too thin. Once you've achieved the right thickness, slide the dough (still sandwiched between parchment) onto an overturned baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes and up to overnight.
• Preheat the frying oil: In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add 2-3 inches of oil. Clip a deep fry thermometer onto the side of the pot and heat oil to 350 F. After at least 30 minutes, remove dough from freezer. Generously dust your work surface with flour. Peel the top layer of parchment off the dough. (It's ok if some of it sticks-just be gentle and persistent!) Flip the baking sheet with dough onto the floured surface, so the bottom piece of parchment is now on top. Remove this layer of parchment and use a pastry brush to brush excess flour off dough.
• Cut donuts: Use two sizes of ring cutters to quickly cut out the donuts. Flouring the cutters well and often to prevent sticking, stamp out as many 2.75-inch circles as possible; then use the 1-inch cutter for the holes. The dough scraps can be gathered together, re-rolled and cut for more donuts.
• Fry the donuts: Carefully lift the dough rings with a spatula and slide them into the oil, frying about 4 at a time, depending on the size of your pot. After about 1 minute, the edges will begin to brown; flip the donuts and fry for another minute, then flip again and fry until golden brown and delightfully puffy, another 30 seconds. (Total frying time for the donuts will be about 2½ minutes.)Transfer donuts to a rack set over a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat with remaining donuts and donut holes. (Donut holes take 60 to 90 seconds and tend to flip themselves.)
• In a large bowl, combine sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. One by one, toss the hot donuts in the sugar mixture until well coated. Serve immediately. After the donuts are cool, store in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.