Homemade Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

by Barry Lewis

Ingredients

2tsp fast action yeast

2tsp sugar

180ml Warm water

130g plain flour

130g cake flour / 00 flour, plus more as needed

Pinch salt

1 Egg (yolk only)

1tsp vanilla extract

1tbsp milk plus extra if needed

Sugar glaze

150g sugar

50g icing sugar

80ml water

¼ tsp egg white powder

Oil for frying

Sometimes a good old glazed ring doughnut (or donut!) is just splendid, nothing too crazy, it’s just a good tasting fluffy thing! Krispy Kreme are a popular type of donut and there glazed ring donuts are very popular, with stands in supermarkets selling their bits and bobs! So I was kindly sent this recipe for pretty much an identical replica of the donuts, which you could also air fry in my opinion! Good luck, hope you give it a go!

Homemade Krispy Kreme ring donuts

First up lets get the yeast working – dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar, give it a stir together and then leave for ten minutes. You should see it nice and foamy on the top.

Grab a large bowl and add in the egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Sift both the flours and the salt into the bowl, folding it through as you go, it’ll be a bit dry, but that is when the yeast comes in, pour that in after it has foamed and stir this all together. It will be a little sticky, but if it’s too wet add a little extra flour, too dry a splash more water. Shape it into a ball with your hands, it should still be a bit sticky but not too wet and gloopy, just easy to handle with a bit of tacky / sticky vibes! Cover the bowl in cling film and leave in a warm place for an hour to double in size.

Add a large piece of baking parchment to your work surface and gently flour it. When the dough is ready turn it out onto the paper and knead it slightly working in more flour if necessary, do not over flour it, but using a rolling pin (sprinkled with flour if needed as an when, roll out to approx 1/2 inch thick on the baking parchment. Using a cookie cutter (approx 2.5inch is fine) cut out the donut shapes, then use either a knife, smaller cookie cutter or a bottle lid to cut out the middles, which you can cook too later! Repeat and re-use the dough, you should have enough for 8 donuts if using it all with some off cut middles / donut holes.

Using scissors, trim the baking parchment that the donuts are sat on so you don’t have to move them, leaving a little gap for each to expand, they have their own little islands of baking parchment and makes cooking / moving them easier. Lift into a high lipped baking tray and cover (use a high lipped tray so the cling film doesn’t touch the dough as it rises) or you can use foil to make a raised cover. Place in the warm space to double in size. Please note it is the size that they rise to that for me tends to be the final size of the donut.

Meanwhile for the glaze, add the normal sugar to a saucepan with the water, bring to a boil stirring often over a medium heat, then remove off the heat, stir in the icing sugar and egg white powder, whisk using an electric whisk on a low speed for a few minutes until smooth, pass the mixture through a sieve into another bowl to get any lumps out and leave to one side until needed.

Fry them in batches in oil in your fryer warmed to 190c/375f, using the baking parchment islands to help drop them into the oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes until golden brown, placing on a wire rack to cool, repeat with remaining donuts.

Put a tray under the donuts to catch any glaze, then pour the glaze over the top of the donuts to coat them fully. If the glaze has firmed up whilst you’ve been cooking the donuts, give it a stir and maybe a drop of warm water to loosen it.