How to Make Super Soft Krispy Kreme Style Donuts

Here's the secret weapon to fluffy donuts that will melt in your mouth all night long: Tangzhong! I didn't sneeze, that's what it's called! This concoction is the best thing that ever happened to my Donut making escapades. Tang Zhong is like a roux, (yeah, like the stuff that you use for your Gumbo) that enhances the softness in the Donut. I'm guessing why every single Asian bakery out there has amazing Donuts. Tangzhong was made popular by some Chinese expert baking woman, named Yvonne Chen. But thank the Japanese people- they're the ones who invented it! Let your pretentious foodie creativity ensue and impress your loves, by making your own flavors for toppings and glazes!

A lot of sitting and waiting goes into making these babies, but it's SO worth it in the end.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. AP flour
4 T. sugar
3 T. unsalted butter
1 tsp. Pink Himalyan Sea Salt
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
2 tsp. yeast
1/2 c. Tangzhong

Tangzhong:

1/3 c. AP flour
1 c. water

Glaze:

2 c. powdered sugar
3/4 tsp. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 T. water (you can replace this water with any other liquid like espresso, lemon juice etc.)

Any topping you'd like! i.e. Cereal, french sprinkles, chocolate curls, candied prosciutto...etc. ;)

1. Make the tangzhong and the dough. Cook the Tangzhong over meidum heat until thick. Then, dump all of the dough ingredients into a bread machine, and set it to the “basic dough” function. (You can make this dough by hand or in a stand mixer with a dough hook – knead about 15 minutes until the dough can be stretched to form a windowpane. Cover and allow to rise 45 minutes, then punch down and allow to rise another 30-45 minutes.)

2. When the dough is done, roll it out into a rectangle on a floured surface – somewhere between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thick.

3. Use a large 3″ round cutter to cut large circles, then use a smaller 1″ cutter to cut the middle. I actually used a pastry piping tip to cut out the middle. I don't like my donuts to have such a huge hole in the middle: you gotta maximize your donut-age that way. ;) I got about 13 donuts from my dough. You can re-roll the scraps and make brioche or donut holes out of it. I wouldn't work the dough too much, or else you'll end up with a tough dough.

4. Use a pancake spatula to move the cut out donuts to a floured baking sheet. You want to try to not alter the shape so much from picking it up. I covered the donuts with two grocery bags loosely over my sheet pan (don’t let the donuts touch each other!), then set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, loosely covered with plastic wrap.

5. Make the glaze by whisking all the ingredients together.

6. Heat about 1-2″ of oil in a large pot or an electric fryer. Heat the oil up to about 375 degrees F (190 degrees Celsius) – this is the proper temperature for deep frying.

7. Carefully lower a few donuts into the hot oil with a flat spatula (try not to alter the shape of the donut so much), and fry for 30-45 seconds.

8. Insert a chopstick into the hole, then flip over. Fry for another 30-45 seconds, then remove to a rack to cool.

9. When done – and cool enough to handle without burning your fingers, dunk each donut halfway into the glaze to coat.

10. Flip over, then set on a clean rack – allow the glaze to set for about 5 minutes before serving. Make these right before you want to eat 'em, so that they're fresh!

Enjoy! If for some STRANGE reason you have leftovers, make an amazing Donut Bread Pudding out of it! Ugh, I'm such a bad influence. Bad, but goooood. ::wink:: Want to be even naughtier, make a Creme Anglaise, Sabayon or Caramel Sauce for that bread pudding. Okay, i'll stop. ::slurp::

Muah x 1,000....

Greggy