Recipe: Yeast Doughnuts St. Brigid

recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2001-07-08
From: Paddy.Montreal

Yeast Doughnuts St. Brigid

Make a sponge in a small bowl:
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup flour
Cover and set aside in a warm place for about 1/2 hour.

In a large bowl, beat 6 egg yolks, 5 tbsp. sugar till creamy.
Add 2/3 cup warm milk and 6 tbsp. softened butter.
Add the risen sponge.
Beat in 2 to 3 cups flour and 1 tsp. salt.
It really helps if you have a standing mixer with a dough hook but if not, lift and slap the dough down on the work surface until you have a soft, not-too-sticky yet slightly sticky dough. It should feel wonderfully soft yet elastic.
Put it into a bowl, cover and let it rise till double, about an hour or so.
Punch down, roll or pat it out to 1/2 inch thickness, cut with regular doughnut cutter or, if you want jelly doughnuts, cut rounds. Put a tsp. jam or jelly on half of the rounds, top with another plain round, pinch the edges well to seal.
You can, at this point, take a slightly smaller cutter and push down on the sealed rounds, cutting through both, resealing the rounds.
Heat the fat (I use Crisco) to 360 deg. F., while the doughnuts are rising. They should be just puffy, not necessarily double. Fry a few at a time. Drain on paper towel, dredge with sugar, or glaze.

Can be refrigerated after 1st rise, about 2 days. Dough can also be made into brioche.