Fluffy Baked Sugar Jam Doughnuts
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Doughnut or donut? I do-not know! However, what I do know is that these BAKED doughnuts are soft, fluffy and do not require any oil for baking! Healthy(ish) right? It only has around 4 tablespoons of butter, which is pretty good going for these bad boys. I enjoy these best when they're fresh out the oven and warm. I also ate these doughnuts for dinner, but let's not get into that haha. To be extra attentive, I used instant dry yeast as it's much easier to get your hands on right now as apposed fresh. So no excuses to not bake!
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Ingredients
Doughnut Dough
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350g all-purpose flour (120g in one bowl, 230g in another bowl)
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50g granulated sugar
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10g instant dry yeast
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½ teaspoon of salt
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170ml milk
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60g unsalted butter (divided into 30g and 30g)
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2 medium egg yolks
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1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
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Doughnut Topping/Filling
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100g strawberry jam (click here to check out my homemade jam recipe!)
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60g granulated sugar to roll your doughnuts in
Tips Before Baking
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For this bake, you don’t require an electric whisk. A handheld one will be perfect to use.
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Before you start, just bear in mind that this recipe requires quite some rising time, so patience is much needed (it’s defo worth it, trust me!!)
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When rising the mixture, you can either rise it in a warm, draft free area in your house for 1hr 30mins or, use your oven which halves the rising time to 45mins (this is what I do and works the best). Set your oven very low to 50 degrees on fan assist. Your oven should not be hot. It should just be warm.
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For the toppings, I use sugar and my homemade jam however, you can use any other toppings you like such as Nutella, Biscoff, custard etc.
Method
Before you get started, I always find it easier to measure out all ingredients before baking. Also, make sure your eggs are at room temperature. The milk and butter don’t have to be at room temperature before baking as you’ll be heating/melting these ingredients.
Firstly, in a large heat proof mixing bowl, add your 120g flour, granulated sugar, salt and the instant dry yeast and whisk this all together until combined.
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Then, heat your milk up in the microwave (or on the hob) until lukewarm. You don’t want the milk piping hot as this will kill the yeast. I put mine I the microwave for 30 seconds which was enough time.
Next, heat 30g of butter in a bowl until it’s just melted. Again, don’t overheat it.
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After, add your warm milk, butter, and vanilla to your dry mix and whisk until just combined. Then add the two egg yolks and whisk fast and hard for a minute or so until the mix has come together.
Next, cover the bowl tightly with cling film and let the mixture rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes until air bubbles appear on the top.
Before you move onto the next step, try find a warm place in your house so you can put the dough to rise (not next to the heater!). I use the oven to rise my dough. I’ve found it to be quicker, easier and a little more trusting. To rise your dough in the oven (recommended), set your oven to a low 50-degree heat on fan assist. You want the oven to be slightly warm and not hot.
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Once the air bubbles have formed, removed the cling film and gradually add the remaining 230g of flour and fold in. You now want the mixture to start forming into a dough. If the mixture is still quite wet, add some more flour inside until it doesn’t stick to your hands. Once all combined, knead the mixture for a 5-10 minutes. I kneaded mine inside the bowl, however, feel free to dust your surface with some flour and kneed on the worktop. Make sure you’re pushing/stretching the dough away from you with the palm of your hand and folding it back towards you. Keep repeating this action. By kneading, you’re aiding the gluten production in the dough, which will make your doughnuts fluffy and springy.
Next, turn your mixture into a ball shape and place in the middle of your bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to rise for 45 minutes inside your warm oven or, 1hr 30min in at room temperature until doubled in size.
before kneading
after kneading
(+45mins) risen
Once risen, sprinkle your work surface with flour and roll your mixture out. You want the thickness of the dough to be around 2-3cm thick. Try not to over work the mixture as you don’t want to knock out the air. Use a rounded dough cutter or a cup/glass to cut your doughnuts out.
Once cut, place evenly on a lined baking tray ensuring there’s enough space left between each doughnut when they rise. With the excess dough, scrunch this all together, re-roll and cut some more doughnuts out.
When all the doughnuts are placed on your baking tray, cover with a damp towel and allow them rise again for around 20 minutes in your warm, low heated oven or, 45 minutes at room temperature. If you’re letting them rise at room temperature, it’s now time to pre-heat your oven to 170 degrees on fan assist or, 185 degrees on conventional. If your using the oven to rise the doughnuts, once they’ve risen, remove them from the oven then, pre-heat your oven to 170 degrees on fan assist or, 185 degrees on conventional ready for baking.
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before rise
(+20mins) risen
Once the oven has heated, place the baking tray in the middle of the oven. The doughnuts should only take 10-12 mins to bake so keep an eye on them as you don’t want them to burn or turn too brown on top. They cook quick! Remove them from the oven once they’ve just turned a light golden colour and place on a wired cooling rack.
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With the remaining 30g of butter, melt this in the microwave until it’s just melted. Brush your warm doughnuts with melted butter once they come out the oven. Once brushed, roll the doughnuts around in granulated sugar until covered to your satisfaction (I like mine extra sugary).
If you want to fill your doughnut with jam or Nutella (or any other spread), cut a deep slit into the side of the doughnut with a thin knife. Fill a piping bag with your filling, insert the bag into the doughnut and gently squeeze the filling whilst pulling back when you feel resistance. If your forgetful like myself and don’t have a piping bag, you can spread the filling on top of the doughnut and add some extra fruit/chocolate bits on top.
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These are your doughnuts, so get creative with them!
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ENJOY!
Are you baking?
Don't forget to tag me in your bakes if you've used this recipe! Would love to see the deliciousness :D
