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If there’s one thing the nation has united on in lockdown, it’s baking. Banana bread, mostly, but still. But if you’re looking to take your skills in the kitchen up a notch, have a go at these incredibly delicious-looking doughnuts.
Bread Ahead, a bakery and baking school in London’s Borough Market, has shared its special recipe with HuffPost UK.
After the success of the bakery’s live tutorials on Instagram, it’s now launched full baking courses online. Accessible globally, for just £25, those tuning in will be able to bake treats such as a Victoria sponge, focaccia, and ciabatta – among other tasty bakes.
Here’s a sneak peek of one of the yummy bakes things you could make your own. We’re not saying it’s easy, but we’re pretty damn sure it’ll be worth it.
You will need:
170g strong white flour
15g caster sugar
3g salt
1/4 lemon zested
40g water
1 medium egg
5g fresh yeast or 3g if using dry
40g softened butter
2 litres oil, for frying (rapeseed, sunflower or corn)
100g caster sugar, for dusting
A filling of your choice – jam, chocolate spread, custard. Whatever you like!
Method:
1. Bring all of the dough ingredients apart from the butter together in a bowl, tip onto the table, and using the heel of your hand, knead for five minutes.
2. Let the dough rest for one minute. If using an electric mixer, take care that it doesn’t overheat – it needs to rest as well as the dough! Continue to stretch and tear the dough, adding the butter a quarter at a time, until it’s all incorporated. Knead the dough for a further five minutes until it’s smooth and elastic when pulled.
3. If using a mixer, start it up again on a medium speed and slowly add the butter to the dough, a quarter at a time. Once it’s all incorporated, mix on high speed for five minutes. Return your dough to the bowl, cover with a plate and leave to prove until it has doubled in size. Knock back the dough, then re-cover the bowl and put into the fridge to chill overnight.
The next day... (hey, we didn’t say this was easy)
4. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut into 50g pieces – you should get about six. Roll them into smooth, tight buns and place them on a floured baking tray, leaving plenty of room between them as you don’t want them to stick together while they prove. Cover lightly with a tea towel and leave for two hours, or until about doubled in size.
5. Get a heavy-based saucepan and fill it up to the halfway point with sunflower oil (be extremely careful, as hot oil is dangerous). Heat the oil to 180°C. When the oil is heated to the correct temperature, carefully remove the doughnuts from the tray by sliding a floured pastry scraper underneath them, taking care not to deflate them, and put them into the oil.
6. Do not overcrowd the fryer – do two to three per batch, depending on the size of your pan. Fry for two minutes on each side until golden brown – they puff up and float. Remove from the fryer and place on kitchen paper, then toss them in a bowl of caster sugar while still warm.
7. Repeat until all are fried, but make sure the oil temperature is correct every time before you fry – if it’s too high, they’ll colour too quickly and burn, and will be raw in the middle. If it’s too low, the oil will be absorbed into the doughnut and it will become greasy.
8. Set aside to cool. To fill the doughnuts, make a hole in the crease of each one (anywhere around the white line between the top and bottom). Fill a piping bag with your desired filling – think jam, custard, or chocolate sauce – and pipe into the doughnut until swollen with pride.
The doughnuts are best eaten straight away. Yum.