HOMEMADE DONUTS

from Napoleon Grills

Originally made in 2013, this Homemade Donut recipe is easy to execute, and produces a light and fluffy final product that even your favorite donut shop would be jealous of. These are everything you could wish for in a sweet and spectacular snack. Lightly sweet and airy, with a topping of thick glaze making a satisfying donut-mess on your fingers. The hardest part of this recipe is actually waiting for the dough to rise so that you can cut the donuts out. You will need a stand mixer, or hand mixer with a dough hook attachment, as well as the Napoleon Stainless Steel Wok. The wok is perfect for frying the donuts, it’s depth and heat retention makes managing the oil much easier than you would find if using a saucepan or electric wok. Frying the donuts outside ensures that you don’t have that deep fryer oil smell in the house, only the scent of sweet sweet donuts when they’re ready.

INGREDIENTS

  • Doughnuts

    • 4 ½ tsp. /2 envelopes (¼ oz. approx. 8g.) dry active yeast

    • ⅓ cup water

    • 1½ cup milk, warmed

    • ½ cup sugar

    • 1 teaspoon salt

    • 2 eggs

    • ⅓ cup melted butter

    • 5 cups all-purpose flour

    • 6 cups (1½ L.) oil for frying

  • The Glaze

    • 3 tbsp. butter

    • 1 cup icing sugar

    • 1 tsp. vanilla

    • 2 tbsp. heavy cream

  • Rainbow Sprinkles

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the warm water and yeast. Let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes while you gather the rest of the ingredients.

  2. In a microwave safe dish, heat the milk and butter for a maximum of 2 minutes, until the butter is melted and the milk is warm to the touch, but not steaming or boiling. Allow the milk to cool if it became too hot.

  3. Add, milk and butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and 2 cups of flour to the bowl with the yeast. Use the paddle to mix the ingredients for two minutes on medium speed.

  4. Switch the mixing paddle for the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer and slowly add the remaining 3 cups of flour, continuing to mix the dough until a shaggy ball forms. Remember to scrape down sides.

  5. Place dough in a large greased bowl (choose one bigger than you think you will need). Cover loosely with a clean tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 to 2 hours or until doubled. I suggest using the oven, just don’t turn it on.

  6. Once the dough has doubled in size, roll it out on a floured surface to about ¼-inch thick. Using a donut cutter, or one large and one very small cookie cutter, cut the dough. Let the cut donuts stand for about 10 minutes before frying.

  7. In the Napoleon Stainless Steel Wok, over your side burner set to medium low heat, warm 6 cups of oil (canola, vegetable, or sunflower) to about 375°F.

  8. Carefully drop doughnuts into hot oil, a few at a time. Fry, turning once, for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on a wire rack, over paper towels.

  9. While the donuts are cooling, melt the butter for the glaze in a saucepan. Add the vanilla, and icing sugar. Add the cream 1 tsp. at a time until the desired consistency is reached – whether you like it then to coat the whole donut or just the tops. Dip the donut in the hot glaze, then add sprinkles as desired.

PRO TIP: If you’re not into a glazed donut, combine cinnamon and white sugar for a lovely and light topping. Drain the donuts quickly, and while still hot, dip them into the cinnamon sugar mixture.