Five-Spice Donuts with a Vanilla Orange Glaze
18 donuts (with plenty of cinnamon/sugar donut holes!)
Ingredients
½ cup warm water
4 Tbsp white sugar, used at separate times
1 package dry yeast – 2 ½ tsp – 7 grams
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup bread flour
1 ½ tsp kosher salt
2 tsp Chinese Five-Spice Powder
Zest of 2 oranges (the juice will be used in the glaze)
4 ounces unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
¾ cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, room temperature and gently whisked
1 tsp vanilla paste
Canola or vegetable oil for frying
2 tsp cinnamon and 4 Tbsp white sugar for the donut holes
Vanilla Orange Glaze – recipe below
1) In a standing mixer, stir together with the paddle – the warm water, 1 Tbsp of the sugar and the yeast – let sit ten minutes.
2) Melt the butter, let cool, and then stir in the buttermilk, the eggs and the vanilla.
3) In a medium bowl, whisk together the two flours, remaining sugar, kosher salt, five-spice powder and orange zest.
4) Add the butter mixture to the yeast mixture and stir together with the paddle on low speed. Add half the dry mix and stir together with the paddle on low until smooth.
5) Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining dry mix. Mix on medium until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. This should take 3-4 minutes. On humid days, you can all up to ½ cup more all-purpose flour to bring the dough together.
6) Oil a large bowl. Place the wet dough into the bowl, turn to grease all over, and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough double in size – about 45 minutes.
7) See the photographs below for visual instructions.
8) Cut eighteen 4x4” squares of parchment paper and space them, nine to a tray, on a cookie sheet. Spray the parchment square with cooking spray.
9) Roll the dough to a ¾” thickness and cut with a doughnut cutter dipped in flour. Place each donut on a prepared parchment square. Place the holes on a separate piece of parchment (also sprayed with cooking spray). Let the doughnuts rise about for about 40 minutes.
10) Pour the oil into a large pan to a height of 4”. Heat the oil to 365 degrees.
11) Pick up the donuts by the individual squares and fry (two or three at a time) until golden, about 1 minute per side. Be careful not to let the parchment touch the oil. Using a spider strainer, lift out the fried doughnuts and let drain and cool on paper towel lined sheet trays.
12) Once all the doughnuts are fried, carefully add all the holes to the oil and let fry for 2 minutes – they will turn themselves over! While they are frying, whisk 4 Tbsp white sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon in a medium bowl. Using the spider strainer, lift out the fried holes and toss them immediately in the cinnamon/sugar. Lift them out and add them to the paper towel lined sheet trays to cool.
13) When the donuts are just still warm, dip them into the Vanilla Orange Glaze and turn them over onto a wire rack to drain and dry.
Vanilla Orange Glaze: Whisk together 3 cups confection sugar, the juice of the 2 oranges, ¼ cup whole milk, 3 Tbsp light corn syrup, 4 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted and cooled), 1 tsp vanilla paste and ½ tsp of kosher salt. Use immediately.
