This was another project that was inspired by Cook’s Illustrated. The photos in that article practically give off an aroma of fresh-baked, light and fluffy doughnuts. I couldn’t not make these, especially after finding that deep-frying the kettle potato chips wasn’t so scary.

Some of them were a great success (like the one that I show here with a humongous bite taken out of it), but some were flat and unexciting. I’m slowly getting more accustomed to working with yeast – whether the bought kind or the sourdough kind. Here’s what I’m learning: If the doughnut looks flat and unexciting before going into the hot oil, then it will be flat and unexciting when it comes out of the hot oil. The frying/baking won’t make it be magically fluffy if it wasn’t already there.

In hindsight I wish that I had let some of the doughnuts proof longer. Some were good to go, but many were not. I’m realizing that the “when is something proofed (proved?) enough?” question is pretty much the meaning of life with yeast-risen things.

I had lots of leftover glaze, and meant to get back to this project right away, but it’s been eight months now and it hasn’t happened. [Sigh.]