The Damsel loves hearing how excited folks are about the doughnut dealio.
A nice reader sent the Damsel the following, and she thought in the interest of protecting folks, she’d pass it on to you.
“I owned a donut shop for 10 years. The process I used is essentially the same as depicted by your contributor. Cooking in oil is very dangerous and I would caution against using a pot of hot oil over a gas or electric range. You are going to eventually spill drops of oil when transferring donuts in and out of the oil. Spill oil on the heat source and you risk fire. I suggest using an electric fry pan for this venture. Also the cooking temperature should be at 350 degrees f.
Turning the donuts can be done using dowel sticks during frying . That is what I always used.
Proofing (raising) donuts properly is quite critical. If over-proofed they will become sponges and soak up grease in the frying, so much so they will ooze oil if you squeeze them after frying. If they are underproofed they will not cook through properly. When you look at a properly fried donut you will see a white ring around the waist of it. If it is under proofed this white ring will not develop.”
So…eat those doughnuts…and don’t get burned!
Love,
The Damsel in Dis Dress
Hi, great idea with the electric frying pan, I just know that Grandma always cooked them on the stove over one burner. I can tell you that there is no person on earth that is more careful than she is, but most of us are probably not that cautious.
Also, I forgot to mention that we do turn the doughnuts with the dowels.
And, you are right about not letting the doughnuts cure! Our first dozen were terrible. We finally took a test bite and realized that they needed to raise more.
these donut posts have been some of my fave ever on this blog. Creative, fun, ingenious!! Thanks for the extra tips!