Country-style yeast donuts/Photo byGin Lee

Country-style yeast donuts

Creating amazing homemade yeast donuts takes time, but in the end you'll see that they're so worth it! These donuts aren't cakey or heavy. Instead, they're light, fluffy, sensational, and completely donut fulfilling.

This donut recipe takes time to make. There are several steps involved, but once you see and taste the end results, you'll know it was worth the time and effort!

I used almond milk because it adds additional flavor to the donuts. If you have nut allergies, or don't like almond milk for whatever reason, use regular whole milk instead.

Today, I will be frying my donuts. However, if you don't have the oil, or you are trying to cut back on using oil, the donuts can be baked as well as fried. The texture and consistency will not be the same as fried donuts. However, should you bake yours, they will be delicious. They will turn out to be more like old-fashioned cake donuts.

When making your donut dough, use your hands if you don't have a mixer with a dough hook.

Ingredients:

• 4-½ cups of all-purpose flour
• ½ cup of granulated white Splenda, or white granulated sugar
• 2-¼ teaspoons of yeast
• 1-½ cups of almond milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• ½ cup of butter, softened
• 1-2 tablespoons of canola oil (to brush over your dough and for the bowl)
• 7-8 cups of canola oil for frying the donuts in

Instructions:

Adding the dry ingredients to make the donuts/Photo byGin Lee

In a mixing bowl, add your all-purpose flour, Splenda, or sugar, and yeast together; stir to combine well.

Now, add your milk and one egg to the dry mixture. Mix with a mixer on medium until your dough comes together.

Cover your bowl of dough with a tea towel or plastic wrap. Allow your dough to rest for thirty-five minutes.

Now, add the salt to your dough and mix. Then gradually add the butter and mix for another fifteen minutes. Your dough should be really soft and pliable at this point.

Brushing oil over the dough/Photo byGin Lee

Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it into a well-greased bowl. (Brush canola oil on your dough as well.) Cover with a lid, or use plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least six hours to rest and turn ice cold.

Yeast donut dough after resting in the refrigerator/Photo byGin Lee

This dough can be refrigerated for up to four days, but it's best to use within twenty-four hours.

Rolling the dough out/Photo byGin Lee

Next, lightly flour your workspace and place the dough out on it. Pat the dough down. Sprinkle a dusting of flour over the top of your dough and roll it out a half inch thick. Then cut your donuts out. (I used different sizes of my flower collection cutters.)

Cover your donut cutouts and let them rest for one hour out on your countertop.

Frying the donuts/Photo byGin Lee

Last but certainly not least! Add eight cups of canola oil to a Dutch oven. Allow the oil to get super hot, but not boiling. (Temperature should stay around the 255 degrees F mark.)

Begin by placing your donuts into the oil, but don't overcrowd your pan. Allow your donuts to brown on the bottom sides, then flip them over to complete cooking them. Repeat these steps until all your donuts are finished. Drain on paper towels.

Donut glaze

Preparing the donut glaze/Photo byGin Lee

Today, I will be making a simple donut glaze with two ingredients using only sugar-free powdered sugar and warm water, but below, I have included the instructions to make additional flavored glazes.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of sugar-free powdered sugar, or powdered sugar
• ½ cup of warm water

For the chocolate glaze: add ¼ cup of cocoa powder.

For vanilla glaze: add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

For banana, rum, maple, or any other flavor: add 1 teaspoon (or the amount to your preferred taste) of flavoring extract.

Add the additional ingredients that you prefer to use for your glaze after adding the powdered sugar and warm water. Whisk until combined well.

Instructions:

In a large bowl, add the powdered sugar and warm water together. Combine well by whisking the ingredients together.

Prepare a wire rack with a drip pan underneath. Set aside.

Now, there are two ways that you can coat your donuts with the glaze: you can transfer your donuts to a wire rack. Then spoon the glaze over the tops of them, allowing the glaze to drip down the sides of them over the wire rack. Or you can dunk and roll your delicious donuts into the donut glaze, so that all sides of your donuts are coated with the glaze. Then transfer them to the wire rack.

Allow the glaze to dry. Then dig in and enjoy your homemade yeast donuts!