The best homemade donuts with a hole that are tastier than any from the bakery! Contrary to appearances, such homemade donuts are very easy to prepare. All you need is a few basic ingredients, some time and patience. This is a foolproof recipe for homemade donuts with a hole in the middle that always turns out. If you try it once, you will definitely use it again.

Yield: 50 mini donuts 4-5cm in diagram

Ingredients: you will require a deep frying stainless steel pot with glass lid

• 600g all purpose flour or pastry flour

• 50g fresh yeast

• 85 ml Milk

• 150g fine sugar

• 150g unsalted butter, melted

• 6 egg

• pinch of salt

• 1 tablespoon rum or brandy

• 2 Liter oil: Choose an oil with a smoke point of at least 400 degrees Fahrenheit

• Decorate with icing powder, brown sugar with cinnamon or glaze

• Glaze: 1 cup of icing sugar, lemon juice from 1/2 lemon, 1 tablespoon candied orange peel(optional)

Instructions:

1. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.

2. Dissolve fresh yeast with 3 tablespoons of lukewarm milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar.

3. Cover the mixture with baking cloth and let the yeast activate ( surface will look bubbly and mixture will rise). This might take 10-15 minutes depends how warm is in your kitchen.

4. Sift the flour into a large bowl, add pinch of salt.

5. Whisk egg yolks with sugar until thick, light and pale in color.

6. Add egg mixture and activated yeast to the flour. Add milk and rum. Mix all ingredients . Use danish whisk or electric mixer.

7. Work the dough with danish whisk for 10 minutes.

8. Pour melted lukewarm butter into the dough and continue working the dough until dough is non-sticky and elastic.

9. Cover the dough with baking cloth and let it rest for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.

10. Divide dough into two pieces and cover them with baking cloth to prevent from drying.

11. Flour your work surface. Using your rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle until 1 cm thick.

12. Cut out circles with cookie cutter or glass 4-5 cm in diameter until you use all the dough and cut a smaller circle in the middle for which I use my piping bag tips which are approximately 1 cm in diameter.

13. Place each donut on lightly floured trays lined with parchment paper.

14. Make all donuts first before you go the next step

15. Cover donuts with baking cloth and let it rise until doubled in size( 30-60 minutes). Remember to turn them over half way as this will make the fermentation quite even and air bubbles removed during proofing.

16. In meantime, heat up oil in the pot to internal temperature 350 °or 180 °C. (I find lard is the best as it doesn’t burn at high temperature, only if you are permitted to use)

17. Always see to it that the oil is in RIGHT TEMPERATURE OF 350F. This is a MUST because, this will prevent the donuts from absorbing too much oil while frying. To check your oil if it is ready, you can dip the wooden spoon’s handle in the center of the fryer without touching the bottom, then if bubbles appear right away around the handle, then you are good to go. Candy thermometer is perfect too for checking this one.

18. Wear a proper attire that will protect your skin from oil splashing.

19. Carefully drop the dough rounds in, top side down, a few at a time. Fry 2-3 minutes until golden brown on one side. Make sure to cover donuts with the lid while you are frying them first. Now, then flip them and cook another 2 minutes until golden.

20. As much as possible AVOID OVERCROWDING the pot.

21. Using slotted spoon, remove donuts from oil and place on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain and dry. Test one to make sure it is completely cooked, and adjust your temperature and cook time accordingly.

22. If coating in granulated sugar or glazing, do so while the paczki are still warm. For powdered sugar coating, roll them when they are a bit cooled.

Bon appetite!