How To Make Glazed Donuts - Soft and Fluffy Donut Recipe

- Do you want to know how to

make

the best homemade

glazed

donut

s? Because I'm going to show you. Look at this. (upbeat music) Hello everyone, I'm Natasha from Natasha'sKitchen.com. Today we are making

donut

s. This is everyone's favorite. They disappear very quickly, and they melt in your mouth in a delicious way and easier than you think. Then let's get started. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to our channel for more great

recipe

s. In a large bowl, combine one cup of flour, one-quarter cup of sugar, one-quarter teaspoon of salt, and one packet of yeast. I'm using instant yeast or Quick-Rise.

Sometimes called RapidRise yeast. You will need a packet of approximately seven grams, or two and a quarter teaspoons. Beat that together. Now we are going to add our scalded and cooled milk. Scalding the milk is a quick and easy step, but it will create the fluffiest donuts. I usually do this first so it can cool while I prepare the other ingredients. Add two-thirds cup of milk to a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Stir constantly to prevent a film from forming and not boiling. Once it reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit or you see it starting to smoke, remove it from the heat and transfer it to a measuring cup to cool faster.

The milk should still be very warm, but not too warm. Make sure it's no hotter than 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise, you can kill or deactivate the yeast. Also add a quarter cup of oil, two egg yolks and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract. And this is our homemade extract with only two ingredients. I'll leave a link to this

recipe

in the notes. Whisk all of that together to combine, then cover with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes or until you see some bubbles forming on the surface. This is how I test the yeast to

make

sure it is still active.

Keep in mind that if your room temperature is cold, it may take longer for those bubbles to form. (upbeat music) Okay, we can see those little bubbles rising to the surface of our dough. That means our yeast is working. Now add the remaining cup and a half of flour, adding just enough until the dough holds together and is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. Whenever you measure flour for any baking project, it is very important that you measure correctly. Be sure to watch our video on how to measure dry and wet ingredients. If you add too much flour, the dough will be dense and dry, and the donuts will not puff up properly.

Once the dough comes together, knead it by hand in the bowl for about five minutes. The dough should not stick to the sides of the bowl. And if it seems very sticky to the touch, you can sprinkle it lightly with flour and then continue kneading with clean, dry hands. Kneading requires a little effort, but it's also like Play-Doh for adults and can be therapeutic. When you finish kneading, you will have a

soft

, smooth dough that is slightly sticky to the touch. (upbeat music) Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap so the dough does not dry out and let it rise in a warm place no hotter than 110 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

If your oven gets too hot to proof, here's our microwave trick. Place a damp tea towel in the microwave for a minute, this will create a warm, steamy environment that is perfect for fermenting dough. Place your bowl in the microwave, close the door, and let it sit for 45 minutes. If you have extra time or just don't have anything better to do, you can also leave it at room temperature for about an hour and a half or two to let it double in size. Place the dough on a smooth work surface lightly dusted with flour. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out the dough into a large flat disc.

And this is my all-time favorite rolling pin for all my baking projects, and I'll link to it in the notes. You will notice that this rolling pin is tapered and has a thicker part in the middle. So when you place your hands on the edges of the rolling pin, it creates even pressure across the entire surface of the dough. You want to roll the dough until it is about a quarter to a third of an inch thick. Cut out the donuts with a donut press, keeping them as close together as possible to cut out as many as you can.

I'll link it to the donut cutter I have, but if you don't have one, you can also use round cookie cutters to cut out your donuts. You should end up with between 11 and 12 donuts and donut holes depending on how thick you rolled out the dough. Once you have cut out all the donuts and the holes for them, transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I like to cut out any extra holes I can for the donuts from leftover scraps. You can also gather the scraps and roll them again for another doughnut. The donut that is re-rolled from leftovers always looks a little strange and misshapen, but it sure tastes delicious.

This last piece of dough is also fun for kids to play with if they help you in the kitchen. My daughter loves unfolding this and cutting out her own little shapes. She now covers the donuts with a tea towel and lets them rest in a warm place for about 20 minutes, or at room temperature for 45 minutes until you see that they are visibly puffed. I preheated my oven for about five minutes on the lowest temperature and then turned it off. I'm also putting a wooden spoon on the door to make sure the oven doesn't get too hot.

You never want it to be above 110 degrees Fahrenheit or you may deactivate and kill the yeast, and you don't want to ruin your donuts in the end. While the donuts are proving, we're going to set up our frying stations. You can use a large pot or a pot with a clip-on thermometer. And this clip-on thermometer is our most reliable and favorite. You can also use it as an oven thermometer, I'll link it in the notes. If you have a deep fryer, you can use that too. And that's what we're going to do. This makes it much easier because you don't need to constantly monitor the temperature.

The fryer will regulate the temperature on its own. We are going to heat the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. I also have a baking sheet lined with a cookie rack, which is where I place the donuts after I glaze them. And I love using toothpicks to dip the donuts in the glaze. Let's go ahead and make the super simple frosting right now. I received this frosting recipe from my neighbor, Sherry, thank you Sherry for sharing this with me. All you need is one pound or four cups of confectioners' sugar or powdered sugar, with five to six tablespoons of water and one tablespoon of vanilla extract.

Beat everything until smooth and it should have a light drizzling consistency. I usually start with five tablespoons of water and add another if necessary. This is a perfect easy glaze for donuts. Once you have it completely

soft

, we will place it next to our frying station. Now it's been about 20 minutes and we're going to check out those donuts. The donuts look puffy and spongy and it's time to fry them. (upbeat music) Set up your fry station in the order you will be working. Then we will have the donuts, then the fryer, then the glaze and finally the rack where the donuts will rest.

Once the oil is preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, we'll add two to three donuts at a time, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry them for about 60 seconds per side or until golden brown on each side and you only want to turn them once. I find using a set of chopsticks to flip the donuts makes it easier without breaking them. Once golden brown on both sides, transfer to the frosting. Roll the donut and place it in the glaze to make sure it is completely covered on both sides. Once completely covered, lift the donut and let the excess glaze drip back into the bowl, then transfer to the rack.

This process goes fast. And as soon as you finish glazing one donut, you're ready for the next one. This is another reason why I like to fry only two at a time so I can keep track of my donuts and make sure they don't overcook. You can see it's our scrap donut and it's misshapen. But I call this one, it's always my favorite, it's huge. Once all the donuts are fried, I will add the donut holes in a few batches. If the donut holes don't flip naturally, you can flip them after 60 seconds and continue frying until golden brown all over.

The donut holes will take a little less time than whole donuts. You can put whole batches of donuts in the glaze at once, turn them over to coat them, and then just scoop them out with a slotted spoon. Place the

glazed

donut holes on the rack so they rest evenly. As soon as the glaze sets on the outside of the donuts, which happens quickly, they are ready to serve. (laughing) I'm very excited. I've been craving donuts all day. But luckily, they're pretty quick to make. I mean, so little active time and you couldn't eat donuts in like three hours.

Boom, these are easy, very easy. Do them once and you will do them again and again because everyone will ask for them, okay? Very good, I can't wait any longer for the taste test. I want to immerse myself fully. Let's pick one that looks super puffy, super frosted. All of them. Well, here we go, this one looks good. And as soon as the glaze hardens, you can start eating. Even if they're still a little warm, you want them to be a little warm, that's when they are the best fresh, homemade donuts, nothing like it. Well, here we go, then let's stop talking. (laughs) Ah. (laughs) Mm-hmm, wow.

I love how you can really taste that vanilla in the frosting. And they are so airy, soft. I mean, they are like a cloud and completely melt in your mouth. They disappear very quickly. If you don't have self-control, don't make this recipe because they are dangerously good. Just know that when the kids get home from school, these will disappear immediately. And if you're lucky enough to have leftovers, the best way to reheat them is for seven to eight seconds in the microwave. It's super fast. That's the cameraman. (laughs) Okay, I better get this over with. And I need some privacy to finish these donuts, this donut, not all of them.

Alright, I hope you enjoy this and then it becomes a new favorite for you and then I'll see you in our next video. This makes my day. (laughs)