Let your donuts rise Light, fluffy donuts just do not happen without a proper proof. If you try to fry before they've risen, you'll end up with fried bread, sure, but there will be nothing light and delightful about it.
To make successful yeast doughnuts, it's essential to develop the gluten in the dough by kneading (ideally with a dough hook on a stand mixer) and to proof (or rise) the dough to help create the right size and number of air pockets.
Proofing Give donuts ¾ proof, approximately 30 – 40 minutes with just enough moisture to prevent crusting, allow donuts to dry 5 – 10 minutes before frying.
In cooking, proofing (also called proving) is a step in the preparation of yeast bread and other baked goods in which the dough is allowed to rest and rise a final time before baking. During this rest period, yeast ferments the dough and produces gases, thereby leavening the dough.
If yeasted dough isn't allowed to proof, the yeast can't release carbon dioxide, and the gluten won't stretch to hold the air bubbles. Proofing is an essential part of bread baking and other applications that rely on yeast to create air pockets, such as making croissants.
Proofing — sometimes referred to as the second rise — happens after risen dough is worked into its destined shape, like a loaf, braid or rolls.
Proofing -- Proof box should be 95° to 100° F (35° to 37.8° C), with sufficient humidity to prevent crusting. When touched, a properly proofed donut will hold an indentation without collapsing. If the indentation returns to the surface, the donut is underproofed.
To proof bread in the oven, place a glass baking dish on the bottom rack of the oven and fill it with boiling water. Stash your dough on the middle or top rack and shut the door. The steam and heat from the boiling water will create a warm and steamy environment for the dough—exactly what you want for a good rise.
Use bread flour – the key ingredient in this recipe, for soft doughnuts, is bread flour. Using bread flour guarantees that your doughnut will come out fluffy. Know your yeast – Follow the steps in the recipe notes if using active dry yeast.
Underproofed – leads to stiffer (denser) donuts that don't puff up well when fried. Cracked donuts – this may have happened if you used a cutter and it wasn't sharp enough to cut through the dough cleanly. Or the dough is underproofed or too cold.
If you're working with a yeasted dough, it's okay to work it a bit, but if you are using tender doughs, as with a cake doughnut, give the dough just a few careful folds to avoid overworking the dough (which will make it tough).
The liquid was too hot, or not hot enough.
It will usually tell you to use “warm” water. The water temperature should be between 110 - 115 F degrees. If your liquid is too hot (i.e. boiling) it will kill the yeast and prevent the rise. If it's not hot enough, the yeast won't have the heat needed to bloom.
You can refrigerate the doughnuts, but leaving them at room temperature for one to two days is safe as long as they don't have a creme filling.
When we make yeasted breads such as Challah, we press the dough gently with our knuckle or finger to determine if it is properly proofed and ready for baking. If the dough springs back right away, it needs more proofing. But if it springs back slowly and leaves a small indent, it's ready to bake.
For our doughs without eggs, when we've occasionally forgotten a batch and left it on the counter overnight, we've found that this has little effect on the final result, maybe just shortens the batch life by a day or two.
The dough is super simple, and cut-out doughnuts can rise in the refrigerator overnight so that all you have to do to enjoy homemade doughnuts in the morning is cook them. In your bathrobe, of course.
The temperature range reached when the oven is set for the Proof Mode is approximately 80 to 95 degrees F. Tips for Proofing: Cover the dough tightly with a cloth or greased plastic wrap. To avoid lowering the temperature in the oven while proofing, keep the door closed as much as possible.
Generally speaking, yes, you need to cover the dough while it's rising. Covering the dough will create a warm moist atmosphere for the dough to rise nicely in. If it's cold or dry the dough won't rise as well as it should.
Overproofed is when the dough has rested too long and the yeast has continued making carbon dioxide while the strength of the dough (gluten bonds) have begun to wear out. The dough will look very puffy, but when you touch it or move it you may notice it deflate or sag.
Rice flour is usually the best flour to use to prevent your dough sticking to your banneton or banneton alternative. Rice flour is gluten free, so will not adhere itself to the gluten in your dough. If you don't have rice flour, corn meal or semolina can also be used. Can I proof sourdough in a plastic container?
Place a loaf pan or cake pan in the bottom of the oven. Place the container of dough on the middle rack, and pour 3 cups of boiling water into the pan. Close the oven door and allow the dough to rise as instructed.
Bread recipes typically call for two rises: The first is the “bulk” rise when the dough rises in the bowl, while the second rise comes after the dough has been shaped, like when a sandwich dough proofs directly in the loaf pan.
Dough needs to be covered during the proof, but if there's a hole in your plastic wrap or you use a cloth that doesn't create a tight seal, air exposure will cause the top of your dough to become crusty and tough. Varying air temperatures can also contribute to inconsistent or incomplete proofing.