Glazed Donut

* .6 oz (2 tablespoons) malted milk powder (Carnation makes one that is available at most
* grocery stores) If you can’t find malted milk powder, use nonfat dried powdered milk instead
* 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or about 3⁄4 teaspoons of table salt)
* To Fry
* Enough shortening or vegetable oil to fill a large pan by about 3 inches
* For the Glaze
* 2 ounces (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter
* 2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
* 12 ounces (about 3 cups) confectioners sugar
* Pinch of salt
* 2 1/2-3 oz (about 1⁄4 cup to 1⁄3 cup) very hot filtered water

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DIRECTIONS:

For the Dough

Combine all dough ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer. Use
the dough hook attachment and mix on low for about a minute or so until
the flour is almost all incorporated. You may have to scrape down the
sides of the bowl a time or two. Once the dough is more or less
together, knead on medium speed until the dough clears the sides of the
pan. You will think it never will, and then all of a sudden, it does.
This will take between 12-15 minutes. The dough will be very soft and
supple.

Scrape the dough into a ball in the bottom of the mixer bowl, spray
with pan spray and cover. Let rise in a warm spot until double, about 1
hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. (To make a warm place for my dough to
rise, bring a mug of water to a boil in the microwave. Then move the mug
 to one side and place the covered bowl of dough in the other side.
Close the door quickly to let the dough proof.)

While the dough is proofing, cut some squares of parchment about 4” x
 4”. You’ll need 16 or so. Spray each square with a bit of pan spray.
Lay them out on two cookie sheets or half sheet pans. Liberally flour a
work surface with all purpose flour and, when the dough has doubled,
scrape it out onto the floured surface.

Flour the top of the dough as well and knead it a few times to
incorporate the flour and to press out as many of the large gas bubbles
as you can. Shape the dough into a smooth ball, cover and let rest for
10 minutes.

Add a bit more flour to your work surface and the top of the dough
and roll out into a rough rectangle about 1⁄2” thick. Use a 3” doughnut
cutter (or a large and small round cutter) to cut approximately 12
doughnuts from the first roll. Place each doughnut on one of the squares
 of parchment.

Reroll the remainder of the dough, but know these second rolls won’t
be quite as light as the first rolls. You should be able to cut another 4
 doughnuts from the re-rolled dough. Discard the rest or fry the scraps
as-is.

Cover the doughnuts with plastic wrap or a couple of lint-free
towels. Let them rest for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, heat the oil to
360F. This will take about 10 minutes or so.

Once the oil is at temperature, start frying. Pick up one of the
parchment squares and, holding it low over the oil, carefully tip the
doughnut into the oil, letting it slide off the parchment. Be careful!
Fry 2-3 doughnuts at a time, flipping them once the first side is deep
golden brown and the oil is barely bubbling. Doughnuts cook fast--maybe a
 minute a side, so don’t walk away.

Remove each fully cooked doughnut to a rack to cool. Cook all the
“first rolls” first, because the second rolls will need a bit extra time
 to rise. Allow to cool completely. Dip each doughnut into the glaze
(method follows) and then flip so the glaze completely cover the
doughnut. Stick a wooden skewer or chopstick into the hole in the
doughnut and hold up over the bowl of glaze to drain well. You want all
but the thinnest layer of glaze to remain. Allow doughnuts to sit at
room temperature until the glaze has set.

Carefully turn the doughnuts over to allow any drips on the bottoms
of the doughnuts to set up as well. These are best served as soon as the
 glaze has set up. Serve them at room temperature or barely heat them in
 the microwave. Wrap any leftovers and leave at room temperature. Heat
to serve the next day.

These things are seriously delicious and ridiculously addictive. I
don’t think you’ll have any left after the first day, let alone the
second!

To Make the Glaze

In a microwave safe medium bowl, heat the oil and butter on power
level 2-3 until the butter has mostly melted. Add the confectioners'
sugar and whisk to combine as evenly as possible. Add 2 1/2 ounces of
hot water (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) and whisk well. The glaze should
be pretty thin but not watery. If you think it’s a bit thick, add more
water, a teaspoon or so at a time, until you like the texture. You will
most likely have a lot of leftover glaze, but you need this much to be
able to dip and flip them. After glazing all the doughnuts, you can use
the leftover glaze for another purpose or just discard it