How To Bake Donuts If Frying Isn't Your Thing
Let's face it: Donuts are one of those bready treats that are easier to buy than make yourself. When you venture into the world of donut making, after all the measuring and mixing of ingredients, you may feel overwhelmed by the thought of frying these confections in hot oil. Yet, if you're committed to making delicious homemade donuts, you may want to consider baking over frying for added convenience.
Deep-frying, no matter the recipe, proves to take a considerable amount of oil and personal effort. On the other hand, baking these holed-out treats saves you the mess of frying while simultaneously granting you the freedom to create a somewhat lighter breakfast treat. Yet, in terms of preparation, what sets baked donuts apart from fried?
Most donut recipes call for a yeasted dough, so depending on whether you're making standard donuts or a thicker cake-like variety, you may or may not need to use additional leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda. Finding your ideal recipe will ultimately determine the overall texture of your baked donuts. Furthermore, having the right pans and following some essential tips will help you achieve evenly cooked donuts that don't fall short of flavor. Before revealing a few simple ways to streamline the process of making baked donuts at home, let's uncover some basic steps that will ensure tasty success every single time.
Essential pointers to keep in mind when baked donuts are on the menu
Unlike fried donuts, which are typically made with yeast and no additional leaving agents, most baked donut recipes follow a loosely structured cake recipe with some variations. To make easy-baked donuts, utilize a mixture of cake and pastry flour as well as baking powder to keep your dough nice and airy. This type of batter, which is made with some added butter, milk, and yogurt, has a spoonable consistency and can easily be added to your relegated donut pan. Ensure not to overmix your dough to avoid creating dense or overly chewy confections. Simply spray your donut pan with cooking spray and add in your batter, ensuring not to overfill each vessel since baked donuts will rise in the oven.
Even though baked donuts are typically made with a cake-like batter, you can also make yeasted donuts without frying. Simply follow the world's best donut recipe, and instead of forming and deep frying, form rings of dough after mixing the ingredients and place them in your well-oiled donut pan. Once the donuts have risen, you can bake them in a 350 F oven for roughly 15 minutes. Apart from these highly involved homemade recipes, if you like the idea of baked donuts but don't want to trouble yourself with a homemade cake or yeasted dough recipe, you have a few convenient alternatives to consider.
How to further simplify baked donut recipes
If you chose to make baked donuts over fried for added convenience, did you know there are more ways to simplify the preparation process? While you can always follow complicated multistep recipes any day of the week, you may want to try one of the time-saving tips for making the absolute best donuts. Sure enough, with the help of canned biscuit dough, you can make partially homemade donuts in a flash. All you need to do is unwrap your refrigerated dough roll, slice, and hole out the middle of each disc with a knife or extra small cookie cutter. Once these biscuit donuts are baked, you can dress them in your favorite glaze or sweet treat toppings.
For those of you who still enjoy the idea of making a homemade batter but wish the process was a bit more simplified, you can use a boxed baking mix to help your dough come together faster. Add some Bisquick to a mixture of eggs, sugar, butter, and milk to make an easy donut mix that can be poured or scooped with ease right into your donut pan. When all is said and done, if you find these baked confections don't compare to the textured glory of a deep-fried donut, you can always invest in an air-fryer and make these classic treats with a lot less oil and cleanup.