Doughnuts

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veganantics on 8 Mar 2018 at 14:57

Hi everybody 

I am making Vegan doughnuts and I am trying to perfect the recipe and method I’ve developed. 

I am quite a novice with dough so would appreciate all the help I can get

The dough came out nice, not bad gluten structure inside  but on second rise before putting into fryer the dough just became flimsy and lost all its shape just touching it. 

Also frying at 175c with rapeseed oil, the doughnuts seemed to absorb a lot of the oil and have become greasy on cooling.

They look burnt but their not inside , I would love the perfect doughnut! 

I have attached some photos for you to look at 

 

hope you can help

Ash

Looks dense, cake like not yeast raised. Yeast donuts should have a nice white ring where the dough didn’t contact the oil. To get away from greasy/oily crust you should fry in shortening that is solid at room temperature. Gerhard

Hi 

I say they are burnt in comparison to store bought doughnuts, so will shortening stop this? I know that’s what KrispyKreme use ? 

I did proof them for about 45mins as I was waiting for them to double in size and this is how long it took, have I not used enough yeast for them to proof in 15 mins? I cut them at 1/2 inch before proofing. 

I also agree that the dough does look a little bread like, how can I change this? I presume I need larger air holes too? 

 

Appreciating all your help 

 

Ash

The colour of the donut is really dependant on your recipe also if you did not give the dough enough bench time the yeast would not have fed on very much of the sugar which could also explain the dense crumb.  Frying in oil as compared to shortening will mainly result in an oily mouth feel when the donut has cooled, warm I wouldn't be able to differentiate between the two.  Cold oil tends to coat the mouth and lingers for a while, shortening seems to clear the mouth as the donut is eaten and allow you to the subtleties of various flavours which seems lost to me when oil is used.

From the picture it doesn't look like the crust is too thick or that the oil has penetrated beyond the crust so those aspects of the donut look ok to me.  The other really important thing to keep in mind is to use good quality frying fat that is maintained clean, once you have fried several days dusting flour, little bits that break off the donuts contaminate the oil and if not filtered will cause the oil to smoke and leave the product with an acrid after taste.

Gerhard

Hi 

So here is my recipe and method: 

 

420g plain flour 

50g potato flakes 

5g vital wheat gluten

3g ascorbic acid 

3g ginger 

3g nutmeg 

80g egg 

1g salt 

240ml milk 

14g yeast

50g sugar

30g butter 

 

Method :

 

  1. In a bowl add 5g of the sugar and milk , microwave for one min then add yeast then leave for a few mins for the yeast to activate. 
  2. Add in egg and butter into kitchen aid bowl then add in yeast milk mixture and combine.
  3. Add rest of dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together well.
  4. Slowly pour dry ingredients into kitchen aid bowl while hook is moving.
  5. On slowest setting let the hook knead the dough for approx 5 mins, trust the dough.
  6. Remove dough and place in a bowl with a little oil sprayed in and then cover with cling then leave for approx an hour to rise 
  7. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick 
  8. Cut doughnuts and let to rest for 15mins 
  9. Fry doughnuts at 175c for 1min each side

I know exactly what you mean about the oily feel in mouth once they have gone cold, the doughnuts were stored in a paper bag overnight and the bag was saturated in oil, I am going to try shortening but it’s fairly expensive here in the U.K. can I reuse the shortening like the oil? 

 

I used fresh oil on this batch as I wanted it to be a fair test. 

 

Perhaps you could look at my recipe and maybe figure out if some of my ratios are out and causing the issues?

 

Thank you :)

The recipe you posted is not vegan.  If you substituted vegan alternatives that could be part of the problem.  You may need to play to get the right subs.  Also your oil was not hot enough.  It should be around 345 F or food will absorb too much oil and be greasy.

Hi Ann

it was Vegan I just said egg as I wouldn’t know if people would know flax gel? It’s a Vegan egg substitute that’s pretty much exact as egg. 

Okay I will up my temperature, any other suggestions?

 

thanks

Milk, egg and butter are not vegan and you stated that people may not be familiar with the substitutions. I have 2 remarks for that:

1. In order to help, people need to know accurate information. You may not realize but NO ingredient substitutes "exactly for another ingredient. There are trade-offs or differences in how each ingredient behaves.

2. There are vegans everywhere, even here on TFL. Please give your audience the benefit of the doubt that they understand what that means. And if they don't, and give you some non-vegan suggestions, that is an opportunity for you to provide them with accurate information and education. That is part of what this site is all about.

So milk-do you sub nut or soy milk? Water? Juice?

Egg- flax gel was mentioned. Do you mix it yourself? Ratios? Pre-mixed Egg Replace?

 Butter- Vegan margarine? Oil? Coconut oil?

Any other substitutions or additions? 

So please re-list your ingredients with what you actually use and you may get some helpful suggestions.

Hi, 

This is my recipe 

 

420g plain flour 

50g potato flakes 

5g vital wheat gluten

3g ascorbic acid 

3g ginger 

3g nutmeg 

1g sunflower lecithin (replaces lecithin that would be in egg)

80g flax gel egg 

1g salt 

140ml hemp milk 

100g water 

12g yeast

50g sugar

30g Vegan margerine 

 

Method :

  1. In a bowl add 5g of the sugar and milk , microwave for one min then add yeast then leave for a few mins for the yeast to activate. 
  2. Add in flax egg and butter into kitchen aid bowl then add in yeast milk mixture and combine.
  3. Add rest of dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together well.
  4. Slowly pour dry ingredients into kitchen aid bowl while hook is moving.
  5. On slowest setting let the hook knead the dough for approx 5 mins, trust the dough.
  6. Remove dough and place in a bowl with a little oil sprayed in and then cover with cling then leave for approx an hour to rise 
  7. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick 
  8. Cut doughnuts and let to rest for 15mins 
  9. Fry doughnuts at 175g for 1min 30 each side

 

 

Flax Gel Recipe 

(2/3 cup flax seeds & 6 cups of water) 

Boil for 30mins 

Reduce to 1/3rd of volume

 

Sieve out gel 

 

 

get?  If you are doing the finger test it really shouldn't be much hotter than body temp so if it feels hot let it sit for a while to cool before adding the yeast.  I would consider switching to instant yeast and then you can skip the step of activating the yeast.  I agree that the temperature is low, low temps tend to cause a thicker crust and more fat absorption.

 

Gerhard

The milk is microwaved for approx 30 second so it’s really tepid, I use fermipan instant yeast.

Can anyone see any ratios out in my recipe? I have noticed watching videos on YouTube that my dough was not as springy / light as theirs. 

National doughnut week is coming in may so would love to perfect these beauties before then.

from what I have seen, cake donuts are much lighter in colour, why is this?

 

As for the color, the lecithin can impart a golden color. I'm wondering if the ginger does the same. Don't fight it! Just add 1/2 tsp of turmeric and go with the beautiful golden color!

Texture:

The first thing I would do is to leave out the vital wheat gluten. It tends to increase the chewiness of the gluten present. See if that will improve the texture to where you want. There is usually adequate gluten in the unbleached, AP flour.

It is important that the dough be adequately mixed to develop not only the gluten but also the starchy gel. The potato flakes and flax gel will both help with that. I am wondering if the potato flakes are also making your crumb texture more cake-like. It tends to do that in breads.

Adequate bulk fermentation. Another poster (above) mentions this. It sounds like donuts need a good bulk fermentation but a short proofing. The lightness will come from the bulk fermentation. Pay attention to the temp. in the room where it is fermenting. A few degrees (as in a seasonal shift) will make a difference. Many bakeries had a basement where the temp was same all year. Some doughs and preferments were kept there.

Frying: I do not make donuts so I have zero knowledge except it is important to keep the oil clean, the temp at 375F minimum, and don't add too many at once. It seems that the surface must be sealed on immediate immersion or you have the oil going to the inside of the donut following the steam down the heat pipes( watch the video-about the 32.08 mark he talks about bubbles in bread and steam. Very applicable for you.).

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/55032/francisco-migoya-%E2%80%9Cinsights-modernist-bread

 

All in all, looking at your recipe and the Baker's Percentages, I would wonder what they taste like, They are very low on salt ( .2%) and sugar is at 10.5%-so not very sweet. Sugar can be balanced a bit by the external glaze delivering the sweetness right to the tongue. Nutmeg helps compensate for the low salt but try increasing the salt for flavor.

Make a test batch of 2-4 donuts and see which adjustments work for you. It can be done!