Instructions

• Place the flour*, sugar and yeast in a bowl and stir by hand until combined. * See notes for measuring flour.
• Scatter the cubes of butter over the flour so they are evenly distributed and then add in the milk, eggs, vanilla and salt
• Using the dough hook attachment for your electric mixer, knead on low speed for 10 minutes ( I use my Kitchen Aid mixer on level 2).
• After 10 minutes the dough should be soft, elastic, smooth and slightly tacky.
• On a smooth clean surface, tip the dough out and shape it into a neat ball (don’t overwork with it)
• Once it has been shaped, place into a bowl that has been slightly greased with oil. Now cover with plastic wrap and allow to prove for 2-3 hours (it should double or even triple in size)
• Once the dough has risen nicely, place it onto a clean work surface once again and knead it 2-3 times and then roll it out until it is 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) thick.
• Using a 4cm cookie cutter (or roughly that size), punch out as many circles as you can. Combine the dough back into a ball, roll out and again punch as many circles as you can.
• Cover the cut out doughnuts loosely with some plastic wrap and allow them to prove for another 1 or so.
• In a wide frying pan or shallow pot (depending on how much oil you have), heat the oil until almost simmering.  (Oil should be 3 inches or 8cm deep for best results)
• Carefully place one doughnut into the oil, and test out the temperature by cooking it for one minute on each side. Remove from the oil, and allow to drain on some paper towel. Break it open with a fork and check that the inside is cooked through. If not, adjust the temperature very slightly
• Cook the dough in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan which reduces the temperature of the oil (we don’t want that). Place the doughnuts carefully into the pan/pot and cook for a minute on each side, turning them and removing them with tongs (seems to work best!!)
• Allow them to drain on a paper towel whilst you attend to the next batch.
• Once you are done frying, roll the doughnuts whilst still warm in a bowl of caster sugar or alternatively, dust with icing sugar or make some Glacé icing using icing sugar and water ) – both are just as delicious!!
• Now eat and enjoy – these doughnuts are best eaten soon after cooking!!
• Cook for one minute a side, turning them over using tongs.