Patrick Ryan’s Doughnut Masterclass
Sun Apr 12 2020
Patrick Ryan’s Doughnut Masterclass
Your favourite baker is back! This time Patrick will go through step by step how to make these delicious doughnuts with 3 different fillings.
Filled Doughnuts
Is it donut or doughnut? Honestly, I don’t think it really matters because I dare you to find me someone who doesn’t love a doughnut. And I’m not talking that stale, stodgy, sickly-sweet thing you might find in a petrol station. I’m talking super light, fluffy, sugar-coated little pillows of happiness stuffed with amazing flavours. We have been making doughnuts using an enriched brioche dough which is flavoured with a little lemon zest which helps cut through the sweetness. Once proved, fried and coated in sugar, they’re stuffed with a delicious filling of your choice.
Ingredients:
- 500g strong (bread) white flour
- 75g caster sugar, plus extra for coating
- 5g salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 15g fresh yeast (or 7g dried instant yeast)
- 250ml milk, room temp
- 1 large egg
- 75g butter, diced
Filling ideas:
- Salted caramel (click here for recipe)
- Strawberries & cream (click here for recipe)
- White chocolate & hazelnut (click here for recipe)
Method:
- For this recipe I suggest the use of a mixer with the dough hook attachment. This is a very soft and sticky dough and a mixer makes easy work of it.
- In the bowl of the mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest.
- Crumble in the fresh yeast (or add the dry yeast) then add the milk and egg.
- Begin mixing the dough on a slow to moderate speed. Tip: Resist the temptation to increase the speed of the mixer initially. Mixing on a high speed will generate heat within the dough which, on this occasion, we want to avoid.
- Continue kneading for 8-10 minutes.
- Increase the speed of the mixer slightly and add a few cubes of the butter. Ensure all the butter has been incorporated before adding in a few more cubes. Continue kneading until all the butter has been added and incorporated. The dough should be smooth and silky and come away clean from the sides of the bowl. Tip: You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl as the butter may be pushed up the sides.
- Transfer the dough to a clean oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to prove at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Tip: You can also prove these overnight in the fridge.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knock the dough back.
- Using a scale to help, portion the dough into 60g pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place well-spaced on a large baking tray rubbed well with a bit of oil. Make sure there’s plenty of space between each one so that they don’t touch once proved again.
- Lightly rub the tops of the dough with a bit of oil and flatten them slightly. Cover loosely with clingfilm and leave to prove between 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours at room temperature. Tip: If your room is cooler or your dough was proved in the fridge overnight, you may need to let them prove for longer still. They should be almost doubled in size, and when you gently press them, they don’t deflate and collapse.
- Heat a large pot of sunflower oil to 170°C – 180°C. Gently drop the doughnuts into the oil presentation side up. Tip: If you drop them in presentation side down, they lose their shape while cooking.
- Fry doughnuts for 2 minutes, piercing any large bubbles that appear, then flip them over in the oil and fry for another 2 minutes. Again, piercing any large bubbles.
- Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on a tray lined with paper towel. Turn them over to drain on the other side after a few minutes. Leave to cool just until you’re able to handle them, but they’re still warm.
- Toss still-warm doughnuts in caster sugar and arrange on a tray, stacked against each other so that they’re sitting mostly upright on their sides.
- Once cool, it’s time to fill them.
- Make a small incision in each doughnut by using a pair of scissors. Push the scissors into the side of the doughnut to about ¾ of the way down (don’t let them pierce straight through to the other side of the doughnuts) then open and closed the scissors a few times, this well help make a nice little hole for the filling.
- Push the tip of the piping bag with your filling into the incision and fill generously. Be generous, about 30g of filling in each doughnut, you should feel them bulge a little as they’re filled.
- Once each doughnut is filled, pipe a little extra filling on top to show off the flavour inside and garnish further if you like with chopped nuts, chocolate flake or anything else you fancy that compliments the filling.
Patrick Ryan is the face behind the Firehouse Bakery. Having swapped laws books for chef knives Patrick now spends his days returning bread to its rightful place as King of the table. Having worked throughout Ireland, Australia and the UK Patrick returned home to set up the Firehouse Bakery.
Despite the ongoing recession at the time Patrick choose to stage his bread revolution with the opening of his bread school on Heir island off the coast of West Cork.
His message is simple “bread is king” He wants everyone to have good bread, all the time. And not just good bread, but bread that is good for you, bread that does you and your body good and he will even show you how to make your own.
Five years on from what began on an island of 27 people, the Firehouse Bakery has grown from strength to strength. Patrick operates an award winning bakery and cafe in Delgany, Wicklow where you will find an open plan bakery, a bustling cafe and wood fired oven, His bread can be found in cafe and restaurants throughout Dublin and the bread school on Heir island is in high demand.
Patrick is a founding member of ‘realbread Ireland’ and is also a Failte Ireland Food Champion and with plans for new and exciting projects Patrick’s bread revolution is only getting started.
