Even JFK must have appreciated donuts after his speech to the Germans in 1963 of oops, calling himself a jelly donut.  Who doesn't after all love a donut gushing with fruit filled jelly that drips onto your white shirt and when taken to the cleaners has to admit it that yes it was jelly on that shirt that needs to be removed.  Or what about hot soft yeast donuts sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar  quickly after scooping them from the fresh frying oil.  The sugar mix sweeps over the donut embedding into the nooks and crannies of each morsel and the sweet sugar and cinnamon lingers on the tongue after each bite.  Gotta love donuts.

 Admittedly a passion to find the best doughnut in Seattle took me far and wide through the mazes of the Pike Place Market to the Street Side Farmer's Market's and onward to the cake doughnuts from Top Pot Doughnuts know best for their visit from a certain President in 2010.  Where have you found to be your favorite doughnut?  Are you a cake doughnut or soft doughy doughnut eater?  Have you had Philippine rice doughnuts? How about a maple bacon doughnut or a peanut butter and chocolate donut? As always homemade completes the circle of the donut search but then again those Ballard Market Donuts always seem to call my name...

Ingredients for Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

Recipe Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

• 285 grams  All Purpose  
• 207 grams All Purpose Flour 
• 56 grams o/ 1 large Egg
• 56 grams Sugar
• 250 ml of warmed Milk
• 10 grams Active Yeast
• 3 grams Kosher Salt
• 113 grams  or 1 stick Unsalted Butter

Cinnamon-Sugar Coating

• 1 stick butter (4 ounces), melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons cinnamon, mixed together

Step 1

In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the egg and sugar on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add in the milk, yeast, salt, and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low, and then add in 285 grams of the flour. Blend slightly then stop beating and attach the dough hook and  on medium speed, add the butter one piece at a time until smooth. Reduce the speed to low, and then add the rest of the flour until the dough sticks to the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should be soft and moist, but not sticky.

Step 2

 Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in a mixing bowl coated with cooking spray and cover with a damp towel. Let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. You can do this with your dough hook but great to get your anxieties or stress out on that ball of dough!

Step 3

 Punch down the dough and roll it out to about ½" thickness.  This is an important step or else you will have different size doughnuts which will bake at inaccurate times in the oven. Using a toothpick mark 1/2" on the toothpick as your thickness marker. With doughnut cutter cut out doughnuts and holes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or a silipat place the doughnuts 1" apart.  Do you have a silipat yet? If not they are a time saver and eco friendly.  I recently received one as a gift from my husband and they are amazing! Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on top of the preheating oven or warm room until almost doubled in size, about 25 minutes.

Step 4

 Bake until light golden in color, 5-8 minutes. Flip if you want golden brown on both sides.Using silicone tongues or your fingers, dip the hot doughnuts in the melted butter and then coat with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve immediately; doughnuts are best eaten the same day they are made. 

(Recipe adapted from Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni)