Six months ago, I made a batch of old fashioned doughnuts, and they were awesome. I thought about why I love this kind of doughnut, and I realized the reason they hold such a comfort for me. Maybe it was the sugar haze, or maybe I’d just had a particularly stressful week, but I decided that I would write the story of a joyless, soul-numbing job I used to have. A tale of boredom soothed by a weekly Starbucks run.
A story of a privileged person in absolute despair that she earned enough money to pay all her bills, but didn’t feel complete.
Yeah, I’ll spare us all.
Look, that feeling is real. I know. My friends know. Your friends know. There is a special kind of depression that comes from performing a job that requires you to hold a degree you paid $80,000 for, yet seems to only require the mental capabilities of an eighth grader. There are books about this. Bullshit Jobs is a great one.
But now, as the global economy grinds to a halt, and millions face unemployment, poverty, and the prospect of contracting a terrifying disease just as your locality runs out of hospital beds? Well, I sound like a piece of shit, don’t I?
So I won’t finish that profound essay, ok? I’m doing us all a favor, really.
I’ll just talk about the carbs. Because you know what? I think we all can use some carbs right now. How do I know? In the last week I’ve eaten: one loaf of banana bread, one 9-inch cornbread, half a baked ziti, a box of pop tarts, one full size bag of chips, one quart of banana ice cream, one half of a blueberry muffin cake, and half a recipe of homemade Hamburger Helper, and then washed all that down with 2 bottles of wine.
Obviously I am eating some feelings right now.
So if you are in the same situation as me, cooped up, anxious and nervous and scared and weirdly craving all the things you usually save for holiday splurging, rather than your daily elevensies, well, I have the perfect treat for you.
The sour cream doughnut!
Yes. Trust me.
I feel like sour cream doughnuts get a bad rap. And I kind of get it! They are dense, and cakey, and very, very sweet. They are generally the exact opposite of everything we have been taught to revere in our doughnuts (or donuts) by the likes of Doughnut Plant and Union Square Donuts, purveyors of lush, fluffy, yeasted confections that taste like frosted air held together by carbs. I mean that as a compliment.
But sour cream doughnuts are not that. They also go by Old Fashioned Doughnuts, and maybe old fashioned is ok, and we can learn from our elders.
(Let the record show there are bad sour cream donuts. Too big, too gummy, too sweet. I’m not celebrating those. They know who they are.)
But a good sour cream doughnut? A good sour cream donut is just the right density, and sweet, and glazed, and best of all, has these crispy ridges that you can break off and munch on as you take your time, meditating on the doughnut, forgetting everything terrible in the world.
These are that kind of doughnut, and this recipe makes enough for you to share with whomever you are social distancing with, be it family, roommates, or spouse. Or kids! I hear the kids are bored! Put them to work dipping doughnuts and promise them sugar. That might help!
And if you think I’m crazy to tell you to muster the energy and positive attitude to attempt frying pastries while trying to survive a pandemic, well, then just go buy some doughnuts, ok?
Because I didn’t tell you my stupid story about a job I had 5 years ago, but I will tell you what I know to be true.
Sometimes you just need a doughnut. And it will, for a brief moment, make you feel better.
PB&J Glazed Old Fashioned Doughnuts
As you can see from the photos, I made these back in September when concord grapes were in season. You won’t find them now, so I’ve just written the recipe to use the bottled stuff.
Adapted from ChefSteps. The original recipe is in grams, so that’s what I used to measure, with a baking scale. I didn’t convert into cups or other measures except for a few ingredients.
For the doughnuts:
120 g sugar
45 g egg yolks (from 2.5-3 large eggs)
18 g unsalted butter, softened
190 g sour cream (3/4 c), kept at room temp for a bit
300 grams all purpose flour
7.5 g baking powder
6 g kosher salt
For the glaze:
50 g concord gape juice (unsweetened if you can find it)
2 g salt
200 g powdered sugar
For dusting the doughnut holes:
2 tbs kinako powder or powdered peanut butter
1 tbs sugar
Make the doughnuts: Oil a large bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar, egg yolks, and butter and mix on high, with the paddle attachment, for 2 minutes, until lightened and the volume of the mixture starts to increase. Add in the sour cream, and mix together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes more.
Meanwhile, sift together the remaining dry ingredients and add to the mixer on low speed, one spoonful at a time, just until everything is incorporated. Transfer the mixture to the oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for one hour in the refrigerator.
Prepare to roll and cut the doughnuts: line a baking sheet with parchment, oil or butter the parchment, and set aside. Dust a large surface with flour, dust the top of the dough with flour, and then transfer to the floured surface.
Roll the dough to 1/2 inch thick. Brush excess flour from the dough and cut into 3-inch circles. You can use a doughnut cutter for this, or do what I did, which is use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut the large rounds, then use a smaller, 1/2-1 inch circle to cut out holes (a large piping tip works excellently for this). Transfer your cut circles to the parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for another 30 minutes. You should be able to get about 6-7 doughnuts with holes.
While dough chills again, heat your frying oil and make the glaze. Heat 2 inches of frying oil in a large, heavy sided pot to 340 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk all glaze ingredients together until completely smooth, and set aside.
When your oil is at temperature, start frying! Cook each doughnut for 40 seconds, then flip and cook 80 seconds more, flip again and fry another 80 seconds. You are looking for the traditional crack to form around the top of the doughnut, giving you those crispy ridges! When doughnuts are golden, transfer to a rack to drain. Don’t forget to fry the holes too!
Let cool for 15 minutes before glazing, then dip each doughnut in the glaze and set on a wire rack to set. Stir together your sugar mixture for the holes, and roll each one in the mixture to coat well. Serve and enjoy!
Notes:
I call for either kinako powder or peanut butter powder for the holes. I wanted to riff on pb&j, but I didn’t have any peanut butter, but I did have some kinako powder left from my matcha mochi donuts. The nuttiness of the kinako paired excellently with the concord grapes, but if you want to go traditional, us the peanut butter powder, which is now sold in many grocery stores or easy to find online.
You can also sub milk for the concord grape juice and make plain vanilla glazed for the truly traditional take.
When frying, I find it easiest to flip the doughnuts with either chopsticks or the ends of wooden spoons. For removing from the hot oil, I recommend investing in a spider or using a slotted spoon.