Fried Dough 101

So, on to the first recipe in chapter 2 - Buttermilk doughnuts. I was and am still a little hesitant about this section of the book, as I am really not a huge fan of doughnuts. But, I only just started, I can't quit the quest now!

This was an incredibly easy recipe: I pretty much just mixed up all of the ingredients in one bowl, and stuck it in the refrigerator over night. This morning is when I realized, I may not be fully equipped for such a project! My mother in law had given me a "Fry Daddy" or some version of it years ago. I dug it out of the back of my corner cabinet to see if it still worked. I don't think I have used it in over 4 years! Yup, it seemed to work just fine, until I realized that I did not have nearly enough shortening to fill up the fryer! I bought a 3lb tub of Crisco, but it didn't even go past the heater elements. Option # 2: luckily, I had a large dutch oven and a thermometer, as that would have to do.

I also do not have a doughnut cutter, or biscuit cutters, so I had to improvise there as well. I ended up using a glass and a cookie scoop, which seemed to work just fine. Then I mixed it up a bit and made cruellers as well, which was mentioned in the recipe.

These were pretty much the tools I used to make my doughnuts. I have to say, I love my pie roller that I got from Pampered Chef, it worked so well!

Into my fryer!

And the end result:

Overall, they came out pretty well. They reminded me of the doughnuts you can get at the cider shops, light, fluffy, with pretty good flavor! Nate did ask me why I made so many, and my response to him was, "because that is what the recipe made."

 My co-workers will probably benefit from this trial tomorrow morning.

Coming up next: the world of quick breads!