Doughnuts

Delicious homemade doughnuts from before they had a hole

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City/Region: England

Time Period: 1803

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There have been a lot of versions of fried dough throughout the world, but the most direct ancestor of the American doughnut is the Dutch oliekoeken, or oily cakes. The doughnut became big in New York (which was once New Amsterdam), though no one is quite sure when the doughnut got its hole. Popular shapes were balls, diamonds, squares, and stars.

I went for both round ball doughnuts as well as a few anachronistic round-with-a-hole-in-the-middle ones. Both were delicious dusted with some powdered sugar, but the doughnuts with holes cooked more evenly than their spherical peers. Making these doughnuts is a fair bit of work, but they are really, really good.

“Dough Nuts.
To one pound of flour, put one quarter of a pound of butter, one quarter of a pound of sugar, and two spoonfuls of yeast; mix them all together in warm milk or water, of the thickness of bread, let it raise, and make them in what form you please, boil your fat (consisting of hog’s lard), and put them in. ”

— The Frugal Housewife or Complete Woman Cook by Susannah Carter, 1803

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• 1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon (113 g) sugar, divided
• 3 3/4 cups (450 g) flour
• 1 stick (113 g) salted butter
• 4 1/2 teaspoons (15 g) yeast
• 3/4 cup (175 ml) milk
• 1 quart (1 L) melted lard, or other oil
• Nutmeg, cinnamon, or sugar (granulated or powdered), for dusting

Instructions:

1. Mix 1 tablespoon of the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over it and let it sit for about 10 minutes or until it becomes foamy.
2. Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips, then work in the sugar. Mix in the yeast mixture.
3. Incorporate the milk a little at a time. You want a sticky, soft dough that is still workable. You may not need all of the milk. Knead the dough until it’s nice and smooth. A stand mixer is handy for this, as the dough is very sticky.
4. Set the dough in a greased bowl and cover it. Let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it is doubled in size.
5. After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead a few more times. Divide the dough into 24 pieces. You can do small pieces if you want, but any larger and they’ll be hard to cook all the way through. Shape the pieces into balls, then flatten them slightly. You can also go with whatever shape you like. This recipe is before the invention of the doughnut hole, but diamonds, squares, and stars were popular.
6. Set the doughnuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let them rise for 15 to 20 minutes while you heat the lard.
7. Heat the lard in a deep pot to 350°F (175°C). A candy thermometer is handy for this. After the doughnuts have risen, fry the doughnuts 4 or 5 at a time, or however many will fit in your pot without crowding. Fry for 1 minute, turn them over, and fry for 1 more minute. Take them out and set them on a wire rack over paper towels to drain. Repeat until you’ve fried all the doughnuts.
8. Dust them with nutmeg, cinnamon, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, or whatever you like, and serve them forth.

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