Sushi Donut

 

Everyone loves donuts. The main question is usually cream filled or glazed? My answer is sushi. The new trend this year is the sushi donut which is made of sushi rice, topped with fresh, marinated or smoked fish and whatever else you think sounds good.

I like to use a type of rice called calrose. It is a medium grain rice that was developed in California in 1948 and gained popularity all around the world.  For toppings, I love to use pickled ginger, wakame salad, thinly sliced scallops, tuna and avocado.  Sauces can range from teriyaki to a spiced aioli, or even as simple as sriracha.

 

Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Donuts are a global phenomenon; they pop up all over the world with many different fillings and flavorings.  I think it is safe to say that everyone has a history with donuts, that specific memory that pops into your head when someone mentions the name.  For me the first thing that I think of is going into Dunkin’ Donuts after the movies when I was young.  It was the smell of the fresh fried pastry and the feel of my shoes sticking to the floor as I walked up to place my order that has been burned into my memory forever.

 

 

It seemed like it would be a mystical and supernatural thing to be able to create the delectable morsels that have sparked such a fad that has lasted the generations, but come to find out, like everything else, it just takes some time, a good recipe to start practicing with, and a little fat to fry in.

 

So far the recipe I have had the most success with has been a pumpkin donut recipe I have been working on the last few days.  I have managed to bring out the perfect amount of holiday flavor and also fry with less chance of misshaping the perfect holed oval.    

 

I began by mixing 4 cups of all-purpose flour with 2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder, ½ a teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 ½ teaspoons of my house made pumpkin pie spice.  You are able to buy this spice at the grocery store, but paying five dollars for a spice when you already have everything at home to make it with is ridiculous. 

 

Next I beat 2 eggs with 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup of brown sugar until lightly foamy.  To that I added 1 cup of buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and 1 cup of pumpkin puree.  Once it was smooth I slowly added the dry ingredients and mixed just until it was all incorporated and the dough was formed. 

 

I oiled two sheets of plastic wrap and divided the dough between those sheets and wrapped it tight.  It also works to use a zip lock bag, just make sure you oil it and get as much air out as you can.  It is best to rest the dough overnight, or if you are in a hurry, 2 hours in the refrigerator. 

 

 

An hour before I roll the dough out and cut my donuts, I put it in the freezer to help get even cuts on my donuts.  So after cooled in the freezer for an hour, flour a work space heavily and flour the top of the dough when you turn it out onto the table.  Roll to about ½ an inch thick then dip your cutter in flour and cut out your pastries.  Be sure to dip the cutter in flour after each cut to keep the dough from sticking to the cutter and becoming misshaped.  The colder you keep the dough, aka the faster you work, the better the dough will keep its shape. 

 

 

After all the dough is cut, rerolled and cut again, I put the cut donuts back in the freezer while heating the oil to 360 degrees.  Fry the donuts for 2 minutes on each side until a dark golden brown is reached.  Remove from the fry oil and toss in sugar mixed with the same pumpkin spice from the recipe.  Repeat the process with the donut holes but with only 1 minute on each side for frying. 

 

 

If you choose to just cut them into rounds and leave the hole in then after frying you can fill them with your favorite jams or jellies.  Feel free to cover them with your favorite frosting or even just dip them in chocolate. 

 

 

Hopefully once you have completed this journey of making donuts, it invokes that memory that made you so fond of the delicacy that made you go through the trouble to make them yourself in the first place.  I know for me it definitely invokes that memory.