January 7, 2014 - 8:18am
Doughnuts with leaven.
I've been experimenting with doughnuts and I think I've hit on a winning technique. It is a bit of an involved recipe, but doughnuts aren't an everyday food anyway. The process is detailed on my blog. http://innerfabrications.wordpress.com/
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...basically you've got 1 tsp of flour, water, wild yeast and lacto-bacillus. I'm estimating 4g because you didn't specify the hydration of your sourdough starter. How much, by weight, of that sourdough is yeast and bacteria relative to its flour and water that constitute your starter is unknown. How much additional yeast it creates overnight is also unknown.
On the other hand, you've introduced 6g of instant yeast.
I suggest your sourdough injection has little (no?) contribution to the flavor or leavening of your doughnuts.
My suggestion: develop a recipe that incorporates only natural levain (sourdough) as the sole leavening agent in the dough.
David G
To answer your one question, the starter is %100 hydration. To my mind, the sourdough is more of a flavoring agent than a leavener, although I'm sure it does contribute. I understand that it isn't uncommon to mix poolish and leaven, like in the making of baguettes. Am I wrong there? I know of recipes for brioche that use both as well. I used less commercial yeast than those recipes, because I didn't use the same amount of butter and eggs. I've done a search online for %100 naturally leavened doughnuts, They didn't seem to perform in the way I was hoping.
Anywho, I was happy with the results. I'm sure that in more experienced hands, even yummier results could be achieved.
The results are gorgeous! And you're happy with their flavor.
I still think it would be interesting to develop a companion recipe that relies on natural levain (sourdough) only. Perhaps instead of a poolish to develop flavor, a long, retarded bulk ferment in the refrigerator. I've found chilled bulk ferment a great flavor developer in sourdoughs, and a contributor to excellent crumb too.
Nonetheless, I like the looks of your doughnuts, and your flavor description too.
Nice job,
David G
I use my starter in this manner more often than not. Your donuts look wonderful. I have only made old-fashion cake donuts, but I have been thinking about making jelly donuts. If I do, the dough will have some of my starter as well as a bit of yeast. Maybe that is a good baking project for the coming weekend when my 2 granddaughters (ages 2 and 4) are visiting. Oh what messy fun that will be!
I made these with my 2-year-old son. He had a chair pulled up to the counter and a little piece of dough of his own to roll. When it came to cutting, he loved pressing down on the doughnut cutter and helping me wiggle it to loosen the dough. The hard part was keeping him out of the doughnut holes when they were all done!