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Vegan Doughnut / Donuts - Air Bubbles. Help?!

jxp90's picture
jxp90

Vegan Doughnut / Donuts - Air Bubbles. Help?!

Hello there!

i’ve started making vegan donuts and seem to have a problem with air bubbles in them! Customers know no difference it seems and everything else (taste/texture etc etc) is great I’m just a perfectionist and would like to fix it! (I’ve even seen well known donut shops on Instagram in the US have their donuts exactly the same, you can kinda tell cause the surface texture isn’t as smooth and a bit collapsed and bumpy...)

i mix the dough as per recipe, let it rest in the fridge over night. Roll them, cut them and proof them as instructed. Let them sit about 5/10 mins before I drop them in the fryer and it seems mainly the whole/filled donuts (donuts without the hole, as pictured) blow up into a huge air bubble which tends to mean that half the donut inside is the texture it should be and half the donut is an air bubble! As you can see, when put down/touched, it essentially just collapses. I “get away with it” by filling the hole with the filling usually!

Anyone have any suggestions of what may be happening?

pmccool's picture
pmccool

What happens when you cut the doughnut hole out before frying?  Is there still a problem with big bubbles in some part of the ring?

Paul

jxp90's picture
jxp90

Less so when I cut out the hole! The picture shows the worst from last week's batch. This week after investigating online I lowered the oil temp to 160C (even though everywhere says around 176C-190C) and used less yeast, that seemed to work a lot better! I'm a lot happier with the results

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Or not long enough before the dough goes into the fridge.  Keeping track of dough temps would be important.  How puffy is the dough when it comes out of the fridge?  If the dough hasn't fermented enough before shaping, the dough will act more like pita bread and balloon.  

And another question....when you drop them in the fryer, which side is down in the oil?  Top or bottom?

jxp90's picture
jxp90

The dough tends to ferment overnight in the fridge, on average around 12 hours or so, so it's fermented a decent amount. What's the best way to track dough temp? Exactly the same water/milk temp and exact same mixing time etc? Any help on that would be greatly appreciated! I've only really started understanding the "science" of it all recently!

That was something I've just switched up... I didn't really have a method for that but I'd say it was more so bottom side up, I've just started doing the opposite now and leaving them to sit in the basket hovering over the oil for like a minute or two before I drop them. That plus using less yeast and lowering the oil temp (as mentioned above) seem to have given better results!

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

by cutting the dough with a sharp knife and quick cut.  Look at the cut dough to examine the bubbles or cells forming in the dough before rolling out. You should see a fair amount and no dense areas, if dense, let it ferment longer.

Top side down in the oil is norm (same as bottom side up. :)   The more expanded side hits the oil first.  Lowering the oil temp was a good decision.  

 

jxp90's picture
jxp90

Thanks for the tips! I'm going to try out both this week! Do you have much experience reg. egg replacement/lack of egg replacement in donuts? Would you say it's needed? Could it play a part? I've tried making them with and without an egg replacement and the same thing seems to happen, which obviously makes me think not!

Reeni's picture
Reeni

don't know if you still check this but might i suggest running a docker over your dough to de-gas before cutting the doughnuts to be filled... it kind of mimics the extra top smush that cutting the center hole does.

jxp90's picture
jxp90

Sorry, just comeback to this... I've actually been having a bit of trouble with this again and not sure why! I'll give this a go.

jxp90's picture
jxp90

I had a good run and lessened the likelihood of this happening for quite a while but since changing kitchens I seem to be having the problem again. Here's a photo of 2 of my ring donuts with air bubbles in one of the ends.

I have a theory that maybe the bottom of the dough is "over floured"/too dry? when in the proofer the dough rises with the heat/humidity but the bottom stays dry. Maybe the bottom is trapping any air from releasing (and not proofing properly) and causing the bubbles?  

I'm going to try and oil the cut out doughnuts instead of flouring them and see if that helps anyhow!

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

is still working.  Docking, top side down first.  How big is the mass of dough chilling?  Is it folded during the chill to redistribute temps?

jxp90's picture
jxp90

Hi! What temp should things be exactly? I add the yeast to a mixture of (soya) milk and water at a temp of 21 degrees C. After the yeast activates everything is mixed and I get my dough (1.9kg), it then gets lightly oiled, cover the bowl with cling film and put in the fridge over night for somewhere between 13-15 hours. I've noticed if the mix is over 21 degrees C the dough can expand out of control and overflow the bowl it is left in, so I keep it at 21C. I've never measured the temp or folded after it's been mixed however since it's work's kitchen and I'm asleep haha (also assuming there's not too much control over that since the mixer creates whatever heat it makes as it works?)

Docking isn't something I've tried yet, I still need to source one to try that!

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

so that the dough can cool faster.  Seems the old problem was too much fermentation.  Cooling the dough faster may help, worth a try.  Docking can be done with a toothpick, something thin and pointy to deflate the center of the donut.

arzoochaudhary's picture
arzoochaudhary

I came on this thread to read the recipe, it was well explained, as I am not good at baking so literally have no idea what happened to this.

Doughnutslinger's picture
Doughnutslinger

My vegan donuts have been looking like this. Did you ever fix the problem? Was it too much fermentation?