On National Donut Day, Kaitlyn Venable said homemade donuts start with patience, not speed. The director of culinary at Shipley Donuts said yeast-raised dough needs time to rest and rise, and the oil has to reach the right temperature before frying begins.
“With a yeast-raised donut, time is an ingredient,” Venable said. “The dough needs time to rest and rise until it's light and puffy, and your oil needs to reach the right temperature before you start frying. That's why our bakers start before sunrise: great donuts can't be hurried.”
Alex McEntire on proofing time
Alex McEntire, owner of Chin Up Donuts in Scottsdale, Arizona, made the same point from a baker’s point of view. “I get it, if you're making donuts at home you want instant gratification, but giving yourself ample time to let the dough proof is worthwhile and often overlooked,” he said.
McEntire said Chin Up Donuts can do a 24-hour cold proof on its brioche dough, which gives the dough time to really lock-in the rich flavor of the butter. For a home baker, the practical move is not to rush the rise just to get the dough into hot oil sooner.
Kitchen thermometer for better results
Three of the four experts picked a kitchen thermometer as the most essential donut-making gadget, and the reason is simple: frying temperature changes the result batch after batch. Venable said that if oil is too cool, donuts can soak up too much oil, and if it is too hot, they brown on the outside before the inside is cooked through.
“A reliable thermometer helps take out the guesswork and gives you more consistent results batch after batch,” Venable said. Evan Feldman, founder and CEO of Doughnuttery, put it even more directly: “An inexpensive simple thermometer can make an immediate difference for anyone making donuts.”
Greasy and hockey puck-like
The advice answers a common home-kitchen problem: donuts can turn out greasy and hockey puck-like when the dough is rushed or the oil temperature is off. That does not make them impossible to make at home, but it does mean the two points most bakers try to skip are the ones that shape the result most.
For readers planning a batch, the next step is straightforward: give the dough more time, and use a thermometer before the first piece hits the oil. The article does not spell out a single proofing time or oil temperature for every dough, which leaves the method dependent on the recipe and the baker’s patience.
