Classic Glazed Yeast Donuts, Gluten Free

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake up the yeast

   Warm the milk until it feels like bathwater on the inside of your wrist, around 110°F. Any hotter and you risk killing the yeast. Stir in the yeast and a pinch of the sugar, then leave it alone for 5 to 10 minutes. You're looking for a foamy, slightly domed surface. If nothing happens, your yeast is dead and it's worth starting over rather than pushing ahead.

2. 2

   Build the dough

   In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, not the dough hook, combine the yeast mixture with the remaining sugar, the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the flour blend, xanthan gum (skip it if your blend already lists it), salt, and nutmeg. Mix on low until combined, then beat on medium for 3 minutes. Gluten-free dough has no gluten network to develop, so you're aerating and distributing the binder rather than kneading.

3. 3

   Rest to hydrate the starches

   Scrape down the bowl and let the dough sit, covered, for 25 minutes before doing anything else. The rice flours and starches drink up liquid slowly, and this rest is the difference between a smooth, workable dough and a gritty, sandy one. It will thicken noticeably as it stands.

4. 4

   First rise, then chill

   Cover and let the dough rise somewhere warm for 60 to 75 minutes. It will puff and soften but won't double as dramatically as wheat dough, so judge by a visibly lighter, airier texture rather than exact volume. Then refrigerate it for at least 45 minutes. This step is not optional here: cold dough is the only way to roll and cut this cleanly.

5. 5

   Roll and cut

   Roll the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment to an even 1/2 inch thick, which keeps it from sticking without working in extra flour. Peel off the top sheet and cut rounds with a 3-inch cutter and centers with a 1-inch cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Scraps can be pressed back together and rerolled while still cold, with no toughening penalty.

6. 6

   Second proof

   Set the donuts and holes on parchment squares spaced well apart on baking sheets, cover loosely with greased plastic, and proof 40 to 55 minutes in a warm spot. They should look puffed and feel soft and pillowy, but they will hold a fingertip dent longer than wheat dough does, so don't keep waiting for a fast spring-back. If they start to look slack or shiny-wet, get them into the oil.

7. 7

   Heat the oil and mix the glaze

   Pour 2 to 3 inches of oil into a heavy Dutch oven and bring it to 350°F with a clipped-on thermometer. While it heats, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt until smooth and pourable, like heavy cream. Thin with milk a teaspoon at a time if needed. Set a wire rack over a sheet pan.

8. 8

   Fry in small batches

   Lower 2 or 3 donuts at a time into the oil using the parchment square to carry each one, sliding the paper away as it hits the surface. Fry 90 seconds to 2 minutes per side, slightly longer than wheat donuts, since gluten-free centers need the extra time to set and will be gummy otherwise. Go by color: deep, even gold all over, not pale amber. Hold the oil at 350°F throughout and let it recover between batches.

9. 9

   Glaze while warm

   Drain the donuts on the rack for about 2 minutes, just long enough that they won't burn your fingers. Dip each one into the glaze, turn to coat both sides, lift and let the excess run off, then return it to the rack. Glazing warm is what gives you that thin, lacquered shell. These are genuinely best within a couple of hours of frying, more so than the wheat version, so eat them the day you make them.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  A thermometer is non-negotiable. Below 340°F the donuts absorb oil and taste greasy; above 365°F they brown before the centers set.

• 2.

  The overnight fridge rise is the single biggest upgrade here. Cold dough rolls out cleanly, holds its shape, and tastes noticeably more complex.

• 3.

  Freshly grated nutmeg is the flavor most people can't name in a bakery donut. Half a teaspoon reads as warmth, not spice.

• 4.

  Cut each donut onto its own square of parchment. Carrying them to the oil by the paper keeps them from deflating on the way.

• 5.

  Only reroll scraps once. The second reroll toughens the dough and those donuts fry up noticeably chewier.

• 6.

  Fry the donut holes first as test subjects. They tell you whether your oil temperature and proof are both where they should be.

• 7.

  For filled donuts, skip the center cut, fry the rounds whole, then pipe in jam or pastry cream with a long filling tip and roll in granulated sugar instead of glazing.