Overnight Tangzhong Doughnuts
Fluffy homemade doughnuts, made with an overnight tangzhong dough for a soft, bakery-quality texture. Finished with a rich brown butter glaze.
Servings: 6 Doughnuts
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Deep Fat Fryer
- Digital Food Probe
- Medium Saucepan
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Digital Scales
- Rolling Pin
- Heatproof Jug
- Slotted Spoon
- Circular Cutters 3¼" & 1"
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 15 g Strong White Bread Flour (See Notes)
- 30 g Whole Milk
- 30 g Water
Dough
- 100 g Whole Milk
- 3 g Dried Active Yeast
- 285 g Strong White Bread Flour
- 6 g Fine Sea Salt
- 45 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 55 g Unsalted Butter (At Room Temperature)
Brown Butter Glaze
- 50 g Unsalted Butter
- 300 g Icing Sugar (Sifted)
- 50 g Whole Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Paste
- A Pinch Of Table Salt
Instructions
Tangzhong
- For the tangzhong, place the flour, milk & water into a saucepan & whisk to combine. Cook over a low heat until you have a thick paste, stirring constantly with a spatula. Transfer to a bowl & leave to cool to room temperature.
Dough
- Place the milk into a jug & warm in the microwave to 38°c/100°f (alternatively you could heat this up in a saucepan then transfer to a jug), then whisk in the yeast & leave to go bubbly, 5-10 minutes.
- Place the bread flour, salt & sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer then stir together. Next, add in the egg, yolk & tangzhong. Give the yeast & milk another whisk then add into the flour.
- Using the dough hook, knead the dough on a medium speed until it's smooth & starting to come away from the sides of the bowl. This will take around 5 minutes.
- With the mixer still going, add in the butter a small amount at a time, incorporating each piece fully before adding more. Once all the butter has been incorporated, keep mixing until the dough passes the window pane test, this will take 5-10 minutes.See the post above for more info on the windowpane test!
- Transfer the dough into a lightly greased bowl then cover with clingfilm. Leave to prove at room temperature for 30 minutes then transfer into the fridge & leave to cold prove in the fridge for at least 12-18 hours.
Shaping
- The next day, transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface then use a rolling pin to roll out to a thickness of ½".
- Using a 3¼" (82mm) circular cutter, cut out as many doughnuts from the dough as possible. You should get at least 6. Use a 1" (25mm) to cut a hole out of the centre of each doughnut.If you dip the cutters into flour before cutting the dough, they won't stick.
- Transfer each doughnut onto it's own square of baking parchment & place the doughnut holes onto a lined baking tray.With any remaining dough, you can either cut them into small pieces with the 1" cutter or gently re roll it & cut more doughnuts out - see notes.
- Cover the doughnuts with an upside down baking/roasting tray & leave to prove for 1-1½ hours, until the dough is at room temperature & each doughnut has risen slightly.If you press on the dough lightly, the indent should fill back in slowly.
Brown Butter Glaze - Part 1
- Place the butter for the glaze into a saucepan & set over a medium heat. Cook until browned then pour into a mixing bowl & set aside to cool.
Frying
- Preheat a deep fat fryer to 175°c/347°f.I'd recommend double checking the oil temperature with a digital food probe to make sure that it's at the correct temperature.
- Cook the doughnut holes first.To do this, gently drop them into the hot oil & cook for 1-2 minutes, flipping over with a slotted spoon halfway through. Once they're golden brown, remove from the oil & leave to drain on a cooling rack set over a tray.
- Next, carefully flip a doughnut off its baking parchment, into the hot oil then cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, using a slotted spoon to flip over. The doughnut should be a deep, golden brown on each side. Once cooked, remove from the oil & place onto a wire rack set over a tray, to drain.Alternatively carefully place the doughnut into the oil, parchment side up then remove using a pair of tongs.
- Repeat the cooking process with the remaining doughnuts. Depending on the size of your fryer you might be able to cook two or three at a time.
Brown Butter Glaze - Part 2
- Don't worry about letting the doughnuts cool, they need to be glazed whilst they are still slightly warm! To make the glaze, add the icing sugar, cooled brown butter, milk, vanilla & salt into a mixing bowl then whisk to combine.
- Dip each doughnut & doughnut hole (one at a time) into the glaze, to completely cover then place back onto the cooling rack to drain. Leave for 20 minutes to set then serve immediately.Alternatively, store the doughnuts in the fridge, in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
1. Flour - Make sure to use a strong white bread flour with a protein content between 12-14%. I used a Canadian white bread flour from Shipton Mill but other brands will work!
2. Storage - These glazed doughnuts are best eaten on the same day but can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. As the glaze contains milk, the doughnuts need to be stored in the fridge. I'd recommend letting them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving, to make them as soft & fluffy as possible.
3. Doughnut Dough - The doughnut dough works best when only rolling it out once. If you do re roll the dough, make sure to do it as gently as possible, to avoid knocking too much air out of the dough.
4. Yeast - If you'd prefer to use fresh yeast for this recipe, you'll need to use double the amount & activate it in warm milk (like dried active). Instant yeast can also be used, you'll need to use the same amount as the dried active yeast but won't need to activate it in warm milk; it can be added straight into the flour.