Glazed Twisted Donuts with Freshly Milled Flour
These glazed twisted donuts with freshly milled flour are light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet! They taste just like a glazed fried donut, but are oven-baked for a lighter, easier-to-make treat.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 431kcal
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
For the donuts
- 1/2 cup warm water divided
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons butter cubed
- 2 1/2 cups soft white flour (313g)*
For the egg wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon of water
For the glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- To start, in a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup warm water and the yeast until foamy. Cover with a damp towel and let sit for 5 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the remaining 1/4 cup of water, heavy cream, and egg.
- In a blender, add the sugar, salt, butter, and flour and pulse until the butter pieces are about the size of peas. If they become smaller, the dough will start to resemble pie dough.
- Pour the yeast water into the bowl with the water, cream and egg and stir. Then, add the ingredients from the blender and mix well. The dough will be very sticky; do not add more flour.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours. Then, transfer to the refrigerator and let it finish rising for 8 hours, or overnight.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer it to a well-floured surface. Knead, adding small amounts of flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands.
- Cut the dough in half. Roll one half into a rectangle, as thin as possible. Fold the dough into thirds to form a packet. Roll it back out and repeat this process two more times (three folds total), but do not roll it out after the final fold.
- Cover with plastic wrap and return the dough to the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.
- Remove the plastic from the dough and place it on a floured surface. Roll it into a long, thin rectangle and cut it lengthwise into 3 strips. Roll each strip into long ropes.
- Take the ends on one side of the strips and gently pinch them together (only at the ends). Twist the rolls together, or braid the dough like you would braid hair. When you reach the other end, pinch the ends together to secure. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet (preferably one with edges, as butter may drip while baking) with parchment paper.
- Place the braided dough on the baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.
- Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- While the donuts cool, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the donuts and serve.
Notes
- I recommend checking out the video here in the recipe card for step-by-step visuals!
- The glaze will melt if you pour it on the donuts while they are piping hot. You want to let the donuts cool a bit before glazing, so that it creates a nice layer on the surface of the bread.
- Be sure not to overbake these — you want to pull them out as soon as they are golden brown. That will keep them soft and chewy and prevent a hard crust from forming.
- We braided our donuts because my daughter preferred it, but you can twist them too.
- New to fresh milled flour? Check out my posts on how to mill your own flour and the basics of baking with whole grains before you get started!
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