Brown Butter & Vanilla Yeast Donuts
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge sucker for donuts! Seriously, I could eat an whole dozen and not think twice about it. While there are tons of different varieties and ways to make donuts, I’m partial to a classic yeasted donut. Although I love these donuts, I thought to myself, how can I make this even better? Well, what makes everything better? Brown butter and vanilla of course! These Brown Butter & Vanilla Donuts are soft, light, airy, and of course incredibly delicious.
What is Brown Butter?
If you have ever smelled butter browning, then you know exactly why it is used in this recipe! The process of browning the butter, involves the separating of butterfat and milk solids. The milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and begin to undergo the Maillard reaction due to the heat, essentially caramelizing the milk solids. What is created is butter that is deep in color and rich in flavor. The Maillard reaction causes the butter to take on a taste that is reminiscent of nuts and caramel.
Browning butter is actually quite easy, so do not be intimidated! You want to add the unsalted, cubed, room temperature butter to a small sauce pan over medium heat. Then essentially boil the butter and continue to boil, stirring constantly to promote even cooking, until the colour is a beautiful nutty brown and ultra-fragrant. It is important to note that after browning the butter, it is essential to let it cool though. I simply pour the brown butter into a measuring cup and place it in the fridge or freezer to cool. When ready to use it should still be liquid but only slightly warm to the touch. This will take about 15 minutes in the freezer.
Making the Dough
As with most bread doughs, the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment is a life-saver! Start by blooming the yeast in the warm (105°F) milk and sugar. After about 5-10 minutes, the yeast should be bloomed. Next, add it to the stand mixer, and also throw in the cool (but still liquid) brown butter and the beaten eggs. Whisk this all together to combine it, then begin adding the flour and salt. Beat for about 5-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic, and shiny, but is still tacky to the touch (it should be clinging to the bottom of the bowl but not the sides).
If you feel like your dough is still too wet, just add flour in small increments, continuing to beat, until it comes to the proper consistency. Next throw the dough in a well-oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap, and place into a warm place for the initial rise.
Proofing and Cutting the Brown Butter Donuts
After the initial rise, remove the plastic wrap from the bowl and press down the dough to deflate it. Pour the dough out onto a floured worksurface, and roll the dough out to about ½” thickness. Grab your donut cutter, or a large round cookie cutter and a donut hole cutter, and begin cutting out your brown butter donuts! I typically get about 10-12 donuts out of this batch of dough.
Next it’s time for the second rise. Place the cut-out brown butter donuts onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. I use 2 sheets so that it gives the donuts enough room to rise. Place a towel or more plastic wrap over top of the pans, and place the sheets in a warm place to rise for 15 minutes. I use this time to start heating my oil up.
Frying the Brown Butter Donuts
After the brown butter donuts have completed their second rise, and the oil has reached 350°F – 375°F, it is time to start frying! Carefully pick each donut up from the baking sheet (don’t be too aggressive when picking them up – you don’t want to deflate them), and carefully place them into the hot oil. I typically fry 4-5 donuts at a time, to ensure no overcrowding happens. Fry each side for about 1 minute, or until it becomes a lovely golden brown color. Remove the brown butter donuts from the oil with a spider or tongs, and place onto a cooling rack that is placed over a paper towel (to absorb excess dripping oil). After all the donuts have been fried make sure you don’t forget about those donut holes!
Decorating the Donuts
How you decorate the brown butter donuts is completely up to you. I have decorated these donuts using a chocolate glaze, a honey glaze, a typical vanilla glaze, candy melts, donut sugar, and cinnamon sugar! These brown butter donuts take any type of glaze or decoration well!
Get the Recipe: Brown Butter & Vanilla Yeast Donuts
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp Unsalted Butter,, at room temperature and cut into pieces
- 1 1/8 cups Whole Milk,, warmed to 105°F
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
- 2 Large Eggs,, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 5 cups (600g) All-Purpose Flour,, measured correctly †
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Shortening/oil for frying
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Instructions
Making the Donut Dough
- In a small sauce over medium heat, add butter and bring to a boil. Continue heating over medium heat, constantly stirring until the butter has turned a nutty brown color. It may be hard to see the color if your butter is foaming a lot, so periodically take it off the heat to check the color. Remove from heat, place into a heat proof glass and then into the freezer to cool off for 15-30 minutes. When ready, the butter should still be liquid and just barely warm to the touch.
- In a measuring cup add warm milk, sugar, and yeast together. Stir together to combine, then allow to sit until it becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt, and set aside.
- Add eggs, vanilla, and cooled brown butter to stand mixer, and whisk together to combine. Add bloomed yeast-milk to stand mixer and whisk to combine. Attach the dough hook onto the stand mixer, and place on medium-low speed.
- Add the flour to the stand mixer, and mix for around 10 minutes for the dough to form. When ready it should be smooth, elastic, and a little bit tacky to the touch. If it is too wet, add more flour in small increments.
- Transfer dough to a greased large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, then place in a warm area to rise for about an hour, or until the dough is doubled in size.
Cutting, Proofing, & Frying
- Turn the proofed dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to be between ¼” and ½” thick. Using cookie cutters or a donut cutter (I use a 3.5” cookie cutter with a small 1” donut hole cutter), cut out your donuts, then transfer them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Ensure there is enough space between each donut to allow for rising room (I typically use 2 baking sheets for this). After all the donuts have been cut, cover the baking sheet with a towel or plastic wrap, then place into a warm place to rise for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add oil to a large wide pot, such as a Dutch oven, filling it about halfway. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches between 350°F or 375°F. When ready, carefully place donuts into hot oil, and fry for about 1 ½ minutes per side, or until golden brown. Then place onto paper towel-lined baking sheet to cool off.
Notes
Source: Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Related Recipes
Looking for more yeast-bread recipes? Check out these below:
PEPPERONI PIZZA BABKA LOAF. Pepperoni pizza and bread come together to form the greatest hybrid in the world. This bread is cheesy, savory, and buttery!
CINNAMON BRIOCHE BABKA KNOTS. These adorable little babka knots feature sweet, buttery brioche dough that is filled with a cinnamon-brown sugar filling.
