Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

You "doughnut" want to miss out on this. Homemade Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts. Need I say more?

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen doughnuts

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons softened butter

2 large eggs

5 cups all-purpose flour

A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

Place warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and sugar. Add the butter, eggs, flour, nutmeg and salt. Beat the dough with the dough hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon and eventually your hands) for 2-3 minutes at medium speed. Adjust the dough texture by adding flour a few tablespoons at a time or more milk. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be very soft and smooth but still slightly sticky – don’t overflour! Knead the dough for a few minutes (again, by mixer or by hand) and then transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size (the exact time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen).

Punch down the dough and roll it out to about 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured counter. Using a doughnut cutter or a 2-3 inch circle cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough. Carefully transfer the circles to a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. Be sure to make the holes large enough that as the doughnuts rise again and bake, they don’t fill in the doughnut hole with the puffiness of the dough. Cover the tray with lightly greased plastic wrap. (At this point, you can refrigerate the doughnuts overnight or proceed with the recipe.) Let the doughnuts rise for about another 45 minutes, until they are puffed and nearly doubled.

Bake in a 375 degree F oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Start checking the doughnuts around minute 8. They should still be pale on top, not golden and browned, and just barely baked through.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes. Dip each one in the melted butter and toss or sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Ham & Pepperoni Stromboli

Ingredients

Yields 2 loaves

1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast

1 1/3 cups warm water (110° to 115°) 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt 

4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

The quantities below are for 1 Stromboli. Double the amount if you want to make both loaves. 

1/4 lb thinly sliced ham

1/4 lb reduced fat pepperoni

Dried basil

Dried oregano

4 slices provolone cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil, salt and 2 cups flour; fitted with the paddle attachment, beat until smooth. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Switching to the dough hook attachment, knead dough on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll one portion into a 15 x 12-inch rectangle. (I froze the second portion for a later date.) Arrange ham slices lengthwise down half of rectangle. Place pepperoni on top. Sprinkle with a little bit of basil and oregano. Arrange provolone slices over the top and then add the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with a little more basil and oregano. Fold plain half of dough over filling and seal ends well. Brush with oil; sprinkle with oregano.

Bake on a baking sheet at 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; cut into 1-inch slices.