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For those of us who remember biting into a warm doughnut, fresh from the stovetop, or for the younger generation who might be experiencing that decadent confectionary for the first time, few can resist the allure of this nostalgic pastry that has become a staple in American baking. A Baker’s Field Guide to Doughnuts is the newest addition to the best-selling series from baking expert, Dede Wilson. In this whimsical collection, Wilson convinces us that homemade is the only way to enjoy the best-quality doughnuts, and moreover, doughnuts are no more difficult to make than a birthday cake or a batch of cookies.
Where home bakers had once been daunted by the challenges of frying, flipping, and frosting, Wilson breaks down each doughnut with step-by-step instructions that are simple enough to guide anyone through creating doughnuts that look as beautiful as the photographs throughout the book.
In over 60 different recipes, she includes all the essentials like cider doughnuts, old-fashioned buttermilk doughnuts, and French crullers, but adds a healthy dose of creativity as well. In the first part of the book she provides "The Master Recipes," a variety of basic doughnuts, frostings, fillings, and glazes. The second part contains "The Field Guide," where she puts together the master recipes in decadent combinations like chocolate caramel-bourbon-pecan doughnuts, crème brulée doughnuts, and German chocolate cake doughnuts.
Innumerable in their variations and just plain irresistible, doughnuts are a baking delight won’t go out of style. Wilson both celebrates and reinvigorates the doughnut-baking tradition in this guide, essential to any baker’s cookbook collection.
–David Lebovitz, author of Ready for Dessert and The Perfect Scoop
Introduction
Doughnuts or donuts, however you spell this sweet treat—the mere word elicits a passionate response from devotees. A Baker’s Field Guide to Doughnuts brings you the recipes and information you need to make airy, yeast-risen doughnuts as well as cakelike baking powder doughnuts in flavors sure to please both kids and adults, whether you’re looking for a classic or something new. You will also find doughnuts’ brethren, such as fritters, churros, and beignets, in all sorts of flavors, shapes, and sizes.
Doughnut history is murky: Some say they were brought to North America by Dutch settlers, while others point to the fact that archaeologists have found remnants of fried ring-shaped cakes in the southwestern United States, suggesting that they were made by early Native Americans. Regardless of their origin, by the 1920s doughnuts were being mass-produced in the United States and had become a standard American treat. The popularity of doughnuts was firmly cemented with the opening of large chains such as Krispy Kreme and Dunkin’ Donuts in the ’40s and ’50s—in fact, most people have only ever bought their doughnuts, never made them at home.
I hope to change that in A Baker’s Field Guide to Doughnuts, as making your own doughnuts requires mastering just a few techniques and will reward you with incredible flavor and texture that you simply won’t find in store-bought doughnuts.
Continues...
Excerpted from A Baker's Field Guide to Doughnuts by Dede Wilson Copyright © 2012 by Dede Wilson. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
How to Use This Book
The Master Recipes
Baked Doughnuts
Baked Chocolate Doughnuts
Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Doughnuts
Mashed Potato Doughnuts
Sour Cream Doughnuts
French Crullers
Chocolate Cake-Style Doughnuts
Basic Yeast-Raised Doughnuts
Chocolate Yeast-Raised Doughnuts
Krispy Kreme Kopykat Doughnuts
Hard Sugar Glaze
Soft and Sheer Sugar Glaze
Citrus Glaze
Spiced Orange Glaze
Cocoa Glaze
Dark Chocolate Glaze
Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze
Peanut Butter Glaze
Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
Cream Cheese Frosting
Pastry Cream
The Field Guide
Apple Fritters
Apricot-Cardamom Doughnuts
Banana Doughnuts with Banana Glaze
Basic Baked Doughnuts with Cinnamon Sugar
Beignets
Blackout Chocolate Doughnuts
Blueberry–Sour Cream Fritters
Boston Cream Doughnuts
Browned Butter–Brown Sugar Sour Cream Doughnuts
Vanilla Buttercream–Filled Doughnuts
Cappuccino Doughnuts with Espresso Cream Filling
Caramel-Bourbon-Pecan Doughnuts
Carrot Cake Doughnuts
Cereal Killer (aka Fiber None) Doughnuts
Cheesecake-Filled Raised Doughnuts
Chocolate Chip Ganache-Glazed Baked Doughnuts
Chocolate-Coconut Doughnuts
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Doughnuts
Chocolate Mousse Doughnuts
Chocolate–Salted Caramel Doughnuts
Chocolate–Sour Cream Doughnuts
Churros with Chocolate Dipping Sauce
Cider Doughnuts
Classic Doughnut Holes
Coconut Cream–Filled Doughnuts with Coconut Glaze
Crème Brûlée Doughnuts, Version #1
Crème Brûlée Doughnuts, Version #2
Double-Chocolate Ganache Doughnuts
Double-Espresso Doughnuts
Double-Lemon Glazed Doughnuts
Doughnut Shop Glazed Doughnuts
French Crullers with Grand Marnier Glaze
German Chocolate Cake Doughnuts
Gingerbread Doughnuts with Lemon Glaze
Grape Expectations
Honey Cream–Filled Doughnuts with Milk and Honey Glaze
Lemon Meringue Doughnuts
Jelly Doughnuts
Maple-Bacon Doughnuts
Marshmallow Fluff and Peanut Butter Doughnuts
Nutella Doughnuts with Gianduja Ganache
Old-Fashioned Lard-Fried Doughnuts
Peach-Pecan Fritters with Brown Sugar Glaze
Peanut Butter–Glazed Jelly Doughnuts
Pineapple-Filled Piña Colada Doughnuts
Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts
Rainbow Sprinkle Doughnuts
Raspberry–Crème Fraîche Doughnuts
Red Velvet Doughnuts
Rich Yeast-Raised Doughnuts
Ricotta Fritters
Rose Petal French Crullers
Spiced Chocolate Doughnuts
Sweet Cream Doughnuts
Sweet Potato Doughnuts
Toasted Almond Doughnuts
Toffee Crunch Chocolate Ganache Doughnuts
Vanilla Bean Custard Doughnuts
Vegan Gluten-Free Baked Doughnuts
White Chocolate Truffle Doughnuts
Walnut Streusel–Sour Cream Doughnuts with Maple Glaze
Resources
Measurement Equivalents
Index
Overview
For those of us who remember biting into a warm doughnut, fresh from the stovetop, or for the younger generation who might be experiencing that decadent confectionary for the first time, few can resist the allure of this nostalgic pastry that has become a staple in American baking. A Baker’s Field Guide to Doughnuts is the newest addition to the best-selling series from baking expert, Dede Wilson. In this whimsical collection, Wilson convinces us that homemade is the only way to enjoy the best-quality doughnuts, ...