Old Recipe Donuts

Donuts are a traditional Jewish treat for Hanukkah. Golden, light, fluffy, with different sweet fillings, covered with powdered sugar, chocolate, or fondant, they are really very appetizing and tasty. We offer you an old recipe for making donuts. I found this recipe a long time ago in a cookbook from 1896. And since then I have been making donuts, following the old recipe.

Summary

Ingredients

• Milk – 1 glass
• Flour – 3 cups
• Yolks – 4 pcs.
• Butter – 100 g
• Dry yeast – 2 teaspoon
• Rum – 2 tbsp
• Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Salt – 0.5 teaspoon
• Vanilla sugar – 1 sachet
• Lemon zest – 1 teaspoon
• Ground cinnamon – 0.5 teaspoon
• Vegetable oil – for frying
• Powdered sugar – for decoration

Instructions

1. Knead the donut dough. Pour 1 cup of warm milk (30-35 degrees Celsius) into a bowl, add 2-3 spoons of yeast (2 teaspoons of dry yeast), knead well, and gradually add 2 cups of white flour, stirring until a homogeneous dough is obtained.
2. Cover the mixed dough with a foil and a towel and put it in a warm place to rise, for about two hours.
3. After 1 hour 45 minutes, we begin preparing for kneading the dough. Separate the yolks from the whites in 4 eggs.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 bag of vanilla sugar, 0.5 teaspoons of salt to the yolks and beat until white.
5. We open the dough, beat it well with a wooden spatula, add 100 grams of softened butter, stir slightly.
6. Add prepared yolks, two tablespoons of rum, a teaspoon of lemon zest, and half a teaspoon of cinnamon and knead well, gradually adding one glass of flour.
7. We spread the dough on the table, stir it by hand, giving it the shape of a ball.
8. Return to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel. We put in a warm place for 1–1.5 hours to get up. The dough should increase in volume 2–2.5 times.
9. Put the finished dough on a board greased with vegetable oil, knead and knead slightly.
10. Divide in half, roll each half into a rope, and divide into 8 equal pieces of approximately 50 grams each.
11. Roll the pieces into balls and place them on a richly oiled baking sheet, smooth side up.
12. Leave for proofing for 25-30 minutes.
13. Deep-fry the donuts (a large amount of well-heated vegetable oil) until golden brown.
14. Put on a paper towel or wire rack to drain off excess fat. The donuts are ready.
15. You can fill donuts with condensed milk (plain or boiled), jam or jam, cream, chocolate paste.
16. Sprinkle the donuts with powdered sugar.