Brioche Donuts (Brioche Doughnuts)

Close up of ring donuts coated in sugar on a plate.

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4.91 from 40 votes

Brioche Donuts (Brioche Doughnuts)

These brioche donuts are the best! They are as soft and fluffy as a donut can get and super easy to make too!

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Proofing Time13

Total Time13 45

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: donuts

Calories: 152.4kcal

Author: Priya Maha

Ingredients

240 g all purpose flour
6 g instant yeast
70 ml milk at room temperature
40 g granulated sugar
1 egg
50 g butter
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar for coating
Oil for frying

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Fit the dough hook to your mixer. Measure yeast into your mixer bowl and add milk to it. Leave the mixture for about 2 minutes to allow the yeast to dissolve. Stir if necessary.
Next, add the sifted flour, sugar, salt and egg into the yeast mixture and knead on the lowest speed for approximately 5 minutes until all the ingredients are well combined and the dough comes together.
Cut butter into small pieces and add into the dough. Continue mixing for another 6 to 7 minutes until butter is fully incorporated and the dough comes together smooth. At this point, the dough should be soft but not sticky to the fingers when pressed lightly.
Turn the mixer off. Turn the dough out onto clean work surface and form it into a ball. Place it in a large bowl. Make sure the bowl is large enough to allow the dough to triple in size without overflowing.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (cling wrap) and chill in the refrigerator between 8 to 12 hours (overnight).
Turn the proofed dough onto a floured workspace. Knead it for approximately 2 to 3 minutes until it becomes soft and pliable. If sticky, dust with a little flour and knead well until it is no longer sticky. Do not add too much flour. The kneading time at this stage is sufficient at 2 to 3 minutes.
Roll the dough to about 1 cm thick and cut out using a doughnut cutter. Alternatively, shape them into round balls, flatten and cut out a hole in the centers with a round cutter.
Place the cut donuts onto individually cut, flour-dusted parchment squares and arrange them on a large tray. Leave the dough to proof in a warm place until the doughnuts are about triple in size.
Add oil into a deep fryer or a deep pot. Heat it up until the oil reaches a temperature of between 173 to 175 ℃ (approximately 345 to 350 ℉).
Deep fry the donuts until they are golden brown. Turn them over halfway to allow both sides to cook. Remove the donuts from oil and drain them on a kitchen paper towel. Let them cool slightly before coating them with caster sugar.
To coat with sugar, add sugar into a small deep bowl. Dip each side of the donuts into the sugar until they are all well coated before serving.

Notes

This brioche donut dough is best kneaded with a machine. The dough is sticky and kneading by hand can be a little tricky. If you still wish to knead by hand, you may need to use a bench scraper to help with the kneading. Do not add too much flour as the dough is meant to be soft and tacky.

For a fluffy texture, the dough must be well kneaded. To test if the dough is sufficiently kneaded, you can do the windowpane test. Take some dough and gently stretch it with your fingers until it forms a thin film. If it can be stretched without any tearing, the dough is well kneaded. Otherwise, continue kneading.

There are generally 2 types of dry yeast i.e. instant dry yeast and active dry yeast. This recipe uses instant dry yeast. Instant yeast does not require activation. You can also use room temperature liquid to dissolve the yeast. Simply add the yeast to the liquid and stir. Once lightly dissolved, you can add all the other ingredients but make sure salt goes it last or with the flour as direct contact with the yeast can kill the yeast. If using active yeast, you will need to use warm milk and let the yeast bloom or froth first in the milk before adding other ingredients.

Placing the cut out donuts onto individually cut parchment paper squares makes it easy to lift the donuts into the oil. If you find it difficult to slide the donuts into the oil, you can drop them with the paper and remove it as soon as it detaches from the donuts in the oil.

Optimum oil temperature for frying the donuts is between 173 to 175 degrees Celsius (approximately 345 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit). You can use a candy thermometer to measure the temperature. Too low a temperature will result in the donuts absorbing too much oil and too high a temperature will result in overbrowned and uncooked donuts. The texture will also be tougher.

When removing the donuts from the oil, use a slotted spoon. It helps to quickly lift the donuts while draining the oil effectively.

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