Italian donuts: an easy recipe that will surprise everyone!

Have you been putting off making your own donuts at home because it’s too much of a hassle? Well, not this recipe. Usually, with yeast donuts, there’s a lot of kneading and resting involved, but not these Italian Donuts. They are easy to make, and even better to eat. You only need and rise it once, then let the oven and frying oil do the rest. To make it, you will need eggs, milk, fresh yeast, flour, butter, sugar, and oil for deep frying. Once the donuts are fried to perfection and sprinkled with sugar. Every bite is soft, fluffy, and delicious!

Tips

Make sure to use a neutral oil suitable for frying at higher temperatures. Canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, or corn oil will be suitable. If you want to reuse the oil, allow it to cool, and strain it. You can use it a few more times for more batches of donuts.

Don’t make your oil too hot, otherwise, the donuts will burn before the dough is cooked through. Use a thermometer to heat the oil to about 350°F. The oil should also not be too cold, otherwise, the donuts will absorb too much oil, making them oily.

If you don’t have a thermometer, check the temperature by using a small piece of bread. Once you think the oil is ready, drop a piece of bread in the oil. If it bubbles slightly and turns golden, it’s ready to use. If it bubbles too rapidly, the oil might be too hot. If it doesn’t bubble at all, allow the oil to heat up more.

Make sure not to skip the rising step. Allowing the dough to rise properly will create a light and fluffy donut, instead of a dense one.

There are many ways to customize this recipe according to your liking. Use vanilla sugar, cocoa sugar, or cinnamon sugar instead of granulated sugar. To create a sugar-cinnamon sprinkle, simply combine ½ cup of granulated sugar with 1 tbsp ground cinnamon. To make sure the sugar sticks to the donuts, you can brush the donuts with melted butter.

You can even cover it with dried coconut flakes!

The donuts can also be glazed with an icing glaze. Whip up a quick and easy glaze icing by whisking together 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and up to 4 tsp milk.

Can I Make Italian Donuts in the Airfryer

Yes, you can!  Simply cover the bottom of the air fryer basket with parchment paper. Place the donut in the Airfryer basket, then spray it with oil. Cook the donuts at 350°F/180°C until browned and puffed up about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the basket and drain on paper.

How To Store and Reheat Italian Donuts.

Store the plain donuts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Sprinkled or glazed donuts can be stored at room temperature for 1 day or two.

Instructions

Whisk the eggs, milk, and yeast in a small bowl

In another bowl, add flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix well with your hands until the mixture is lump-free.

Form the dough into a large ball and place it in a clean bowl. Cover the top with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Transfer the dough to the workbench and divide it into 9 pieces.

Roll the dough into a long thin rope. Then twist the ends around each other.

Place the twisted donuts on a baking sheet sprinkled with flour.

Bake the donuts at 30°C/86°F (yes, that is the correct temperature!) for 1 hour.

Heat enough oil for deep frying over medium-high heat. Fry the donuts until they are golden brown on both sides.

After frying, coat them in sugar.