Lara Ferroni's Basic Raised Doughnuts

Now for the recipe I promised you in the previous post, Lara Ferroni's Basic Raised Doughnuts from her new book, Doughnuts, Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home. These would make a decadent and delicious New Year's Day breakfast treat.

First, a few tips that Lara shared with me about making doughnuts:
• your eggs and milk should be room temperature
• don’t worry too much about measuring the flour, how much you use will depend on the day and the humidity
• Lara uses King Arthur bread flour and Jungle Shortening (at room temp)
• use a heating pad to rest the rising dough on for consistent heat
• if you need to, you can get away with punching down the dough and rerolling it once
• if the dough proofs in the oven, it gets too hard to handle and greasy
• doughnut oil should be 360-370 degrees F; Lara said, “I like 360, but a lot of people told me they need to go to 370 to brown the doughnuts.”
• if the proof mark line around the outside of the doughnuts is dark, that means your dough hasn't proofed enough or has overproofed
• when making the glaze: add your liquid a few drops at a time to make a paste, then work out the clumps with a whisk
• her recipes using day old doughnuts were cut from the book, so watch for her to post those on her site.

Lara Ferroni's Basic Raised Doughnuts
3 tablespoons (22 grams) active dry yeast, divided
1 cup whole milk, heat to 110 degrees F, divided
2 to 2 1/2 cups (320-400 grams) bread flour, divided
2 tablespoons (30 grams) superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
vegetable oil for frying

In a medium bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons of the yeast into 3/4 cup of the milk. Add 3/4 cup of the four and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover and let rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes. (Lara's tip: a heating pad is handy for even heat.)

Combine the remaining milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the rested flour mixture along with the sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix until smooth. Turn off the mixer and add 1/2 cup of the remaining flour. Mix on low for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until it becomes incorporated, about 30 seconds. Switch to a dough hook and add more flour, about 1/4 cup at a time with the mixer turned off, kneading the dough at medium speed between additions, until the dough pulls completely away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky. It will be very soft and moist, but not so sticky that you can't roll it out. You may have flour left over. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 12 hours).



Line a baking sheet with a lightly floured non-terry dish towel. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. With a doughnut or cookie cutter, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes.



Place the doughnuts on a baking sheet at least 1 inch apart and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm spot to proof until they almost double in size, 5 to 20 minutes, testing at 5-minute intervals. To test whether the dough is ready, touch lightly with a fingertip. if it springs back immediately, it needs more time. If it springs back slowly, it is ready. If it doesn't spring back at all, it has overproofed; you can punch it down and reroll it once.

While the doughnuts are proofing, heat a heavy-bottomed pot with at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fat thermometer registers 360 degrees F. With a metal spatula, carefully place the doughnuts in the oil. (Depending on the size of your pan, Lara recommended frying about 3 at a time.) Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a wire rack over a paper towel, and let cool slightly before glazing.

Makes 8 to 14 doughnuts



Lara Ferroni styling doughnut holes for a photo.

Basic Sugar Glaze

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted to remove any lumps
3 to 4 tablespoons milk or water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the sugar in a medium bowl and slowly stir in the milk (or water) and vanilla, a little at a time, to make a smooth, pourable glaze.


Chocolate Glaze

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons (27 grams) cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk or water
2 teaspoons vanilla

Sift together the sugar and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Slowly stir in the milk (or water) and vanilla, a little at a time, to make a smooth, pourable glaze.

Recipes by Lara Ferroni. Reprinted with permission of the author.
From the book Doughnuts, Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home.

Check out more of Lara Ferroni's gorgeous photos and tasty recipes on her web site. Thanks again, Lara, for sharing your expertise and the best doughnuts I've ever tasted!

Beecher's Mac & Cheese

While exploring Pike Place Market in Seattle, we stopped by Beecher's Handmade Cheese shop. I'd heard of Beecher's and even tried some of their Flagship Cheddar locally from Central Market. It was the best cheddar I'd ever tasted — a much more dynamic and full-flavored cheddar than I'd ever had before. Beecher's makes their cheeses with no artificial preservatives, flavor enhancers, sweeteners, colors or hydrogenated oils. It's just pure goodness.

I'd seen Beecher's Kurt Dammeier on the Martha Stewart show making "the world's best mac and cheese." That's a mighty big claim. I grew up eating my grandmother's mac and cheese. She was an old-school Southern cook who spoiled me with buttermilk biscuits, chicken and dumplings and the mac and cheese by which I've measured all others. Hers was creamy and cheesey underneath with a thick, crusty layer of cheddar over the top. I've experimented for years with different down-home and gourmet recipes to try to find one I liked as much as hers. Beecher's recipe is the one. We sampled some in their store and I had to try making it myself when we got home.

My husband immediately declared it one of the best things he's ever tasted. I have to agree. The sauce is not just creamy and luscious, but the also the cheesiest I've ever had. The crust of Gruyere and cheddar on top replicates the crust I always loved from my grandmother's version. First, you make your sauce and cook your pasta. Then combine them in a casserole pan (individual little casseroles are handy here and avoid fighting over the serving spoon), sprinkle the top with more cheese, and then bake it in the oven. You can make your sauce and pasta and assemble and refrigerate it before baking. This will actually enhance the flavor. (Saveur magazine recently had an article about the chemical reactions that take place in mac and cheese and they recommended letting the flavors develop like this before baking. So keep that in mind, if it's more convenient. This also means your leftovers will rock.)

This is rich stuff. It has a little chipotle in it to give it just a touch of heat. It takes a lot of cheese. It's not a cheap dish. But it is one of the most satisfying ever. A special occasion, over-the-top splurge. This is the kind of dish that will get you marriage proposals, so don't make it for just anyone.

Cooking notes: Be sure to undercook the pasta by a few minutes — it will continue cooking in the oven and you don't want it to get too soft. I used a rigatoni pasta because I wanted something with a big enough center to capture the sauce. It was perfect. I also used 2% milk and it was still incredibly rich. Beecher's Jack cheese wasn't available locally, so I subbed the Central Market house Jack. But be sure to use Beecher's Flagship for the cheddar. It's what makes this dish transformative.



Beecher's Mac & Cheese

For the cheese sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups (2%) milk
14 ounces (3 1/2 cups) Beecher's Flagship cheddar, grated
2 ounces (1/2 cup) Jack cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
1 clove garlic, minced

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic, and cook for a couple of minutes to soften the garlic. Add the flour and whisk together. Continue whisking while it cooks for about two minutes.

A little at a time, pour in your milk and continue whisking to incorporate. Then add a little more. Continue the whisking and adding until you've incorporated all of the milk. Keep whisking and cooking for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Turn off the heat under the pan. Add the grated cheese, salt and chipotle. Whisk or stir until all of the cheese has melted. Refrigerate for later assembly or assemble into mac and cheese immediately (see below).

For mac and cheese:
6 ounces rigatoni pasta, slightly undercooked (by about 2-3 minutes) and rinsed in cold water, then drained
Beecher's cheese sauce (above)
1 ounce (1/4 cup) Beecher's Flagship cheddar, grated
1 ounce (1/4 cup) Gruyere cheese, grated

Spray one large or 6-8 small casserole pans with cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the warm cheese sauce and the (undercooked) pasta. Pour the pasta and sauce into your baking dish(es). Sprinkle the top with the cheddar and Gruyere.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until warmed through. Note: while mine was cooked through at this point, the top wasn't quite browned yet, so I turned on the broiler for the last two minutes of cooking. Be sure to watch over it and pull it out before it goes too far.

Let cool for about five minutes before serving, if you can stand it.

Mac and cheese is uaually considered a side dish, or in the South, a vegetable. And you can serve it on the side with something else, like roasted chicken or whatever. But no one will notice anything else on the table. Just know that. If you have kids, I'm sure you could use this as a bribe to get them to eat their green veggies first.

Adapted from Beecher's World's Greatest Mac & Cheese recipe on MarthaStewart.com.

Serves 6-8.

Raspberry Oat Bars

During our visit to Seattle, we didn't make it to all the places on our list that we wanted to eat. But one place we did get to try several times was Macrina Bakery. With three locations around town, Macrina is a Seattle favorite for brunch, lunch and baked treats. Everything we tried there hooked us from the first bite. If we lived in Seattle, we'd be regulars.

When we got home, I wanted to try some more of Macrina's treats, so I picked up their cookbook, Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook. It includes a wide range of their recipes from breads and muffins to pastries, cakes, pies, cookies, and brunch items. The newest edition has an additional chapter on their most-requested recipes.



The recipe I wanted to try first is an easy one, they call them fruit and oat bars. You layer a sweet almond dough in the bottom of your baking pan and bake it. Then top with raspberry preserves in the center and an oat crumble sprinkled on top. They make for a beautiful dessert, snack or even an indulgent breakfast treat.

These will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. You could probably make them with a little less sugar in the crumble topping if you want them a less sweet. I love that they are rustic and very comforting. The raspberries have a tartness that balances well with the almond dough. They would make a beautiful holiday treat too.

Note: I reduced the almond extract a bit. The first time out it was a little strong for my taste. (The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon. Make it as you like.) Don't be intimidated by having to make the almond dough separately. It's easy and it's worth it. It makes for a flavorful base.


Macrina's Raspberry Oat Bars

sweet almond dough:
1/4 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted


Toast the almonds on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until they start to turn golden. Let them cool completely.

Grind the almonds in a food processor (mini-processor works great here) until finely ground. I did this in pulses. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the ground almonds and place in a mixing bowl. If you have any left over, save it to sprinkle over your oatmeal.

To the almonds, add sugar and flour and stir together.

In another small bowl, stir melted butter and vanilla and almond extracts. Pour this into the bowl with the almond mixture and stir together until a crumbly dough is formed. You want the dough to stick together when you press it between your fingers.

If you want to do this step ahead, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

If you're ready to go now, get out your tart pan. The recipes calls for a 13x9x2 inch pan. I used two smaller tart pans because I wanted the fluted edge they provided. This made for a little thicker crust on the bottom, which I liked. It made the bars easier to handle when cut. Use what you have. To do it all in one pan, I will probably use my 9 1/2 inch square brownie pan next time.

Press the dough into the pan using your fingertips. At room temperature, it will spread out easily. Just be sure to press it firmly into the corners and about 3/4 inch up the sides. When the dough is evenly pressed into the pan, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Remove the chilled crust from the fridge and line it with parchment paper. Fill the bottom with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for about 25 minutes until the edges start to turn golden brown. Remove the parchment and weights and put it back in the oven to bake for 3-5 more minutes until the bottom is no longer moist. Let cool.

This is a good time to make the oat crumble topping.

For crumble topping and bars:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1 to 1 1/4 cups brown sugar (depending on how sweet you'd like it)
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 cups raspberry preserves

Cut the butter into 1/4-inch pieces. Place them in a food processor with the sugar, flour and oats. Pulse the processor for 2-3 seconds at a time until the mixture turns into a clumpy and crumbly dough. Set aside for a moment.

Spread the preserves evenly over the cooled almond dough.

Sprinkle the oat crumble over the top of the preserve layer.

Bake for about 30 minutes. To get a nice golden brown on top, I turned the broiler on for just a moment before removing these from the oven. Be sure to stay with them if you want to do this so you can pull them out at the right moment.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into bars. You can cut these into squares or rectangles depending on your preference. I liked the way they looked in long strips. How many bars you get depends on how you cut them. But these are big on flavor, so small servings are fine.

Adapted from Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook.

Salumi and more Seattle

I have to share a few more bits and bites from our explorations of Seattle...



Don't miss Armandino Batali's (yes, Mario's dad) Salumi in Pioneer Square. Artisan cured meats. That's all my husband needed to hear and this stop went to the top of his list.



We made the pilgramage. We stood in line. We squeezed into the tiny shop. The gods of porcine pleasure were looking out for us and we even scored a table to sit down and eat our otherworldly meaty wonders. Our only heartbreak — the porcetta sandwich sold out. Get there early!


He had a sandwich piled with porky goodness.


I had the lamb ragu: pure comfort.



Of course, we also explored Pike Place Market. It was torture not to have enough time to shop and cook and fully experience what Seattle had to offer by cooking for ourselves.



Beecher's Handmade Cheese shop was our favorite stop here. Their cheddar is just so much more than any other I've ever had.



Do not, I repeat do not, miss their mac and cheese. It took great effort on my husband's part to pause long enough for a photo once it was in his hands. And it lived up to the hype of being the world's best. (Recipe here - but be sure to make it with their cheese. In Austin, look for it at Central Market.)


Belltown graffiti

Seattle is a visual and taste paradise. A couple of other places I have to mention: Branzino Italian restaurant in Belltown. It was too dark for photos but the food was very well prepared. We had lamb sausage, spinach-mushroom-walnut ravioli and an asparagus, arugula and kumquat salad. And last, Uwajimaya Asian Market for everything from ceramics to sauces to fresh rice noodles to an incredible array of Asian produce. I'd be shopping here every week if I could.



Salumi
309 Third Avenue South, Seattle (Pioneer Square)
206.621.8772
Tuesday - Friday 11am - 4pm

Beecher's Handmade Cheese
1600 Pike Place, Seattle (Pike Place Market)
206.956.1964
daily 9am-6pm
Order online here.

Branzino
2429 Second Avenue, Seattle, (Belltown)
206.728.5181

Uwajimaya
600 5th Avenue South, Seattle (SoDo)
206.624.6248

Seattle Sampler

And now, a taste of our trip...
We arrived late into Seattle on a Saturday night and made our to the groovy old Scully and Mulder-esque Moore Hotel. The hotel has been serving Seattle since 1907 and sits adjacent to the Moore Theatre, where sadly, we missed seeing Spoon's performance by just a few days.


The Moore Hotel

The hotel is basic, but fun and friendly, and just what we needed for single night's stopover in Seattle on our way to Vancouver. After taking the light rail from the airport, we dropped our bags, and followed the night clerk's suggestion of nearby sushi at Umi Sake House.



We were blown away by the quality of the fish, the creative flavor combinations and especially, the very reasonable prices. Umi serves izakaya-style, like the informal Japanese bars that serve more substantial food with their drinks rather than just bar snacks. Umi also presents an extensive list of both hot and chilled sakes by the glass or bottle.


Umi's Moonraker roll

It was after 10pm when we arrived, but the place was rocking. We tried the Moonraker roll (spicy yellowtail, cucumber, cilantro, topped with seared spicy snow crab and black tobiko with jalapeño-citrus sauce and truffle oil), the king crab tower (king crab, snow crab, avocado, and tomato salsa with jalapeño, yuzu aioli and cilantro), wild white king salmon nigiri, wild Copper River Sockeye nigiri, and sake kama. What a feast! (Please forgive the image quality above. I only had my iPhone with me.)


Breakfast at Macrina Bakery

The next morning we had breakfast at the much raved about Macrina Bakery. And I must say, it not only lived up to the hype, but exceeded it. Macrina is well known for their freshly baked breads, muffins, pastries and luckily for us, their weekend brunch. We lucked into the last open table before a long line formed. I had a decadent fried egg topped with balsamic-pickled fiddleheads and a rich, creamy, melty cheese, roasted potatoes, some fresh greens and some of their fresh baked bread and jam. I managed to squeeze in three visits to Macrina during our trip and could have eaten every meal there.

Fueled up and ready to roll, we packed up, and headed for Fremont for a morning of strolling the market and a tour of Theo's chocolate factory before driving to Vancouver.

My husband, the chocolate fiend, was very keen on making the Theo chocolate factory tour, so we anchored our morning around it. We had just enough time to quickly explore the adjacent Fremont Sunday Market. With vendors selling everything from produce to collectibles to prepared foods to artisans offerings, we could have spent hours there.

Instead, we made our way back down the street to Theo for their tour.



Seattle's Theo Chocolate is the only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate producer in the United States. They...

• use only sustainable ingredients and source locally when possible
• make sure that their growers earn a living wage and that their families have access to educational resources
• control every step of their manufacturing process
• use green energy sources to run their factory
• use only sustainable packaging and printing methods


Theo's chocolate roaster

I like supporting a company that does business like this. But how does it taste?



I'd enjoyed several of Theo's bars and especially, their Big Daddy peanut butter candies — peanut butter praline and vanilla caramel over a graham cracker and covered in chocolate and peanuts. But I'd never had the opportunity to try sample so many of their chocolates. On the tour, you not only get a mini-chocolate education, and a tour of factory and candy-making room, but you also get a chance to try almost every product they make. Seriously, it was an overwhelming amount of chocolate. And then, of course, we bought some more goodies to bring home with us. From caramels to "sipping chocolate" to a huge assortment of chocolate bars, they've got you covered.


Roasted cacao beans at Theo

Theo is open and offers tours daily. (Be sure to make a reservation, it fills up quickly on the weekends.) I highly recommend the tour and at their store for the ultimate Seattle souvenir. If you can't make it to Seattle right away, in Austin, you can find some of their products at Whole Foods. Find out who has Theo in your local area here.


The Moore Hotel
1926 2nd Avenue, Seattle
206.448.4851

Umi Sake House
2230 1st Avenue, Seattle
206.374.8717

Macrina Cafe & Bakery
multiple locations

Fremont Sunday Market
Phinney Ave. N. and N. 34th St., Freemont

Theo Chocolate
3400 Phinney Ave. N., Freemont
make a tour reservation by calling 206.632.5100

NXNW

We're leaving the spring sunshine of Austin to head NXNW to Seattle and Vancouver. (I'll finish my TechMunch wrap up when I return. Stay tuned.) Here are a few of the places we want to explore. Got any tips? Leave a comment!

Vancouver:

• Granville Island Public Market

• Tojo's restaurant

• Vij's and Vij's Rangoli Indian restaurants

• The Noodle Box

• Japa Dog

• Refuel restaurant

• Kintaro Ramen

• Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia

• Stanley Park

• Capilano Suspension Bridge

• Ziptrek ziplines through the trees

• Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks


Seattle:

• Pike Place Market

• Freemont farmers market and public market

• Theo chocolate factory tour

• Macrina Bakery and Fresh Flours Bakery

• Uwajimaya Asian grocery

• Maximus/Minimus

• Delancey Pizza and Serious Pie pizza

• Boom Noodle

• Seattle Art Museum

• Skillet Street Food

• Molly Moon's Ice Cream

• Beecher's handmade cheese

• Salumi Cured Meats

• Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas' new library design

• The Center for Wooden Boats

• and I'll have a special food photography adventure to share with you when I return.