Even though we are confined, there is no excuse for our house not to smell like traditional donuts this Easter. There are many techniques, as many as there are cookies, and in each area of ??Spain they are made differently. The excess of spring eggs was always a great ally to give life to an elaboration that in Madrid is associated with San Isidro, with the famous silly and ready donuts, among others, and in Galicia “we find them of all kinds, yolk, fried or baked, glazed or not, with or without anise, from 4 to 10 centimeters…” explains gastronomic journalist Jorge Guitián.
We look at their land, specifically in Santiago de Compostela and we spoke with Guillermo Moscoso, fifth generation of bakers, and for 16 years at the head of the prestigious Pan da Moa bakery, so that he can tell us his secrets. We don’t forget other styles either, but the Homer Simpson donut doesn’t work: “Although some call it that, it’s more of an American bagel,” Guillermo tells us, who considers this cookie sweet a delight because “it’s delicious, easy to eat, very tasty, easy to transport and appetizing at any time. Let’s go get them. But do we know how to make them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside? Should we put yeast in them? Does it go in the oven or in the pan? Do we dare to give them a sweet topping? These are the 10 mistakes (and some tricks) that you should know before cooking them.
1. Forgetting some of the basic ingredients
A donut is not a donut, it is a softer fried brioche fermented dough, “it is more like a cookie, but more tender because it is somewhat thicker and crunchier on the outside, “when you bite into it it is softer than a cookie.” says Guillermo Moscoso of the Pan da Moa bakery in Santiago de Compostela.
There are many variations but in general it is a dough made with four basic ingredients: sugar, egg, flour and oil. It is important that they are all of good quality and in good condition so that the result is perfect. In Pan da Moa they use a kilo of medium strength flour, 180 g of sugar, 450 g of oil, 9 units of eggs and 45 g of anise grains. The oil must be mild olive oil (sunflower can also be used), “extra virgin olive oil is not convenient because it has too much intensity of flavor that would overpower the donut,” explains Moscoso, who adds anise seeds to give it taste, although there are those who also prefer to add lemon zest. In the historic Madrid bakery La Santiaguesa they make the base dough for the multiple variations of donuts offered for San Isidro with 800 g of light flour, 200 g of strong flour, 1 liter of oil, 1 liter of eggs and 150 grams of sugar .
2. Is yeast or baking soda necessary?
You will have noticed that the recipe does not include yeast or a bit of baking soda to make the dough rise and become spongy. “We don’t use it because we are making a fried dough that will inflate with the heat of the oil itself, as happens with churros,” says Guillermo, who makes the donuts with a traditional A Coruña base, although he customizes them a little according to the style. from his lifelong baking family.
“If you increase the volume with yeast, the donut will dry out sooner, for me it is better to beat the eggs vigorously with the oil so that they fluff up more,” he argues. That doesn’t mean it can’t be worn. There are many recipe books that incorporate it. For example, in the classic 1080 Cooking Recipes, Simone Ortega adds a teaspoon of yeast or baking soda to make 35 donuts.
3. Get overwhelmed mixing the ingredients
The best way to make it perfect is to mix the ingredients in steps in a bowl. First we beat the eggs, oil and anise seeds well with a whisk by hand vigorously until emulsified. It can also be done with a blender. Then we will add the flour and sugar, “I put it all at once but if you are beginners you can do it little by little to better control the dough, you let the gluten work progressively and it is easier,” explains Guillermo, who in his The workshop works by preserving the old techniques, while still incorporating the latest technology.
If you fear that the flour will stick, you can coat your hands with a little oil. There are also those who (like in La Santiaguesa) set up a volcano with the flour on the counter and place all the ingredients in the center. However you do it, the point is that it remains a fine and compact paste.
4. Do not let the dough rest
To make a homemade artisan donut we have to work the dough for 5 to 10 minutes with our hands until it is very homogeneous, with all its ingredients well combined. You can add more flour if it is sticky. When it is ready, “we spread our hand with oil, pass it over the dough, and place a film on top so that an uncomfortable crust does not appear during the 10-15 minutes it must rest,” says Moscoso. It is very important that you rest. “If you don’t do it, it will acquire too much strength and may break when you model it, and the donuts will be smaller and tighter when we fry them,” says Guillermo.
5. Getting complicated when making the balls
Once the dough has rested, we take pinches of about 15 grams each, make balls and stretch them as if it were a bar, with a diameter not too large, like a little finger. “You just have to join the two ends and we have a donut in a very easy way to make,” advises the Galician baker.
Another way, a little more complicated but faster, is to make the ball, flatten it a little and use your thumb to form the central hole. It is also possible to shape them with a pastry bag, as they do in La Santiaguesa, “an effective technique that spreads more than the manual one,” they told the Telemadrid cameras a couple of months ago.
6. Fry over very high heat and stir them
When they are ready, heat a frying pan with three fingers of oil. Add the donuts when the oil is hot without smoking. Guillermo gives us a trick to know when it’s time: “You throw a little dough and you’ll see how it sinks, as soon as it rises, the oil is ready.”
The oil cannot be at a very high temperature because otherwise the donuts will not be good inside. “We will only raise the heat a little when they have already inflated so that they are golden on the outside,” says Simone Ortega in 1080 cooking recipes. You have to fill the pan with donuts to take full advantage of the oil.
We should not turn the donuts all the time thinking that they will not be well done. “You only have to do it once,” says Guillermo Moscoso. About 3 minutes of frying on each side is enough for them to be golden brown and well done on the inside. It is important after frying to put them on kitchen blotting paper so that it absorbs all the excess oil from frying.
7. Should we put them in the oven?
As we said at the beginning, there are many donuts, and many variations in the preparation and ingredients. Following a traditional A Coruña base, Guillermo does not put them in the oven but there are recipes that do contemplate this cooking of the dough. Traditional Madrid donuts are made this way. On the occasion of the San Isidro festivities (a time when 6 million are consumed in Madrid) in La Santiaguesa on Calle Mayor they explained to Telemadrid that the oven must be at 180-190 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. . At the La Riojana bakery, they also do it this way, and they remember that the most typical donut of that festival, the Lista, when it comes out of the oven is bathed in light lemon-flavored syrup so that it is well soaked.
In Catalonia, in El gran llibre de la cuina de les avies, where the historian Jaume Fàbrega collects traditional Catalan recipes from grandmothers, the dough balls are placed in a tin greased with butter and baked in a regular oven until golden, making sure they don’t burn.
8. Thinking that they all have the same finish
“The simplest donut has nothing more than a little icing sugar on top, if you want, and that’s it,” explains Guillermo. We could say that it is comparable to the traditional silly donut (anise flavored, painted with egg, but without topping) associated with San Isidro as much as the list. “The names come from the battles between the water bearers, the stupid ones were the ones who paid for their position and the smart ones were the ones who didn’t,” says Ana Guerrero of Horno San Onofre and La Santiaguesa in Madrid.
The list, which is the most demanded, is much sweeter since it is covered with a royal icing and another lemon icing placed on top. The glaze is made by mixing icing sugar with beaten egg white and lemon juice. Also typical are those from Santa Clara, with dry meringue, and the French ones, with a topping based on chopped almonds, which are said to have been devised in the 18th century by the cook of Bárbara de Braganza (wife of Fernando VI) to sophisticate the traditional donut.
9. Don’t be patient if you want to cover them with a light sugar fondant
These days when we have more free time we can go a little further and present the donuts covered in a fondant sugar bath, which is how they are made at Pan da Moa. “It’s very crunchy and very tasty, but it’s hard work.” You need patience and concentration. “It involves making a syrup by boiling a liter of water with two kilos of sugar. You have to beat it well and when it reaches 117 degrees it turns off and when it cools it creates a dense, almost caramelized white fondant, where we will dip the donuts,” he explains. William.
The result is a hard sugar batter, although they are very juicy inside. Do they look like the ones Homer Simpson eats? “You’d like that,” the baker laughs. In Galicia there are also multiple other recipes for donuts, “in Pontedeume, for example, those with yolk are typical, in Santiago there are flaky ones, with yolk and glazed, in Silleda they are made from pastries and smaller ones…”, says journalist Jorge Guitian.
10. Freeze them
Like everything, donuts are best made and eaten as soon as possible. If they have turned out well, it won’t be difficult for them to disappear. Every time they prepare them in Guillermo’s workshop, they eat a few. “It’s hard to avoid it,” laughs the baker. If we have leftovers, the donuts can be kept in good condition for a couple of weeks. “It is better to store them in a small tin box or in a glass jar and always in a cool, dry place,” says the baker. And yes, never put them in the freezer.
