Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Doughnuts

My first Mother’s Day. Mama drove up Saturday afternoon and stayed Saturday night in the office on the daybed. Carol Bryant FaceTimed Sunday morning at nine AM from Memphis with Dustin’s dad in the background. Brayden (thirty-three weeks old) was in the high chair with sweet-potato purée on his face. Mama was at the kitchen counter pouring her second coffee. Dustin had bought roses Friday on his way home from the shop and they were on the kitchen table in a Mason jar.

Mama and I made buttermilk doughnuts together Sunday morning. The recipe is Carol’s — old-fashioned buttermilk doughnuts, cake-style (not yeast-raised), fried in a Dutch oven of vegetable oil, finished with a powdered-sugar glaze or rolled in cinnamon-sugar. Carol had typed up the recipe in February as part of the long-distance Bryant cookbook project. Mama had been wanting to make doughnuts with me for a year. The first Mother’s Day was the right occasion.

The technique on a cake doughnut is: chilled dough (so it cuts cleanly without springing back), oil at 365 degrees (not hotter, not cooler), doughnuts fried for ninety seconds per side, drained on a wire rack, glazed or sugared within five minutes of frying so the coating adheres while the surface is still slightly tacky. The doughnut holes go in last and fry for sixty seconds total because they are smaller.

Mama and I traded the spider strainer back and forth at the Dutch oven for an hour and a half Sunday morning. We made about thirty doughnuts and thirty doughnut holes. Brayden was in the high chair on the kitchen floor next to us watching. Dustin had two doughnuts with his coffee at nine-thirty. Mama had one. I had one. The remaining doughnuts went into a wax-paper-lined tin on the counter.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 45 min (plus 1 hr chilling) | Servings: 18 doughnuts

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vegetable oil, for frying (about 2 quarts)
1 cup powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Instructions

Make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms — do not overmix.
Chill. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently bring it together into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. Cold dough is much easier to roll and holds its shape in the oil.
Roll and cut. On a well-floured counter, roll the chilled dough to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 3-inch doughnut cutter (or a large round cutter plus a 1-inch cutter for the holes). Re-roll scraps once. Place cut doughnuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Heat the oil. Pour vegetable oil into a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven to a depth of about 3 inches. Heat over medium-high heat to 350°F. Use a thermometer — temperature control is everything for old-fashioned doughnuts.
Fry. Working in batches of 3–4, carefully lower doughnuts into the hot oil. Fry for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side, turning once, until deep golden brown and cooked through. Fry the doughnut holes for about 1 minute per side. Maintain oil temperature between batches.
Drain and finish. Transfer fried doughnuts to a wire rack set over a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Let drain for 2 minutes, then dust generously with powdered sugar while still warm. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Doughnuts