Grandma’s Old Fashioned Raised Donut Recipe
It’s a family tradition to make Grandma’s Old Fashioned Donuts. As a kid, my job was shaking the homemade donuts in a bag filled with sugar to coat them before they cooled completely. I usually had sugar everywhere, and I ate a lot of donuts. I have since taken over the job of making them at least once a year to keep the tradition alive. Under my mom’s guidance (who I think was a better donut maker than Grandma), I have perfected this family recipe. Learn how to make this old-fashioned raised donut recipe here!
Let’s start by settling a big question: is it a Doughnut or a Donut? It looks like the proper spelling is Doughnut, but since it is so commonly used (mainly in the US), Donut is also an accepted spelling. So, whether you want an old-fashioned doughnut or an old-fashioned donut, a fried dough ball is a fried dough ball! To be fair, we are going to use both here!
If you want another of Grandma’s old-fashioned recipes, check out a true classic: Skillet Cake (aka Rubber Pad).
What You Need For The Old fashioned Donut Recipe
- Yeast: There are two main types of doughnuts: raised and cake. The difference is that raised doughnuts have yeast and tend to be more light and airy. Here, we are making a raised doughnut, so you will need two packets of yeast.
- Whole Milk: You will scald your milk and melt the shortening as the primary liquid for your doughnuts.
- Shortening: The fat in the recipe is a vegetable shortening.
- Eggs: Two eggs at room temperature.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Water
- Vegetable Oil: I like to fill a deep pot with about 3 inches of oil for frying doughnuts. The deep pot over a shallow pan helps control the mess. You can also use canola oil.
Step-By-Step How To Guide To Making Old Fashioned Doughnuts
Step 1: Scald the whole milk in a small saucepan. Add the vegetable shortening and allow it to melt. Scalding milk when working with yeast is a common technique. The whey in milk can prevent yeast from actively rising, but scalding it weakens the whey and will make for a more successful end result. Once you have scalded the milk, allow it to cool a bit before adding the dough mixture.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, place 1 cup of warm water (around 110° F), sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar, and add the yeast packages. Allow to stand for about 5 minutes. It should start to bubble and foam, which means the yeast is alive and doing its job.
Step 3: Combine the two eggs, the milk mixture, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the activated yeast, water, and 6 cups of all-purpose flour to the wet ingredients. I like doing this in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook set to a low speed. Combine well, and knead for a few minutes.
Step 4: Remove the dough and place it in a greased bowl (make it a large mixing bowl because this will raise a lot), covering it tightly with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a proofing drawer or a warm location in the kitchen and allow it to rise for about 2 hours (it could take slightly less time).
Step 5: Once the dough has at least doubled in size, pinch off a large piece and roll it out on a floured work surface. Don’t roll too thin; a thicker dough will make a better shape in the fryer. Cut out the doughnuts using either a doughnut cutter, biscuit cutter, or a glass and a small circular shot glass. Place them on a baking sheet with a flour sack towel on it. Leave some space; you don’t want them rising into each other. Return to the proofing area and allow it to rise another hour.
Step 6: Heat the oil in a pot, dutch oven, or deep fryer. To properly cook the doughnuts, you need hot oil, around 350 to 380 degrees F. If it’s not hot enough, the doughnuts will absorb too much oil and be greasy; if it is too hot, they will brown too quickly and be doughy or raw in the center. Add the doughnuts in batches. Cook on the first side until golden brown and flip; it usually takes 2-3 minutes on each side. Using a slotted spoon, move the doughnuts to a pan lined with paper towels to drain any excess oil.
Step 7: After the doughnuts have cooled to the touch, coat them in very fine sugar or powdered sugar. You could also make a simple glaze. Or get creative and use a cinnamon-sugar combo or other coating.
Tips For Success
- Tip: Allow the scalded milk to cool. If it’s too hot, it can prevent the dough from rising properly.
- Tip: If you don’t have a deep-fry thermometer or a candy thermometer, test the oil with one doughnut hole to see if it is hot enough.
- Tip: These doughnuts are best consumed the day they are made. You can store them in an airtight container, but I recommend popping them in the microwave for 15 seconds after the first day.
- Tip: This recipe makes a lot of doughnuts—about four dozen, depending on the size—so you might not be able to eat them all immediately. Leftover donuts freeze really well. Just pop a frozen doughnut into the microwave for 30 seconds or so, and they are almost as good as fresh.
- Tip: The donut holes can be tricky to turn, but pushing them down on one edge usually flips them over.
- Tip: You can usually roll out the scraps from your first cut a second time to cut more doughnuts.
Making these doughnuts takes me back to walking into Grandma’s kitchen and seeing a massive pile of fresh, hot doughnuts. Give this old-fashioned donut recipe a try.
Grandma’s Old Fashioned Donut Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Vegetable shortening
- 2 packages Yeast
- 6 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 Eggs
- Pinch salt
- 8-10 cups Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- Scald the whole milk in a small saucepan. Add the vegetable shortening and allow it to melt. Once you have scalded the milk, allow it to cool a bit before adding to the dough mixture.
- Place 1 cup of warm water (around 110° F) in a separate bowl, sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar, and add the yeast packages. Allow to stand for about 5 minutes. It should start to bubble and foam, which means the yeast is alive and doing its job.
- Combine the two eggs, the milk mixture, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the activated yeast, water, and 6 cups of all-purpose flour to the wet ingredients. I like doing this in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook set to a low speed. Combine well, and knead for a few minutes.
- Remove the dough and place it in a greased bowl (make it a large mixing bowl because this will raise a lot), covering it tightly with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a proofing drawer or a warm location in the kitchen and allow it to rise for about 2 hours (it could take slightly less time).
- Once the dough has at least doubled in size, pinch off a large piece and roll it out on a floured work surface. Don't roll too thin. Cut out the doughnuts. Place them on a baking sheet with a flour sack towel on it. Leave some space; you don't want them rising into each other. Return to the proofing area and allow it to rise another hour.
- Heat the oil in a pot or deep fryer. To properly cook the doughnuts, you need hot oil, around 350 to 380 degrees F. Add the doughnuts in batches. Cook on the first side until golden brown and flip; it usually takes 2-3 minutes on each side. Using a slotted spoon, move the doughnuts to a pan lined with paper towels to drain any excess oil.
- After the doughnuts have cooled to the touch, coat them in very fine sugar or powdered sugar.
