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Raised Doughnuts
2 cakes yeast 1/2 cup sugar 1 pint scalded and cooled milk flour 1/2 cup shortening 3 beaten eggs 2 teaspoons salt pitted prunes Dissolve yeast in milk, let stand 10 minutes. Add 2 cups flour, beat well, add melted shortening and beat again. Then add lightly beaten eggs and salt. Now mix in enough flour to enable you to roll dough. Let stand till double in bulk, roll on board till 1/2 inch thick, cut with cutter, place a prune in the middle of each. Moisten edges with water, place two molds together, let stand until light. Fry in hot deep fat.
A yeast-raised, prune-filled doughnut of the Berliner type, sealed between two rounds of dough rather than piped after frying. The original leaves the flour quantity and both rising times to the cook's judgment, so a few numbers help.
- Yeast"2 cakes yeast" means compressed fresh yeast, about 1.2 oz total. Two envelopes (4 1/2 teaspoons) of active dry yeast is the working equivalent.
- Milk temperatureScalding milk was done to deal with enzymes and bacteria in unpasteurized milk; with modern milk it is largely optional, but the recipe's real point is temperature. Cool it to about 100-110F before the yeast goes in; much hotter than that and the yeast is damaged or killed.
- FlourTotal flour is unstated. Expect roughly 5 to 6 cups of all-purpose for a pint of milk: 2 cups for the initial batter, the rest worked in until the dough is soft but rollable. Keep it on the slack side; a stiff dough fries heavy.
- Where the sugar goesAdd the 1/2 cup sugar with the salt and eggs, before the second addition of flour. A little may be dissolved with the yeast if you want a faster start.
- Sealing the roundsThis is the hinge. Moisten the edge of the bottom round, set the prune dead center, lay the second round over and press the rim firmly all round. Any gap opens in the fat and the filling boils out.
- The prunesUse dried pitted prunes, and if they are leathery steep them in hot water for 10 minutes and pat dry. Wet fruit makes steam inside the doughnut and forces the seam apart.
- Rising timesFirst rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a warm room. "Let stand until light" after shaping means 30 to 45 minutes, until a dented edge springs back slowly.
- Frying"Hot deep fat" is 365-375F, checked with a thermometer. Fry in small batches, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes a side; the dough is thick and cooler fat leaves a raw center.
- YieldAbout 18 to 20 filled doughnuts from this quantity, depending on cutter size. They are best within a few hours of frying.