The homemade doughnuts are fluffy on the inside and irresistibly crispy on the outside! With our simple recipe, doughnuts are easy to make. Whether at the Christmas market or at home in your own kitchen, doughnuts taste best fresh with powdered sugar and sweeten the (cold) days..
Schmalzgebäck is a traditional, deep-fried pastry that takes its name from the fact that it was originally prepared in hot lard. It is known in many forms and variations, from the classic Schmalzkuchen to Mutzenmandeln to doughnuts and quark balls. Typical of the Schmalzgebäck recipe is the crispy outer layer and the soft, juicy core. The pastry is often dusted with powdered sugar and enjoyed warm – a real treat that brings feelings of happiness not only in winter. The recipe for Schmalzgebäck can be prepared in the deep fryer or fried in a pot. Instead of lard, we prefer to use vegetable oil.
Make your own doughnuts from just a few ingredients
For our dough cake we first prepare a classic yeast dough from flour, yeast, milk, sugar, butter, eggs and a pinch of salt. This is particularly airy and soft because the yeast makes the dough rise nicely. By adding milk, butter and eggs, the dough becomes smooth and has a delicate consistency. After a resting period in a warm place, the dough doubles in volume and is ready to be turned into delicious, golden brown pastries. The dough contains very little sugar, but in our recipe the pastries are rolled in powdered sugar after frying.
In addition to the ingredients for the yeast dough, you will also need Frying fat for frying the dough so that the pastry gets its typical golden brown crust. When buying, make sure that it is refined oil/oil that can be heated to high temperatures. You can find more information about the right frying oil here.
Doughnuts in 3 steps: It’s that easy
Enjoying doughnuts at home tastes at least as good as at the Christmas market!
- Prepare yeast dough: The yeast dough is best made with the help of a food processor. Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand. The dough must rest for an hour at room temperature (approx. 22 degrees) before it can be processed further. Please note that the resting time is longer at colder temperatures and shorter at warmer temperatures. A good indication that the dough is ready is when it has roughly doubled in volume.
- Cut shape: Roll out the finished yeast dough on a floured surface and cut it into diamond shapes using a pizza cutter or a knife. We made small diamond shapes of around 4cm, but you can cut them larger if you like! We recommend that you first remove the dough from the work surface after rolling it out.
- Frying: Slowly heat the frying oil to 170 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can put the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil. The temperature is right when light bubbles appear. Now fry the doughnuts on both sides for about 30 seconds until golden brown. Let them drain briefly and then roll them generously in powdered sugar.
Doughnuts taste best fresh with powdered sugar and sweeten the (cold) days, whether at the Christmas market or at home in your own kitchen. We’ll show you how you can easily make the doughnuts yourself in the deep fryer or in a pot.
Suitable recipe recommendations
10G
Information for 70 small diamonds
- Heat the milk to about 37 degrees (hand-warm), but do not let the milk get hot! Crumble the yeast into the milk with your hands and stir.
125 g milk, ½ cube fresh yeast
- Put the flour, sugar, an egg and salt in a mixing bowl, add the yeast-milk mixture and knead with the dough hook of a food processor or by hand for about 5 minutes until you have a smooth dough.
250 g wheat flour, 40 g sugar, 1 pinch of salt, 1 egg
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until it has roughly doubled in volume.
- Heat the fat in a deep fryer or in a pot to 170°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can put the handle of a wooden spoon into the fat. The temperature is right when light bubbles rise.
1 litre frying oil
- After the yeast dough has risen, roll it out on a floured work surface to a thickness of approx. 0.5 cm, remove it from the work surface and use a pizza cutter or knife to cut it into diamond shapes approx. 4-6 cm in size.
- Carefully place the dough pieces into the oil using a ladle or slotted spoon and fry for about 30 seconds on each side until golden brown. Only add enough dough pieces so that they do not touch each other.
- Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
- Coat the pastries in powdered sugar on both sides and serve fresh.
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