A jam filled jelly doughnut is a favourite treat in our house and they are really fun to make! If you fancy a fun, sugar coated project this week, you must try these!
A packet of doughnuts doesn’t last long in our house! Not that long ago, there was a deafening silence from the kitchen as I was putting newly washed clothes away in another room. When you are a mum to two mischevious young boys, silence can only mean one thing…. Trouble!!
So, I began calling their names, silence still reigned. I tried one more time before abandoning the washing to go and see what they were up to.
I marched back to the kitchen but clearly wasn’t quick enough. The boys had managed to polish off an entire bag of fresh doughnuts I had bought that morning. As they both looked up at me innocently with sugar coated faces, I couldn’t be angry…. I just need to remember to hide one away for me!
Who doesn’t love a sugary project in the kitchen? Making jelly doughnuts filled with strawberry jam are so much fun! I love to watch the them turn a crispy golden brown as they float around in the oil. It reminds me of the days we used to visit the seafront pier as a child. You could buy fresh doughnuts and watch as they were made, using a special machine that would pour the batter into the oil. The little doughnuts would then trundle along a little oil path before being flung out into a bowl of sugar. Watching this was just as good as eating them in the end!
The Doughnut Dough
If you’re starting to get use to the process of baking bread, these deep fried doughnuts are a good place to begin creating more than a loaf of bread from the dough. Similar to bread making, you use dried yeast to give the dough a rise and create fluffy filled doughnuts as a result.
Since you have to wait for the dough to rise, these aren’t the quickest kitchen project out there, but they’re definitely worth the wait! I like to make these alongside bread and then bake something else whilst I wait for the dough to be ready. You could try this honey oat bread or these breadsticks for instance.
You will notice that this doughnut recipe calls for milk instead of water for the dough alongside butter and an egg. This gives you a really rich smooth dough that is more dense than your typical bread dough, but this is what you want from a doughnut dough.
Filling the Doughnuts
There are plenty of doughnut fillings you can try. Jam is just one of them, but in my opinion, it’s the most traditional filled doughnut. Plus, the jam kinda makes them a little breakfast-y, which means I have the perfect excuse to start dunking these doughnuts in my morning coffee. Coffee and doughnuts are a real winning combination.
The key to filling your doughnuts lies in the use of a piping bag. Allow your freshly fried doughnuts to cool slightly and then you want to make a hole deep enough to reach just past the centre and then squeeze your doughnut filling right in there. That way you get a good bite of jam with each mouthful of doughnut. No one wants a sparsely filled jelly doughnut on their plate. You want the doughnut centre to ooze out when you bite it.
I would recommend using a smooth jam or jelly without large chunks of fruit for the doughnut filling. It is easier to pipe into the middle this way.
Recipe Tips and Alternatives
If you visit a bakery, you may notice that sometimes doughnuts are covered in confectioners icing sugar instead of the caster variety and that’s fine. It makes a good alternative doughnut coating should you prefer it. You can also use granulated sugar to coat them too, if you’d prefer.
Oil should be maintained at a temperature of 170C when frying your doughnuts. Use an oil safe thermometer for the best results. You don’t want to burn the doughnuts on the outside before they are cooked all the way through. If you fry them too quickly you will end up with an uncooked centre.
I always say this, but it’s so important to give your dough enough rise time. There is never a set amount as rising dough can be affected by many factors, this includes the time of year and the humidity. It’s best to keep a close eye on the dough and go by how it looks, as opposed to the time. You can check the first rise of the dough by making an indentation with your finger. If it’s ready the indentation will stay, if it bounces back immediately, the dough needs a little longer.
Since jam doughnuts aren’t particularly long lasting you may wonder what to do with stale doughnuts. Well, I have the perfect recipe for you with this doughnut pudding. Stale doughnuts rather than fresh ones actually make the best ingredient for this delicious dessert.
Recipe FAQ
Of course you can, strawberry jam is just one of the fillings you can try. Raspberry jam doughnuts are just as great too! Just be sure that there are no large chunks of fruit in your filling as it will make it harder to pipe into the middle.
You want to maintain a temperature of 170C for your oil, this will help the doughnuts cook through to the middle before they brown too much on the outside.
Sadly, doughnuts don’t last long so store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days, after this time they may begin to go stale.
I have to try really hard to resist sampling them still warm!
Jam Filled Doughnuts
Ingredients
- 450 g Strong White Bread Flour
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 55 g Butter
- 180 ml Lukewarm Milk
- 25 g Caster Sugar plus extra for dusting
- 7 g Dried Active Yeast
- 1 Egg
- 180 g Seedless Jam
- Oil for Frying
Instructions
- Pour the milk into a bowl and add the sugar, stir until dissolved.
- Add the yeast to the milk and leave to sit until foamy for about 20 minutes.
- Place the flour and salt in a bowl and rub the butter in, until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the milk and the egg to the flour and mix until it forms a dough.
- Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes until it forms a skin and becomes more elastic.
- Place the dough in a bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for an hour until its doubled in size.
- Knead the dough again to remove the air and divide the dough into 20 pieces, roll each one into a ball.
- Place the balls of dough on a lined, greased baking tray and leave for another hour until the balls have doubled in size.
- Place some extra sugar in a bowl and leave to one side.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan to 170C and fry each ball for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden.
- Drain the doughnuts and dust in the bowl of sugar until coated.
- Allow the doughnuts to cool slightly and then using a sharp knife, make a hole in the side of each doughnut.
- Place the jam into a piping bag and pipe some into the middle of each doughnut through the hole.
Nutrition Estimate
Want another doughnut recipe?
Try making these Rainbow Doughnuts for a colourful baking project.
queste ciambelle sono sicuramente buonissime e anche belle da vedere così dorate spolverate di zucchero
Homemade doughnuts are the best, these look delicious! ?