Growing up in Quebec, many families had their traditional recipes for homemade doughnuts that they would make primarily around the holidays. Some families, especially the large ones, made doughnuts year around as they freeze well placed into freezer bags and can be thawed for impromptu visitors (or just because).
My mom made this giant batch of doughnuts today and I just had to share the yield she gets from that one recipe. These Quebec-style doughnuts, also called croquignoles, are cake like inside and perfectly crunchy from a quick dip in the fryer. The traditional method is to serve these plain or coated in granulated sugar, but the sky’s the limit with the various toppings to add – they’re a delicious blank canvas.
Check out my mom’s doughnut cutter. The benefit of using this type of cutter is that you also get doughnut holes that you can fry to deliciousness. A 4” in diameter glass would also work, but I’d recommend using a smaller cutter to cut a hole in each doughnut.
Ingredients:
- 5 large eggs
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 4 cups whole milk combined with 1 tsp. baking soda
- ¼ Tbsp. salt
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 10 cups of all-purpose flour combined with 8 tsp. baking powder (plus extra flour for rolling the dough)
- ½ cup melted butter
- Crisco or oil for frying
Directions the day prior to making the doughnuts:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Add the milk mixture, the salt and the vanilla and beat until combined, 30 seconds.
- Add the flour mixture, 2 cups at a time, until fully incorporated – don’t overmix.
- Add the butter and blend into the dough until fully incorporated.
- Cover the dough with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Directions for frying day:
- After the dough’s rested overnight, heavily dust a work surface with all-purpose flour. The dough will be quite sticky, so don’t be shy with the flour dusting.
- Divide the dough into 2 batches and place one portion onto the floured work surface. Knead the dough until it’s mostly no longer sticky – don’t over-knead as that’ll create tough doughnuts.
- Roll the kneaded dough using a rolling pin to about ½ inch in thickness for bigger doughnuts or ¼ inch in thickness for smaller doughnuts.
- Using a doughnut cutter (or a glass 4” in diameter), cut doughnuts out of the dough and place them on a wire rack until ready to fry. Repeat with the second portion of dough.
- Fill a large deep skillet or pan 1/3 of the way full of either Crisco or vegetable oil. Bring the oil to 375 degrees over medium-high heat.
- Fry the doughnuts in batches so there’s no crowding in the pan. Bring the oil back up to temperature between each batch. Place the fried doughnuts on layers of paper towels to drain, then move to a wire rack to cool.
Yields about 10 dozen doughnuts.
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