Alton Brown's Easy Hack For Flaky, Layered Donuts
Celebrity chef Alton Brown has no shortage of cooking tips and tricks to improve even the simplest of dishes. Brown's top cooking recommendations range from improved meatball-making techniques to egg flavorings. And as for that quarantine banana bread trend? Brown incorporates toasted oats into his banana bread, resulting in an upgraded classic.
Donuts, however, are one treat that's already as perfect as can be. Smithsonian Magazine outlines the treat's history, noting that donuts didn't come into popularity until about the first World War. Later, circa 1920, donut machines came into being, resulting in the eventual implementation — and later innovation — of the fried, sweet treat.
Whether you're making a glazed donut from scratch or picking up a baker's dozen from your go-to shop — Krispy Kreme or Dunkin', anyone? — donuts will make your morning a little sweeter. But what if you want them a little flakier? Brown has a simple trick that puts a twist on traditional donuts.
Swap your donut recipe for another, flakier dough
So long, cronuts. Donuts have long been a medium for creative and innovative hybrids, with bakery Dominique Ansel jumpstarting the cronut trend. Brown's suggestion, however, is adding another twist to the mix.
In a Facebook tutorial, Brown outlines the steps for making bonuts, which he describes as a "donut made out of biscuits." To make a bonut yourself, start with a biscuit recipe rather than a donut one. Brown follows the same biscuit dough-making steps as he would for making actual biscuits. Yet rather than bake his bonuts in the oven, he opts for the donut-making approach, also known as deep frying.
Brown fries the biscuit dough in peanut oil at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, cooking the donuts for one to two minutes on each side. After draining the dough, he lets his biscuit-donuts cool, before coating them in a vanilla glaze made of vanilla, whole milk, and powdered sugar. These bonuts work so well because donut dough is usually batter-like, says Brown. Biscuit dough, however, is layered, resulting in a donut with increased flakiness.
With Brown's recipe, you'll get the sweet and fried taste of a donut with the flaky consistency of a biscuit.