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Clean recipe · wellmadebykiley.com

Brown Butter Maple Twist Donuts

These Brown Butter Maple Twist Donuts are the kind of recipe that makes your whole kitchen smell incredible. A pillowy-soft milk bread dough made with tangzhong gives every single donut that melt-in-your-mouth texture you just cannot stop thinking about — twisted into that beautiful shape and fried until perfectly golden with just the right amount of chew on the outside. Then comes the brown butter maple glaze — rich toasty and perfectly sweet with that deep maple flavor that melts right over every twist!

Original recipe: wellmadebykiley.com

Yield:
12 servings
Prep:
45 min
Cook:
30 min
Total:
3 hr 15 min
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Brown Butter Maple Twist Donuts

Ingredients

  1. 3 tbsp (24g) bread flour (substitution: all-purpose flour)
  2. 1/2 cup (120ml) milk of choice, I HIGHLY recommend whole milk
  3. 1/4 cup (60ml) milk of choice, warmed to ~110F (I place in the microwave for ~45 seconds; it should feel like a warm bath, but not too hot)
  4. 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar, divided
  5. 2 1/2 tsp (11g) active dry yeast (substitution: instant yeast)
  6. Tangzhong (prepared above)
  7. 1/2 cup (120g) Greek yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
  8. 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, very softened (almost melted)
  9. 2 eggs, at room temperature
  10. 1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract
  11. 4 cups minus the 3 tbsp that were used for the tanzhong (456g) bread flour (substitution: all-purpose flour)
  12. 1 tsp (6g) salt
  13. Avocado oil (or oil of choice), for frying
  14. 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar
  15. 12 tbsp (170g) salted butter, browned
  16. 2/3 cup (160g) maple syrup
  17. 4 tbsp (60ml) milk of choice, at room temperature
  18. 1 1/2 tsp (6g) vanilla bean paste or extract
  19. Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Start by preparing the tangzhong so it has time to cool. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the flour and milk, until smooth. Continue to cook the mixture over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the tangzhong thickens and the whisk leaves a line as you whisk. It should look almost gluey! If you have a thermometer here, I recommend using it, the tangzhong should reach 150F.
  2. Remove from the heat, transfer the tangzhong to a small bowl, and set aside to cool to room temperature (you can cover it and place it into the refrigerator to speed up the process). See notes section below for a video reference on making tangzhong.
  3. Activate the yeast first. Pour the warm milk into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Add 1 tbsp (12g) of the granulated sugar and sprinkle the yeast overtop. Stir and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes, until frothy and activated. If using instant yeast, no need to wait for it to bloom; go straight into mixing the dough together!
  4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
  5. Once activated, pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if mixing/kneading the dough by hand). Add the rest of the sugar (1/4 cup minus the 1 tbsp that was used to activate the yeast), all of the tangzhong that was previously prepared, Greek yogurt or sour cream, very softened butter, eggs, vanilla, and the flour mixture.
  6. With the dough hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon if mixing by hand), mix on low speed for 1 minute, until barely combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes so the flour can soak up the liquids.
  7. Then, mix on medium speed for 7-10 minutes, until the dough is elastic, smooth, and is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems a little too sticky, you can add 1 tbsp more flour at a time, until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t add too much, you want the dough to be slightly sticky! I ended up adding ~2 tbsp more flour. If you are mixing and kneading by hand, pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 7-10 minutes by hand.
  8. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1-1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.
  9. Once the dough is almost finished rising, cut out 12 long rectangles of parchment paper (at least 6” in length) and spread them across 2 baking sheets. These will be used for the donuts to sit on once shaped and make it easier to transfer the donuts to the oil once ready to fry.
  10. Once the dough is doubled, punch it down and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to an 8”x12” rectangle, about 1/2” in thickness. Then using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into 12, 1” wide strips.
  11. With one strip at a time (cover the others with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap to prevent dying out), carefully stretch it out to about 16 inches. Use your hands to roll the two ends of the dough in opposite directions, one side away from you and the other sides towards you, to creature tension. Life the ends of the dough and bring them together to meet in the middle. Then twist them around each other 3-4 times, and pinch the end to seal well (see the video above to refer if needed).
  12. Place each donut on its own piece of parchment paper on the baking sheets. Loosely cover with a kitchen towel and allow to proof for 30-45 minutes, until puffy.
  13. Prepare the glaze. In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, brown butter, maple syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt until well combined and smooth. Set aside.
  14. When the donuts are almost done proofing, fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with oil, filling ~2” in the pan. Heat on medium-high until it reaches 350F-365F.
  15. Line a wire cooling rack with a thick layer of paper towels.
  16. Once the oil is hot enough, carefully transfer the parchment paper rectangles with the donuts on them slowly into the hot oil, 2-3 at a time depending on the size of your pot. After 10-15 seconds, pull the parchment paper away from the donuts (it should almost immediately release). Fry the donuts for 1-2 minutes on each side (2-4 minutes total), until golden brown.
  17. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the donuts from the oil and to the rack with paper towels. Repeat with the remaining donuts.
  18. While the other donuts are frying, dip the warm donuts into the glaze, making sure to coat both sides. Then place onto a cooling rack that’s positioned on top of a baking sheet to let the glaze set.
  19. Serve warm with a cup of coffee.