A column I wrote a while back. Happy doughnuts...

Pastorio
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Delightful Donut Doings
Patty cake, patty cake baker man. Bake me a doughnut as fast as you
can. Wait a minute. Bake me a doughnut? Aren't doughnuts fried? Yes,
mostly. Except the ones we'll look at today.
You've had risen doughnuts and you've had cake doughnuts. Here's a
very different approach. These are baked. It's not that they're any
lower in calories, just that they have a very different texture and, if
you follow this recipe, a wonderfully buttery flavor. Yep. "Buttery"
and "doughnut" have finally ended up in the same sentence. And about
time it is.
And when you have the basic version down, let's look at some variations
that'll have you hankerin' for some. Ive always wanted to use the word
"hankerin'" in one of these sermons. Another goal reached.
Baked, not fried, Doughnuts
Makes about a dozen and a half
1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (about 110)
1 1/2 cup milk, scalded and cooled to about 110
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening (or butter), melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
melted butter for brushing on (maybe 1/2 cup)
Combine yeast, water, milk, sugar and salt and let sit for about 5
minutes. Beat in nutmeg, cinnamon, eggs and shortening. Beat in flour
until mixed. Put into a lightly greased bowl and let rise until doubled
in bulk. Punch down and turn out onto a floured surface.
Or, you can do it the new way. If you have a bread machine, put all
the dough ingredients in the machine in the dough cycle. When the cycle
is over and the dough has risen, turn out onto a floured surface and
punch down.
Dough should be soft. With a floured rolling pin, gently roll dough
about 1/2 inch thick and cut with a floured 2 1/2 or 3 inch doughnut
cutter. Either bake the holes, too or push them back together, roll and
cut until the dough is all used up. Lift doughnuts with a floured
spatula and put about 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Brush doughnuts gently with melted butter. Let rise, covered and away
from breezes until doubled, maybe 20 minutes.
Heat oven to 425. Bake 8 or 10 minutes or until nicely golden.
Quickly, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with confectioners
sugar. Or, alternately, either sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or spread
with glaze; recipes follow.
Cinnamon sugar mixtu 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, pinch
allspice.
Creamy glaze: Combine 1/3 cup melted butter, 2 cups confectioner's
sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in 4 to 6 tablespoons water or apple
juice, one tablespoon at a time, until the warm glaze is just barely
pourable.
Variations include adding things to the dough. You can add up to a cup
of dry chopped ingredients to the dough. Chopped nuts. Finely chopped
dried fruit like peaches, pears, apples or a combination. Raisins. Dates.
Fresh blueberries. Rinse and dry them very well. Gently toss them
with flour and add to the dough. Crushed pineapple. Drain and pat dry.
Or use a technique variation like this: roll the dough out to about
1/4 inch and use a 3 inch cutter. Put a ring of dough on the cookie
sheet, top with some berries or something else that strikes your fancy
and put another ring of dough on top, pinching to seal the edges.
Proceed as in the original recipe. Or use a biscuit cutter and dont
have a hole in the center. Or use a square cutter. Or some other shape
but be careful of too-complicated shapes that might burn out at the ends.
In the glaze, substitute some other flavored extracts for the vanilla.
Lemon. Orange. Coconut. Whatever you like. Peanut butter.
Or glaze with chocolate icing. Yes, I know. Me too.
"Bake me a cake as fast as you can." Oh, sure, thats how it used to be.