Sweet Bread Donuts or Tsounuts 2nd Recipe
 
 
Author/ Συγγραφέας:
Recipe type/ Τύπος Πιάτου: Sweet
Cuisine/ Κουζίνα: Fusion
Ingredients/ Συστατικά
For the Starter
  • 80 gr. /3 oz. fresh yeast+1tbsp dry yeast
  • 100 gr. /3.5 oz. all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup lukewarm water
  • 1 tsp anise
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 tsp ground mahlep
For the Tsoureki
  • 1 kilo/2.2 lb. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 250 gr. /9 oz. butter
  • 350 gr. /12 oz. sugar
  • ¾ cup milk
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 tsp ground mahlep
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 tsp ground mastic
  • Corn oil for frying them
For the Glaze
  • White chocolate
  • Praline
  • Caster sugar and milk for the glaze
Instructions/ Εκτέλεση
For the Starter
  1. Crumble the fresh yeast and add it in the lukewarm water.
  2. Add the dry yeast, the flour and the spices and anise.
  3. Whisk and let it stay covered in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
  4. Again you will see after the 45 minutes that it will be double in volume and have bubbles on the surface.
For the Tsoureki
  1. Melt the butter and put it aside.
  2. In a pot pour the milk and the heavy cream and scald them on the stove.
  3. Add the sugar and whisk until it barely melts.
  4. Remove from stove and put aside.
  5. In the mixer bowl put the hook and throw the flour, the mahlep, the mastic, the cardamom.
  6. Add the milk/heavy cream batter and whisk.
  7. Add the starter and continue to whisk.
  8. One by one throw the eggs and the 1 tbsp of veg oil while the mixer continues to whisk.
  9. Finally add the butter and let the mixer work until a soft dough has gathered around the hook in about 15 minutes.
  10. Transfer the dough in a floured bowl, cover it with a towel and let it rest in a warm place for an hour.
  11. After the breading time we take the dough out, and with a rolling pin we flatten it to make a sheet about 1 cm / 0.5 in. thick.
  12. With a donuts cutter we cut and reshape the dough until no dough is left.
  13. We place the donuts on the tray.
  14. Put them uncovered in the oven again at 30° C/86° F for half hour.
  15. In a deep pot pour corn oil about 3 to 4 cm / 1 to 1.5 in. from the bottom of the pot and place it on the stove at high temperature.
  16. When the temperature of the oil arrives to 180°C/ 356°F, start putting the donuts in.
  17. Don’t put many together so as to easily handle them.
  18. I put 4 per batch.
  19. Be careful they only need about 20 to 30 seconds per side and then flip and another 20 seconds and out.
  20. Let them stand and prepare the glazing either by melting chocolates or by whisking ½ cup caster sugar to 1 tbsp milk.
  21. I also added food coloring to make them red, purple and green.
Note: I know that many of you cannot find mahlep or mastic where you live. You can replace them with vanilla and orange zest respectively.
Recipe by Culinary Flavors at https://www.culinaryflavors.gr/sweet-bread-donuts-or-tsounuts/