While going through recipes last night I came across this one and knew I had to try it. I did make a few changes (I am not a fan of nuts or raisins) so I left those out. These do become hard cookies but resemble the Italian biscotti.
1 cup milk
½ cup sugar
1 cup sifted flour
¼ cup shortening or butter
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup sifted flour
1 package dry yeast or 1 cake compressed yeast
2 well-beaten eggs
¼ cup lukewarm water
2½ cups sifted flour
Scald milk. Sift together flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. Soften yeast in ¼ cup lukewarm water. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Put sugar, shortening and salt into a large bowl. Immediately pour scaled milk over ingredients in bowl and stir until shortening is melted. When lukewarm, blend in ½ cup of sifted flour, beating until smooth. Stir softened yeast and add. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and beat until very smooth and elastic. Slowly stire in about 2½ cups of flour. Add just enough flour to make a dough with is soft and somewhat sticky, but stiff enough to be handled. Turn dough unto a lightly floured surface and knead. Form into a ball and place in a lightly greased deep bowl. Turn ball to bring greased surface to top. Cover with wax paper and towel and let rise in a a warm place, until doubled in size 1½ to 2 hours. Turn dough out unto a lightly floured surface and roll 1.2 inch thick. Cut with a 3 inch lightly floured doughnut cutter. Cover with wax paper and let rise on a floured board 30 to 45 mintues or until doubled in size. Fry in shortening, lard or oil at 350° F. Glaze, frost or roll in sugar.
GLAZE FOR RAISED DOUGHNUTS
Glazura na Pączki
This glaze is excellent and if desired the flavoring may be changed to suit taste.
DE LUXE FEATHERLIGHT DOUGHNUTS (Szczesniak's Special) Szczesniaków Specialne Paczki
Ingredients
SPONGE:
1cuplight cream
2-ounceyeast cake
1cupflour
1tablespoonsugar
DOUGH:
6large eggs
2tablespoonssugar
½poundbutter
2teaspoonssalt
1cupcold milk
Fat for frying
7cupsflour
Granulated sugar
Instructions
SPONGE:
Scald 1 cup light cream. Cool to lukewarm. Crumble in one large cake of yeast (2 ounces) and add 1 cup flour and 1 tablespoon sugar. Mix well and set aside to rise
DOUGH:
Beat six large eggs, Melt ½ pound butter. Add one cup of cold milk. Measure seven cups flour in a large bowl. Add two tablespoons sugar and twp teaspoons salt. Make a well in the center of the flour. Beat in the yeast mixture, the eggs, butter and milk mixture. Mix with wooden spoon or by hand until the dough is smooth and soft and does not stick to the hands anymore. This takes about five minutes. Put into a greased bowl, then turn over to grease top. Cover and allow to rise until double. Punch down, empty dough on a floured board and roll out to ½” thickness. Cut into round shapes with a cookie cutter or a glass. Let rise again until doubled and fry in deep fat at 375 degrees. Fry a few at a time. Drop crusty topside of doughnut down into the frying fat first. This is important. Then turn over and fry the other side. Fry about one minute on each side until nicely browned. Place on absorbent paper and roll in granulated sugar to serve. These freeze well. If you want to fill with jelly or jam, make a slit with a sharp knife and fill with a teaspoon. Or, use a pastry tube. This recipe makes about three dozen doughnuts.
