“Donuts: An American Passion” (Putnam, $19.95)
John T. Edge has nailed it again – this time with “Donuts: An American Passion.” It is the fourth, and he says the last, in a series devoted to iconic American foods. Halfway through the tiny tome (it’s only 178 pages) you can almost taste sugar-coated fried dough.
Like its predecessors, this wonderful book is part history lesson, part memoir and part anthropological study. Woven into its pages of narrative, photographs and recipes, we meet the doughnut as emblematic of the Salvation Army’s good works in World War I and the doughnut as import. Recalling the mining camps of the late 1800s, there is even mention of Little Pittsburgh Doughnuts eaten in Leadville, not to mention those consumed in Leviticus.
Who else but Edge would tip you to the fact that there is a collection of Doughnut magazine issues in the New York Public Library? Or that a guy called Jimmy Doughnuts makes and sells his from a cart in Louisville, Ky.? |Ellen Sweets
Lassie Loops
This recipe was inspired by instructions that Stella Young, the Salvation Army pinup girl of World War I, dictated to Sally Levitt Steinberg when the author of “The Donut Book” visited Young at her home in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. During their interview, Young let slip that, owing to primitive battlefield conditions, the donuts the Lassies fried during the war were not marvels of the pastry arts. These, on the other hand, prove true Commander Evangeline Booth’s billing of the Salvation Army’s way with the “winsome, attractive coquetries of the round, brown doughnut.” From “Donuts, An American Passion” by John T. Edge, makes about 24 loops.
Ingredients
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, 2 cups of sugar, salt, and baking powder. Rub in lard or shortening with your fingertips until the mixture is pebbly. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs well, then beat in milk. Set aside. Working either directly on your flour board, or in a shallow pan or bowl, create a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour egg-milk mixture into the well and start working the dry ingredients into the wet, using a pastry scraper on your hands to gently fold the dry and wet ingredients together. Be careful not to knead the dough like bread, work it gently to avoid creating a chewy texture. Turn the resulting mound over a couple of times on a lightly floured surface and roll out with a rolling pin to 1/4-inch thickness.
Pour the oil in a cast-iron Dutch oven or other deep, heavy-bottomed pot until it reaches a depth of 3 or 4 inches. Heat oil over medium-high heat to 325. Using a dough cutter, cut dough into rounds, then cut out a smaller round from each for the center. Gather scraps and reroll dough as necessary. Fry each loop for two minutes per side or until puffed and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on wire racks. Toss cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar together in a large brown paper bag. While the donuts are warm, add a few at a time, shaking to cover with cinnamon sugar.
Picayune Beignets
Beignets, cross-listed in the 1936 edition of “The Picayune Creole Cook Book” as “fritters,” occupy five pages of text. It says, in part:
“The most important rule to be observed in making fritters whether of fruit or plain, is to have the batter of the proper consistency. This is particularly important in making fruit fritters. ‘La Pate a Beignets,’ as the Creoles call the batter, must be of sufficient consistency to envelop in on one single immersion the fruit or other substance with which it is intended to make the fritters.” The Picayune lists apple, apricot, banana, cherry, electroform, fig, vanilla, lemon, peach, pineapple, almond, and sherry, strawberry, as well as Madeira and orange flower water-stoked versions. Here’s a place to start. Makes 24 beignets.
Ingredients
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose barley flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg, then add the melted butter and vanilla, mixing well. Add liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Divide the resulting dough into two balls. On a floured surface, knead each ball 10 to 20 times and roll out with a rolling pin into a 9-inch-by-9-inch square about 1/8-inch thick. Next, cut the big square into 12 small squares.
Pour oil into a cast-iron Dutch oven or other deep, heavy-bottomed pot until it reaches a depth of 3 to 4 inches. Heat oil over medium-high heat to 370. Fry 3 or 4 beignets at a time, turning once shortly after dropping them in the oil, for about 2 minutes total or until lightly browned on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot.
Farmers’ Market Purse Donuts
Make these before you go to bed on a Friday night in the spring of the year. The dough will need to rest overnight. On Saturday morning, make a mad dash for your local farmers’ market. If strawberries are coming in, buy at least a couple of quarts. Same thing with blueberries, blackberries, whateverberries. If it’s later in the year and you live in the land of peaches, well, buy some peaches. Nectarines might work nice, too. Mangoes, if you can find them fresh. Point is to make a filling whatever berry or fruit is at its peak. Makes 18 to 20 donuts.
Ingredients
Filling
Directions
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes for the mixture to foam.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and egg yolks, mixing well. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and mix until a dough forms.
Lightly flour a work surface and dump the dough out. Knead in 2 tablespoons of the butter and continue kneading until the dough is no longer sticky. With the remaining tablespoon of butter, grease another large bowl, dump the dough in, and turn the dough to coat in the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
In the morning,remove dough from the refrigerator, remove the wrap, and let it come to room temperature. That should take 30 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, make the filling: In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat to a simmer. Stir until sugar is incorporated and the mixture is somewhat viscous. Add lemon juice and set aside to cool.
Flour a work surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Using a wide-mouth glass or 2- or 3-inch pastry cutter, punch out 20 or so rounds. Gather scraps and reroll as necessary, cutting about another 12 rounds, working to get an even number.
Lightly grease two baking sheets with butter or shortening. In a small bowl, beat the two egg whites. Arrange rows of dough rounds on the trays. Brush the edges of the rounds with egg white and top with a second round. Press the two halves to seal along the periphery – do not mash them together. Repeat again and again, setting the completed donuts aside to rise for about 20 minutes.
Pour the oil into a cast-iron Dutch oven or other deep, heavy-bottomed pot until it reaches a depth of 3 to 4 inches. Working in batches of 3 or 4, slide the donuts into the oil. Cook, turning once, for about 2 minutes, or until golden on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on wire racks, and cool for 10 to 15 minutes. With a sharp knife, slit open each donut, working to free a pocked at the core. Ladle in berries and syrup, stuffing until the donuts are just shy of overflowing.
