Doughnuts, Circles Of Sweetness

Doughnuts are the ultimate comfort food.One and a cup of coffee are a worker's best friends after a mind dazing day.They've kept our servicemen alert and the broken hearted happy for years with all have our favorites from cakey baked kind to the yeasty fried kind. Ligaya Mishin wrote about and had the lucky job of tasting doughnuts( a surprising seventy-seven!!!) in today's New York Times Dining section. Doughnuts are one of the oldest pastries mankind has, being first made 8,000 years ago.Archeaologists have found fossilized ring cakes during various digs.New York City had it's first doughnut or as it was known then olykoek sold by Anna Joralemon in 1673 from a shop located on lower Broadway.Doughnuts were given to our doughboys a century ago during World War One.the doughnut has had several reincarnations over the last few years.The recipe has omitted butter and eggs for vegans, compromising it's fluffy texture.Some are now baked as opposed to fried.A few Manhattan shops will make them fresh so doughnut connoisseurs can enjoy them red hot ,while other serve doughnuts with syringes as a DIY jelly doughnut for customers.This last, made by St. Balmain gives doughnut lovers the choice of cream, jam or chocolate.Flavors are changing too.Some do serve cinnamon.Others are experimenting with everything from sriracha to Thai basil and coconut milk.Fillings for jellies aren't just raspberry jam anymore either.Some are filled with real fruit preserves along with Meyer lemon. Ms Mishin sampled some of these along with others from well known bakeries and upstarts.East Harlem's Dough Loco are lopsided and mishapened (imagine Salvador Dali baking them)'yet they have the truest taste and texture.One has a Los colored bright orange icing, giving the doughnut the look of a bagel with the works.The icing is really. blood orange and it has a nice tartness that counterbalances the pastry's sweetness.Carvin"s Bakery has the most unusual flavors with peanut butter and cream cheese along crumbled Oreos and even bacon bits! she also went international , trying the Greek loukoumades and the Korean ho-dduk which is more a pocket filled with liquified brown sugar.Ms. Mishan also includes a doughnut recipe for home bakers.It's adopted from Du Jour"s bakery recipe and is the most traditional.The dough should be made in a standard mixer with a dough hook.They are yeast based so expect the finished product to be fluffy.Adding to that are six eggs and these will give the interiors a rich yellow coloring The doughnuts are then fried in vegetable oil and then rolled in granulated sugar.You can even fry the holes too.These would make great snacks for the kids.nIf you want, sift in some cinnamon to create the ones you buy at farm stands or at farmers markets. Doughnuts are the eternal comfort food. A chewy, yeasty one is better than any box ox chocolates or cup of chai tea. Enjoy one with a strong cu p of Joe to appreciate their goodness and flavor.