Fire Pit Doughnuts
We have been asked many questions about this recipe since posting about making our doughnuts. I first read about cooking doughnuts on the campfire in a Dutch Oven online. A lot of the ideas used pre-bought dough. I decided to try it with an old doughnut recipe I found and adapted.
I filmed the first time I made the dough inside to try it out. From my previous experience with making this kind of dough this recipe confused me at first. For Example, this recipe puts the jam in the middle before proving the dough.
Justine can’t have cow’s milk so we used roasted unsweetened almond milk.
When I first followed the instructions, I ended up making some different wet and dry mixes before putting it together. The recipe below simplifies these steps and still makes a great doughnut.
I also replaced the fresh yeast in the old recipe with more modern dried instant yeast as it is easier to get hold of.
Proving can be difficult outside (depending on the temperature) so it can take longer for the yeast to work. I found the dough only rose a small amount compared to some of the bread I have done.
Cooking on the fire
We used our small Dutch Oven on the hot coals. Getting the coals hot enough should create a heat around 170-180 °C. The oil in the Dutch Oven keeps a good steady temperature on the coals. I had to move some additional hot coals as it cooled down. To do this I kept a small fire going to the side (far enough away to be safe with the hot oil) that had coals burning. I was able to control the heat using the metal tongs to move the coals.
When the oil has gotten hot, I start with just a single doughnut to test it out. The oil should bubble around the doughnut when you put it in. After a minute I turn over the doughnut. If it has not gone golden, I turn it over again and wait another 30 seconds.
At this point it is up to your instinct to get the colour right. Once you have a golden colour on both sides take the doughnut out with metal tongs. I then place on a tea towel on a plate to get rid of excess oil before rolling in sugar.
Once I have done the first one, I take it in batches of 2-4 at a time. Doing too many at once can cool the oil too much when you add them in. If you notice them taking longer to cook add additional coals around the Dutch Oven.
Variations
You can also deep fry these inside, but we enjoy being outside with the fire pit.
We also have done this with other fillings
- chocolate spread
- peanut butter and jam
- roll in cinnamon and sugar with no filling
We hope you enjoy these as much as we do.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp dried yeast
- 250ml of milk (or alternative)
- 400g of plain all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar + more to dredge
- 1 egg beaten
- 90g butter (or alternative)
- ½ tsp salt
- jam for the filling
- vegetable oil for deep frying
Method
- In a bowl add the yeast, 90ml of the milk warmed to blood temperature, 120g of the flour and 1 tbsp of sugar. Mix this well into a thick paste. This will activate the yeast and get it going.
- Add the butter to the remaining 160ml of milk and warm until the butter is melted. Set aside to cool until it is lukewarm.
- In a bowl add the remaining 280g of flour, 1tbsp sugar and ½ tsp salt. Mix together
- Add the yeast mix, the milk and butter and the egg to the dry ingredients. Mix together well and continue mixing until a dough is formed. It should be slightly sticky, but you can add an extra dusting of flour if you need to. I found I had to mix it for longer than I expected but it did all come together.
- We don’t prove at this point. Instead prepare a surface to roll out the dough by dusting with flour. Divide the dough in half and roll out the first half of the dough until it is 1cm thick. Use a 5cm cutter to make as many disks as you can. You can re-roll the dough a few times. Place the discs on a floured tray.
- Put half a teaspoon of jam (or other filling) in the centre of each disc.
- Roll out the other half of the dough. Using the 5cm cutter cut out enough discs to cover each doughnut. Place a top disc over the jam on each doughnut. Pinch down around the sides sealing in the jam. Carefully shape the doughnut into a ball.
- Loosely cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 35 minutes.
- Turn each doughnut over, loosely cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for a further 25 minutes.
- Heat oil in a heavy pan to 170-180 degrees Celsius
- In small batches cook the doughnuts in the oil. They should float up and will need turning in the oil after a minute or two. Cook until golden on both sides. Take out the oil and get rid of excess oil on a towel. Roll each doughnut in sugar an leave to cool. Cook the remaining doughnuts.