Ring in the New Year With Chocolate Espresso Mini Doughnuts
Somehow another year has slipped by again. Many of us are winding down our holiday preparations, and we are packing up ornaments, changing our diets, and erasing holiday playlists from our iPods. However, there is one day left to celebrate with good cheer; one door left open to a little decadence and indulgence. This would, of course, be New Years, and we are ready to ring it in.
We decided to make good use again of our Chocolate Coffee Bread, and came up with a sweet little treat: Mini Doughnuts! We’ve made Mini Doughnuts before, but this time things are a bit more sophisticated. These doughnuts are grown up; the chocolate bread is only slightly sweet, and the glaze is rich and deep, adding the ideal balance. They are a perfect addition to a swinging New Years Eve party, or a late morning New Years Day Brunch.
So Happy New Year to all of you! We hope this year is filled with good things, and lots of bread making. Let us know if Artisan Bread in Five is a part of your New Year’s table – you can tweet us pictures here so we can follow along.
Chocolate Espresso Mini Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze
To make the mini doughnuts, you can follow the instructions in Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, or look at this post as a guide for shaping. A small biscuit cutter works well to cut circles, and the spout of a funnel was a good tool for poking small center holes. You can coat doughnuts in just plain sugar, but we loved adding a rich chocolate glaze. These are best eaten right away, warm to slightly warm, although they will taste great the same day they are made. Because the dough is so dark, it’s hard to tell when it has reached ‘golden brown’, so carefully follow the time and temperature in the book for frying.
Looks delicious! I reckon I could eat about 100 of them!
lies…..
As much as I love fried doughnuts (YUM!) would it be possible to just bake these? Since they are so small, I assume the baking time (and temp?) would decrease.
Also I love making the soft American style white bread in your first book. I am experimenting with using ground farro and ground quinoa to replace a cup of white flour. The proportions I want to use are 1 cup with 75% ground farro, 20% ground quinoa and 5% flaxseed meal. Should I add VWG or increase the water?
Thanks!
See our Baked Doughnuts at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2012/10/04/baked-apple-doughnuts-with-gold-medal-flour
I’m guessing you’ll need to use a little more water. 1/8 cup? A little more? Or nothing at all, you’re only using a cup out of the full flour amount so it’s not a big deal. Shouldn’t need VWG though that will yield a fluffier result and would require a little extra water for sure. 1/4 cup more?
Thanks, this is just what I was going to ask!
I had a general question about substituting Almond or Rice milk for milk in the 100% Whole Wheat Sandwhich Bread (AB in 5 minutes a day, pg 76.) Do you forsee any problems with making this change?
Ginny: Haven’t tried, but it should work just fine. Experiment…
Indeed I shall. Thanks, Jeff!
Can these doughnuts be baked instead of fried?
Yep, scroll up a bit to my answer to Teresa
Hi!
I have a question as I have *just* bought a grain mill and started making my own flour. I don’t know if I do not have the right wheat berries (hard red) or if I do not have the right mill (hand crank Family mill) but the flour is very … uh.. coarse (ran it through twice). I am baking my first batch right now and the dough is dense and has no elasticity at all… Is there any tips you would have for me while using whole wheat freshly milled flour? I think I will try sifting the bran out and see if it becomes a little lighter…
Anyway, thanks for any input you may have, I really want this to work and LOVE making my own bread and have for years thanks to you 2!
Natalia: Have U seen my post on this? https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1165
If you can’t get it finer, you may have trouble with the consistency of the loaves. Using vital wheat gluten? Which of our books are you using?
I am not using wheat gluten. I was really hoping I could just use the flour I grind without having to buy other things. Thank you for posting the link above, nothing came up when I did a search on whole wheat earlier. I have the artisan bread in 5 and do not own the “healthy” one. I see that I need to increase water?
So is this method not really going to work unless I use wheat gluten then?
I will be experimenting… Thank you.
By the way, I ate some of the loaves I made tonight… I thought they would turn like bricks but they were really good and not dry at all. I just couldn’t really shape the dough as it had no elasticity… And I guess I understand that’s what the gluten is for?
Natalia: Fresh-ground wheat is tough to get a stretchy result because the grind tends to be coarse. The part that won’t work is the storing of the dough. With coarse flours, it really helps to use VWG. You can’t just swap your fresh-ground whole grain for the mostly-white flours in ABin5.
I will check out the other book. I really want it to work! Thank you for taking the time to answer me! 🙂
I received your ‘five minutes’ book for Christmas and have had some success making bread. It is a learning process. However, my major issue is when I store the dough in the refrigerator a heavy crust forms over the portion of the dough that is exposed to the air. Should I remove this crust? Or should I try to rehydrate it? It seems unappetizing. Am I wrong about that? I store the dough in a mixing bowl with a tea towel over it. Any help would be appreciated. Love the book!
Sarah: See FAQ above, https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/01/26/gray-color-on-my-dough-is-there-something-wrong
I have been making your bread for over a year. Today, I discovered just how easy it is to break the glass in the oven!! I had even seen the warning in your second book. I had the door open, and was bending over to put water in the tray when a small amount of water dribbled on to the window pane. It cracked immediately. I have no idea what I was doing differently to cause the spill. I am still shocked at how quickly it all happened. I have to admit, it dampened my enthusiasm a bit for the process.
I do have ay question about the crackle you mention. I am assuming my oven isn’t air tight, because I never hear the sound. Is that a correct assumption, or do you have another idea? How much does it matter that I don’t hear the sound?
If I have trouble getting the glass replaced, maybe I’ll find my next range is better sealed. 🙁
Karen: The crackle is heard when you take it out of the oven and usually starts a couple of minutes after it’s in the cool air. Maybe your oven doesn’t seal in the steam, so maybe try one of our alternatives to steam generation; see https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/12/27/three-ways-to-get-steam-into-your-oven-for-a-great-crust-new-video
I really appreciate how quickly you two respond to questions. I just watched the video. It was very helpful. After my latest experience, the cloche sounds appealing.
I thing I’m worrying too much about the crackle. As long as the crust is golden, does the sound really matter?
Nope…
Hi, I want to make brioche doughnuts for an upcoming charity fundraiser. I want to serve them warm and hot as and when people want them – How long can the dough sit out after it has proofed? The fundraiser will take place outside and is from 11am to 6pm. Thanks
Hi Raj,
You will need to keep the dough chilled, since it has eggs in it, it can’t sit out for that long. You can shape the doughnuts, lay them on parchment and refrigerate them until they are ready to fry.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Zoe, thanks for the prompt reply and your advice. I am looking forward to making brioche doughnuts.
I just made this chocolate espresso muffins today!!! OMG!!!! It’s so delicious!!!!! Also, I love the looking of this muffin!!! VERY “sophisticated” but TOTALLY “domestic” bread! I’m going to share with all my friends tomorrow!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
BTY, I used super strong barley tea instead of espresso (because of caffeine) and it was just fine 🙂
Hi Remi,
Thanks for the note, your muffins sound delicious!
Cheers, Zoë
I checked Healthy Bread in 5 out at the library and am so excited about it. All my bread machines have broken on me due to lots of use, and are too expensive to purchase again. I tried the dough kneading, which was fine, but my wrist hurt for days after. Your book has really invigorated my bread baking, since I make all our breads, pizzas, etc. I may have missed it in the book, but cannot find directions for freezing and defrosting dough. I’d appreciate your imput on that. Thanks.
Hi Teresa,
You can freeze the dough, here is a post on how we recommend doing so: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2011/01/03/freezing-the-dough-can-i-do-it
Thanks, Zoë
Thanks, Zoe, for the reply and post for freezing dough. I will use. Just wanted to share that I made the Pumpkin Pie Brioche for the Indian spice donuts. Incredibly delicious and easy. We actually fried some of the blobby dough, too, and covered with the spiced sugar and had us a donut fest! I had to use a Grapeseed/Canola/Olive oil blend and the slightly green color of the oil and the orangy colored dough were a beautiful mix, and the taste was just fine!
Hi Teresa,
Thank you so much for letting me know, the doughnuts sound amazing!
Cheers, Zoë
I have a question I have made the master recipe and I have let it rest 120 minutes because it still feels cold coming out of the fridge. Should the dough be room temp before going into the oven? I slashed it and it spread out width wise. Was the slash too deep or do you think it wasn’t proffed long enough. Thanks so much for a reply.
Jo Ann
Hi Jo Ann,
Are you baking the Master from ABin5 or HBin5? If it is the white loaf then your dough may have over proofed and I would try letting it rest closer to 60 to 90 minutes. It won’t be room temperature, but it should no longer feel as dense and cold as it does when you first form the loaf.
If it is the whole wheat master, then the spreading may just be a matter of how the loaf was formed, here is a video that may help: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/03/08/new-video-shaping-the-ball-from-a-very-wet-dough
Thanks, Zoë