Cinnamon & Thyme Spudnuts

Cinnamon & Thyme Spudnuts

Ingredients
8 ounces peeled gold potatoes
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk (5 fl oz)
1⁄4 ounce thyme sprigs (about 10-15 sprigs)
1⁄2 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1⁄2 ounces honey
15 to 16 ounces flour
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, finely chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 ounces butter, melted
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
2 quarts canola or vegetable oil (for frying)
2 cups lemon vanilla glaze (recipe below)

Instructions
1. Cut the peeled potatoes into evenly sized pieces. Boil the potatoes in water for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain all the liquid and mash the potatoes until completely smooth. Set aside.
2. Place the milk and the 1⁄4 ounce whole thyme sprigs in a small pot. Heat just to the scalding point (about 200°F). Remove from the heat and allow the milk to cool to 115°F. Remove the sprigs from the milk.
3. Once the milk is at 115°F, pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you plan to knead the dough by hand). Add the yeast and stir until the yeast is completely dissolved.
4. Add the sugar, honey, 15 ounces flour, mashed potatoes, chopped thyme leaves, lemon zest, orange zest and melted butter. Mix (on low speed) until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest 20 minutes.
5. Add the salt to the dough. Knead for 5 to 7 minutes (on low or medium low speed) until the dough is elastic - if you stretch the dough, it should remain intact and become thin enough to be translucent before tearing. The dough will be slightly sticky.
6. If the dough seems too sticky, you can add a little more flour but avoid adding too much - sticky dough is a good thing.
7. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Roll the dough around in the bowl to cover it in oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave it in a warm place (ideally 85-90°F) to rise. Let the dough double in volume. This should take about 1 to 1.5 hours.
8. Once the dough is doubled in volume, punch down the dough (remove the air) and knead it with your hands for a few seconds. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
9. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 1⁄2" thick. Using the two cookie cutters (or a doughnut cutter) cut out one dozen doughnuts - separating the centers from the rings to make doughnut holes. This may require combining scrap dough and rolling it out a second time to get all 12. Cut extra doughnut holes with any remaining dough that wont yield more full doughnuts.
10. Place the doughnuts and doughnut holes on a baking sheet to rise. Cover the dough and let rise until the dough expands to about 1.5 times the volume. This should take 30 minutes to 1 hour-avoid letting the doughnuts double in volume this time as they will continue to rise (albeit incredibly quickly) in the oil.
11. While the dough is rising, heat the 2 quarts of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed, high-sided pot to 350°F. Use a candy thermometer to make sure the oil is at the right temperature.
12. Oil that is too hot will cause the doughnuts to brown too quickly and can leave the inside raw. Oil that is too cool will require long cooking times and this can cause the doughnuts to absorb excess oil.
14. Cook the doughnuts in the oil in small batches about 2 or 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly golden brown on each side - don't overcrowd the pot and leave room for them to expand.
15. Remove the cooked doughnuts once both sides are cooked. Place the doughnuts on newspaper or paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Once the doughnuts are cool enough to touch, but still warm, dip one or both sides in the glaze . Set the glazed doughnuts on a cooling rack to cool completely and to allow the excess glaze can drip off.