Cinnamon Twists
Cinnamon Twists
Ingredients
6 ounces whole milk
1 teaspoon active yeast
2 ounces honey
1 egg
8-9 ounces bread flour
3 ounces whole wheat flour
2 ounces unsalted butter, at room temp.
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 quarts vegetable oil
2 ounces sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
1. Heat the milk to the scalding point (about 200°F). Set aside to cool to 110°F. Oil or butter the proofing tub or large bowl and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk (105-115°F). Add the honey, egg, 8 ounces bread flour, whole wheat flour, lemon zest and butter. Mix the dough until thoroughly combined and a dough just begins to form. Let rest in the bowl, covered, for 20 minutes.
3. Add the salt to the dough and knead for 7 to 10 minutes until elastic and slightly sticky. If the dough is excessively wet or sticky, add up to 1 ounce more flour. The dough should be slightly sticky to the the touch though.
4. Butter the proofing tub or bowl and place the dough in, letting it rise in a warm place until doubled in volume about 1-2 hours.
5. If your house is an ice box, preheat the oven at 400°F for 1 minutes - no longer. Turn the oven off after a minute - the inside of the oven should now feel just barely warm. Allow the dough to rise in the warm oven.
6. Once doubled in volume, punch down the dough. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons cinnamon on top of the dough and knead it with your hands for a few seconds - enough to create streaks with the cinnamon. Let the dough rest covered for 20 minutes.
7. After resting, roll the dough out until it is about 1⁄4" thick. Cut the dough into 16 strips. Take two strips and twist them together, pinching together the ends to ensure they won't unravel.
8. Let the twists rise until the volume expands 1.5x, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
9. In the meantime put the oil in a heavy bottomed pot and heat to 350°F.
10. Also mix together the 2 ounces of sugar and remaining 1 tablespoon cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside.
11. Fry the doughnuts in the hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until lightly golden brown. Remove the doughnuts to newspaper or paper towels and immediately sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on to both sides. Repeat until all of the doughnuts are fried.
12. Let the doughnuts cool until comfortable to handle.