Gluten Free Spudnuts!!

 So, you may not know this, but spudnuts are the best kind of doughnuts ever invented. They are So Good. I mean, Krispy Kreme are decent, but Spudnuts are stellar. I have, in the past, tried to make raised yeast-style gluten free doughnuts, but I have never actually liked the results. (This explains why the only doughnut recipe on this site is a cake doughnut.) Well, this morning I woke up thinking about Spudnuts and wanting to find a way to make them gluten free. 

To make a (quite) long story short, I compared recipes, realized that the Six Sister’s Spudnut recipe was actually very similar to my favorite gluten free bread recipe, and decided to combine them and make gluten free Spudnuts. 

They turned out beautifully. The dough was super easy to work with, they fried up a beautiful golden brown, and the taste and texture were great. They aren’t exactly like the raised-glazed doughnuts sold by The Spudnut Shop in my hometown, but they’re certainly the best gluten free yeast doughnuts I’ve ever had. (And when I shared one with my spudnut loving neighbor he said “But these are gluten free? Nuh-uh!” Success :) 

My only regret is that I only made a single batch (about a dozen doughnuts). I was afraid they wouldn’t turn out well and that I would regret wasting the flour. Instead they were fabulous and all my children complained that they couldn’t eat more. 

Look how light and chewy they are! 

Try them! And let me know if you like them as much as we did! 

Gluten Free Spudnut Recipe

1/4 c potato water*

3/4 c milk 

1/4 c mashed potatoes*

1/4 c sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 c oil

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 TBS yeast 

2 eggs

3 c EGF All-Purpose flour mix

2 tsp Xanthan gum 

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

*The initial step in making Spudnuts is to take a medium potato, peel it, dice it into small cubes, and boil it until the potato cubes are soft (just as you would to make mashed potatoes). Quarter inch cubes need to be boiled for about ten minutes, while one inch cubes can take 20 minutes or more. Once the potatoes are soft, drain off the water (reserving 1/4 cup of that hot water for the donuts). Mash the boiled potatoes until smooth. Now you’re ready to start making the Spudnut dough. 

Mix together potato water and milk. If necessary, microwave for about twenty seconds or so to get the liquid to 100° to 110°. (This is just the right temperature to activate the yeast without killing it. I prefer to linger right around 100°.) Combine the milk/water mixture with the mashed potatoes, sugar, salt, oil, and vanilla. Add yeast and mix well. Let sit until yeast starts foaming and is fully dissolved. (If you are using regular active yeast, let sit until the yeast is fully dissolved and starting to bubble - about 30 minutes. If using instant yeast, the time needed to dissolve and activate the yeast is much shorter, maybe 10 minutes.) While waiting for the yeast to start foaming, combine flour mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda. 

Once the yeast has begun foaming, add beaten eggs and flour mixture to the yeast mixture. Mix well. Once the dough is thoroughly combined, scrape the dough into a ball, then cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until doubled (about 1 hour).**

This dough is slightly stiffer than many gluten free bread doughs, and is quite easy to handle (I tried to post a video of it, but blogger seemed unable). (I’m kind of thinking I may try adding potatoes to my bread recipe next time....) 

Stir down the dough. Turn dough out onto a piece of parchment paper that has been well dusted with potato starch. Use the back of a spatula (also dipped in potato starch) to press the dough out evenly (about 1/3-1/2 inch thick). (Use enough potato starch to keep the dough from sticking, but don’t go crazy with it - adding too much starch can make the doughnuts drier.) 

Use a cookie cutter or cup dipped in potato starch to cut out doughnuts. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut a hole in the center of each doughnut. (I didn’t have a cutter of the right size to cut out the centers, so we cut the top off a small Gatorade bottle and used that.)  

Combine any scraps of dough and cut out more doughnuts until all the dough has been used up (we got 13 doughnuts). 

Transfer cut doughnuts (and holes) to another parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Gently cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled (about 30 minutes). (By the way, it really is important to let the dough raise fully both times. It’s tempting to cut the time short because you just want to eat them already, but letting them raise completely is what gives them their lighter, softer texture. Don’t shortchange yourself by not allowing the dough to raise properly!)

Heat vegetable oil to 350°. Transfer doughnuts gently into the hot oil and fry until golden brown (1-2 minutes). Turn doughnuts over to cook the other side.  

(Fry one or four at a time, depending on the size of the pan😄). Remove cooked doughnuts from oil and drain on paper towels. Dip slightly cooled doughnuts in glaze (see recipe below) and place glazed-side-up on parchment paper to cool (I reused the parchment paper the doughnuts had been raising on.) 

Enjoy! 

**Want to have hot doughnuts in the morning, but not to wake up at 5 am to start making them? Make the dough the night before and let it rise in the refrigerator overnight. Pull it out in the morning to warm up and finish rising before finishing them. You can probably even place cut out doughnuts in the fridge to rise, so all you would need to do is fry them in the morning...I haven’t tried it myself yet, though, so if one of you tries it, let me know in the comments how it worked. 

Vanilla Glaze Recipe (modified from Six Sisters) 

2 Tbs very hot water

1 c powdered sugar

1 Tbs butter

1 tsp vanilla 

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Makes just enough glaze for a single recipe of doughnuts and their holes.