Recipe of the week: doughnuts by Al and Kitty Tait

Our doughnuts have a twist, say Al and Kitty Tait, of the Orange Bakery in Watlington, Oxfordshire. We wrap the dough around a chunk of chocolate, giving it a gorgeous gooey centre. There’s a whole world of possibility – Terry’s Chocolate Orange, the entire cast of Celebrations, Snickers Bites. The choice is yours.

Makes 25 doughnuts

Ingredients:

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• 500g strong white bread flour
• 80g caster sugar, plus extra for coating
• 7g instant dried yeast (2 tsp or a whole sachet)
• 10g fine sea salt
• zest of one lemon or orange (optional)
• 4 eggs
• 150ml water
• 125g soft unsalted butter
• chunk of your favourite chocolate bar (optional)
• vegetable or sunflower oil for deep frying

Method:

• In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and citrus zest, if using. Crack in the eggs and pour in the water. Give everything a good mix and then knead for 4mins until you have no visible patches of dry flour left. This is a very wet dough, so an electric stand mixer is the best option.
• Gradually incorporate the butter (a small chunk at a time) until your dough is smooth and elastic. Place a cover over the top and leave for about 1 hour, or until it doubles in size. Knock back the dough and place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. This dough really needs to be chilled before you handle it.
• Take your dough from the fridge and cut it into 30-40g pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. If you want to add a hidden chocolate filling, simply roll the ball of dough around your chosen treat. Place the balls on a floured baking tray with plenty of room between them so they can prove without merging. Cover loosely with cling film and leave in a warm, cosy place to prove for 2-3 hours.
• Fill a heavy-bottomed pan or deep-fat fryer halfway with vegetable or sunflower oil. Heat the oil to 180°C. Working in batches, deep fry the doughnuts until well browned (about 1 or 2 mins) and then flip them over with a fork to cook on the other side. Drain well on kitchen paper and roll in a bowl of caster sugar until well coated. If you want to go really fancy, you can flavour the sugar with some cinnamon or ginger.

Taken from Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives by Al Tait and Kitty Tait, published by Bloomsbury at £20. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £15.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.