RECIPE CARD - CALEB BATES

Yeast-Raised Ingredients

Doughnuts ●
●
1 Cup Whole Milk
⅓ Cup Unsalted Butter
● 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
● 2 ¼ Red Star Active-Dry Yeast
● ½ TSP Salt
● ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
● 2 Egg Yolks
● Vegetable Oil

Equipment
● Small Saucepan
● Mixing Bowl
● Mixer
● Cutting Board
● Knife
● Measuring Cups
Ready in 1hr 35mins
● Scrapper
Serves 12 people
● Wooden Spoon
192 calories
● Rolling Pin
● Spatula
Personal Commentary
● Sheet Pan
Doughnuts have always been a go-to
● Medium Bowl
breakfast for my family. We love to pick up a
12 pack for a quick breakfast whenever we ● Doughnut Cutter
are doing a scout event. We usually have to
● Parchment Paper
be right out the door in the morning which is
why doughnuts are a go-to breakfast for us. ● Plastic Wrap
They also don’t make a bad snack. We don’t ● Thermometer
make them a lot but when we do we do it as a
● Cooling Racks/Paper Towels
family. We each have our own favorite kind
to eat involving a different frosting or filling.
 spatula to achieve. Then remove and set
on racks or paper towels to cool down.
Preparation 6. Add your own frosting, filling, or
1. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm powdered sugar and enjoy!
milk and butter. Once butter is melted let
mixture set for 5 minutes.
Experimental Design
2. In a mixing bowl combine the yeast, salt,
sugar, and half the flour. Add the milk Doughnuts require rise in order to be fluffy.
mixture and eggs, mix until combined. Rise in doughnuts depends on two things:
Next with the mixer on medium speed yeast and sugar. But what would happen if
add the remaining flour and continue to these were to change? This was the
mix until dough is smooth and elastic foundation for my experiment. When heat is
(about 4-5 minutes). Place dough in a applied to the dough, yeast begins to eat the
greased bowl. Cover with parchment sugar molecules and creates carbon dioxide.
paper and place in a warm place to rise So I wondered what would happen if the
(about 1 hour). yeast was doubled in amount or absent
entirely. My hypothesis was that more yeast
would show more rise, less sweetness, and
less texture. Texture in this scenario meaning
how easy was the doughnut to get down. To
test this hypothesis I made three batches of
doughnuts. One with no yeast, one with the
recommended amount (2 1⁄4 TSP), and one
with double the recommended amount (4
1/2 TSP).

3. Gently punch down dough to release

gasses and then let sit for 5 minutes. To successfully test this theory I made the
Then on a lightly floured surface roll out three batches myself. During the frying I
the dough till it is about ½ inch thick. Now noticed how changes in ingredients affected
cut the dough into doughnuts using the the cooking process. For instance after the
doughnut cutter (If you don’t have one first rise when I punched down the dough the
the outer part of a mason jar lid should double yeast batch released really easily but
work just as well). Place on a sheet pan the no yeast batch was hard to work with.
lined with parchment paper and cover Later once I had to fry them in oil I noticed
with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place that the no yeast doughnuts sank to the
for 30 minutes. bottom and took significantly longer to cook.
But the normal and double yeast doughnuts
4. Fill a small pan with vegetable oil and
floated and only took a couple seconds to
heat until 370℉.
cook.
5. Once oil is hot, put doughnuts in until
golden brown. Will need to flip with a
 second and Doughnut 3 was the best. This
After they were done I taste tested each one.
was shocking to me because my parents and I
The no yeast batch was bland in terms of
agreed that Doughnut 2 was the best. But
taste. They also didn't rise at all and because
this could have something to do with the fact
of this they were really hard and in turn had
that my parents and I ate them fresh while
terrible texture. The normal yeast batch
my taste testers ate them after a day. When
tasted like doughnuts in the way that they
the doughnuts had time to settle.
were soft in terms of texture, they were
perfectly sweet, and raised to an average of
0.7 inches. But when it came to the double
yeast everything changed. They were so high
on rise that they were an average of 1.13
inches. They had a soft and chewy texture.
But when it came to sweetness they were
bland and for me they had a salty aftertaste.

Science: Why? Why? Why?

Experimental Results Now we have proved that a change in yeast
affects rise, texture, and sweetness. Lets ask
But I needed more data to confirm my data
why? We’ve already talked about how when
set. So I hosted a taste test and had 9 people
heat is applied yeast eats sugar. However we
try my doughnuts and tell me what they
could go deeper. On the particulate level
thought of them. To make sure their results
when heat is applied the yeast and sugar
were genuine, I made the taste test a blind
particles begin to move. They rub up against
taste test. This means that they knew
each other and break down the yeast’s
nothing about the doughnuts before tasting
enzymes. Sugar then combines with the
them, removing any bias. The results I got
enzymes to create carbon dioxide however
from the people were interesting. I first
they also create alcohol. But then how come
asked them for their thoughts on Doughnut 1
we don’t get drunk while eating doughnuts?
(No Yeast). They said fluffiness and
Well later on when we put the doughnuts in
sweetness were super low. But they were all
the frying oil a reaction comes into play to
over the spectrum on texture. Some thought
cook the doughnuts. This process involves
it was terrible but some thought it was mid.
the water in the dough evaporating and the
Next I asked about Doughnut 2 (Normal
bread like dough to crisp. During this process
Yeast). Everyone said that the sweetness,
the alcohol is evaporated out with the water.
fluffiness, and texture were “mid”. They
This could also explain why some doughnuts
weren't great, but they weren't terrible.
floated and cooked faster than others.
Finally I asked about Doughnut 3 (Double
During the different rises more air was put
Yeast). They said that fluffiness and texture
into some of the doughnuts also separating
were high and the best. But they said the
the particles. This means in the oil it was
sweetness was super low. At the end I asked
easier to get their particles to move and heat
them to rank all three Doughnuts. They all
up. Also more air means more float. But at
agreed that Doughnut 1 was the worst. But
the cost of rise the sweetness went down.
then they agreed that Doughnut 2 was
With more yeast means more sugar must be
eaten to trigger rise. Since the sugar was not
increased, almost all of it got eaten by yeast.
Meaning there was no sweet sugar left in
some doughnuts. But the taste doesn't just
originate from the sugar. During the time
when the sugar combines with the yeast it
creates aromas. This is what gives the
doughnuts flavor the same way beer gets
flavor. But aromas also take time to fully
immerse in the food. Explaining why my
family said the fresh doughnuts tasted bad
but my taste testers said otherwise.