Doughnuts

“I first made these winning doughnuts with David Coomer at the Perth restaurant Star Anise,” says Stone. “You can also use this recipe to make balls and fill them with custard, or bake in a tin for a brioche loaf.”

Makes 18

185 ml (¾ cup) milk

1½ tbsp caster sugar

5 egg yolks

10 gm dried yeast

375 gm (2½ cups) plain flour (see note)

110 gm butter, softened

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Cinnamon sugar

110 gm (½ cup) caster sugar 1¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1 In a small saucepan over low heat, gently warm the milk to about 30C. Mix in the sugar and stir until it has dissolved. Add the egg yolks and yeast and mix through.

2 Place the flour in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. With the mixer on low, add the milk mixture and a pinch of salt and mix for 8 minutes. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and add a third of the butter. Once it’s almost all mixed in, add the next third of butter, repeat, then add the final third. When fully combined, the dough should be shiny and smooth.

3 Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and tend the garden or head to the pub for a beer while it proves and doubles in volume (about 1½ hours).

4 Knock back the dough and roll it into a rectangle about 2cm thick. Use a ring cutter to cut out doughnuts – about 8cm is a good diameter. Make holes by poking your finger in the middle of each doughnut while the cutter is still pressed into the dough, and wriggling it around to make a hole about 2.5cm in diameter. Leftover dough can be re-rolled. Place the doughnuts on a lightly oiled tray and leave to prove for 1 hour.

5 Pour vegetable oil into a deep-fryer or large saucepan to about a third full and heat to 180C. If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, to test the temperature, drop a small piece of dough in the oil – when it turns golden after 30 seconds, the oil is the right temperature. Working in batches, carefully place the doughnuts into the oil, being sure not to add too many at once so they’re not fighting for real estate. Once the underside of a doughnut is golden, flip it and fry until both sides are golden. Drain well on paper towels.

6 Mix the caster sugar and cinnamon together. Dust the doughnuts until coated with cinnamon sugar and serve warm.

Note Stone mills his own flour; use a good organic plain flour.