Recipe: Brioche Doughnuts With Blueberry-Bourbon-Basil Glaze (2024)

Brioche Doughnuts With Blueberry-Bourbon-Basil Glaze

Makes 8 doughnuts

The dough for this recipe is adapted from “Bouchon Bakery” by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel (Artisan; $50), with a few tweaks to more closely mimic the flavor and texture of the doughnuts at Blue Star Donuts in Portland, Ore. The glaze is adapted from Blue Star’s official recipe. You’ll need 3¼-inch and 1½-inch round cutters and a deep-fry thermometer. It’s a labor-intensive dough, so if you put in all the effort to make it, don’t toss out the scraps. Use the smaller 1½-inch cutter to make extra doughnut holes and feel free to fry the scrap pieces of dough as well; they are great tossed in powdered sugar for a snack while you’re waiting for the glazed doughnuts to set. Start the dough the day before you want to serve the doughnuts.

Dough

3½ cups + 3 tablespoons bread flour

1 tablespoon instant yeast

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

¾ cup + 2 tablespoons room temperature whole milk, about 75 degrees

½ teaspoon orange extract

¼ cup + 3 tablespoons eggs, about 2½ large eggs

¼ teaspoon ground mace

1½ teaspoons vanilla paste

2 ounces unsalted European-style butter, room temperature and cut into ½-inch pieces

Rice bran oil or canola oil for frying

Glaze

1 cup fresh blueberries

½ cup loosely packed basil, stems removed

1/8 cup bourbon, such as Bulleit

3 cups confectioners sugar, plus more if needed

Pinch of kosher salt

To make the doughnuts: Place the flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix for about 15 seconds to distribute the yeast evenly. Add all of the remaining dough ingredients, except the butter, and mix on low speed for 4 minutes to incorporate. Continue to mix on low speed for 30 minutes. (At this point there will be some dough sticking to the sides of the bowl.) Increase speed to medium, add the butter a few pieces at a time, incorporating each addition before adding the next. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and push the dough off the hook. Continue to mix for 5 minutes.

Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Run a bowl scraper around the sides and bottom of the bowl to release the dough and turn it out onto a flour-dusted work surface (add flour only as needed to keep it from sticking). With your hands, gently pat the dough into a rectangular shape; the dough will be sticky.

Gently stretch out the left side of the dough and fold it over two-thirds of the dough, then stretch and fold it from the right to the opposite side, as if you were folding a letter. Repeat the process, working from the bottom and then the top. Turn the dough over and place it seam-side down in the prepared bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel and let sit at room temperature for 3 hours.

Use the bowl scraper to release the dough and turn it out onto the lightly floured work surface. Gently but firmly pat the dough into a rectangle, pressing any large bubbles to the edges and then out of the dough. Repeat the stretching and folding process, then return the dough to the bowl, seam-side down, cover, and refrigerate for 15 hours.

To roll out the dough and shape the doughnuts: On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into an 11-inch round (it should be about 1 to 1½ inches thick). Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or freeze for about 10 minutes, until the dough is firm enough to cut.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray the parchment with nonstick spray.

Using the 3¼-inch cutter, cut 8 rounds from the dough, then cut holes in the centers with the 1½-inch cutter. Brush off any excess flour and place on the prepared baking sheet. The holes can also be proofed and fried.

To proof the doughnuts: Cover the baking sheet with a plastic tub or cardboard box and proof until the doughnuts have about doubled in size, about 2 hours. When the dough is delicately pressed with a finger, the impression should remain.

To fry the doughnuts: Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet.

Pour 3 inches of oil into a large Dutch oven or heavy stockpot and heat to 300 degrees.

Gently lower 4 doughnuts into the oil and fry for 45 seconds, without moving the doughnuts, to allow the dough to set; adjust the heat as needed to keep the temperature between 280-300 degrees. Flip the doughnuts over and fry on the second side for about 1 minute. Flip them over again and fry for another minute, or until they are a rich golden brown. Transfer the doughnuts to the rack and cool while you cook the second batch. (Cook the doughnut holes and scraps in a similar fashion, decreasing the time slightly for the smaller pieces.) While the doughnuts are cooling, make the glaze.

To glaze the doughnuts: Combine the blueberries, basil and bourbon in a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and slowly whisk in the confectioner’s sugar, as well as a pinch of salt, and stir until smooth. If the mixture seems too runny, add a bit more sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the mixture seems too thick, add a splash or two more of bourbon (or water, if you want it less boozy) to thin it out.

Dip the cooled doughnuts in the glaze, let set on the cooling rack and serve.