{recipe from... h e r e}

Homemade Cronuts with Lemon Glaze

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar, divided
1 active yeast package
250 grams (~1 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons) all-purpose flour
250 grams (~1 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons) bread flour
1 Tablespoon salt

Butter Block Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, cool to touch
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Glaze Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups powder sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

MAKE THE DOUGH: In a small bowl or large pyrex, combine the milk and water, and microwave until the temperature is 105-115 degrees F. Stir in 1 Tablespoon sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. (When the sugar and yeast react together, gas bubbles are released thus creating foam, and the mixture will smell of bread. If you do not see any reaction after 5 minutes, your yeast could be bad and you will need to start over.)
In a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flours, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the middle. Pour into it the yeast mixture.
Mix on low until it comes together into a ball (~2 minutes).
Increase the speed to medium and kneed for another 5 minutes. Take the butter out of the refrigerator and set aside. Check the consistency of the dough by gently poking it with your finger. The dough is ready when it does not stick to your finger. However, if the dough sticks to your finger, add more all purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, kneeding briefly after each addition. (*)
Tip the dough onto a lightly flour surface. Form the dough into a ball, then transfer to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. As you wait, make the butter block.
MAKE THE BUTTER BLOCK: Clean your standing mixer bowl, and switch out the dough hook attachment for the paddle attachment. In the standing mixer on low-medium speed, beat the butter and 1/2 cup all purpose flour until smooth. Do not beat on high speed as you do not want to incorporate air into the butter.
Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Lightly sprinkle with flour. Transfer the butter onto the middle of the plastic wrap. Fold over half of the plastic wrap, as if you were closing a book, creating a flat edge of butter along the fold. Use your hands to gently spread the softened butter into a 7" square. Fold over the 3 other sides to enclose the butter. Transfer to a flat surface, such as a small cutting board. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Use a paper towel to gently soak up any extra oil from the dough. Roll the dough into a 10" square. Place the butter block in the middle of the square, like a diamond.
Cut halfway through the dough at the butter's edges. Roll out the "cut" corners 1-2 times, until long enough to cover the butter when folded.
Stretch and fold the dough edges over the butter, and pinch the edges together where they meet on the sides and in the middle.
Flip the dough over and position it so it looks like a square instead of a diamond. Using a rolling pin, firmly press down along the dough, creating wavy indentations (*). Roll into a 10"x20" rectangle, with the short end facing you. Along the way, ensure that the dough is not sticking to the surface underneath by adding a light sprinkle of flour as needed.
Use a dry brush to get rid of excess flour. Fold the bottom third of the dough up, brush off excess flour, then fold the top third of the dough dough, again brushing away excess flour. Pinch the sides together. Turn the dough 90 degrees so that the open edge or flap is on the right, like a book. Transfer to a small baking sheet, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. This was your first turn.
Do the second turn: remove the dough from the refrigerator, and return to your lightly floured surface. Position the dough as it was, with the flap on the right like a book ready to be opened. Roll the dough into a 10"x20" rectangle, with the short side facing you. Brush away the excess flour. Fold the bottom third up, and the top third down, brushing away the excess flour in between. Turn the dough 90 degrees, so that the flap is on the right. Return to the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and return to the refrigerator for another hour.
Repeat the above step two more times (for a grand total of 4 turns), but for these turns, roll the dough into a 9"x16" rectangle rather than a 10"x20" rectangle.
After turn #4, refrigerate the dough overnight.
The next day: On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, with 1/2" thickness, flipping the dough throughout to get an even roll, and adding a sprinkle of flour with each flip.
Use a donut cookie-cutter (*) to cut out 8 donuts. (Dip the cookie-cutter in flour between each cut to prevent sticking, allowing for easy release). Gently transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, placing 2" apart.
Using a 1" cookie-cutter or a piping tip, cut out donut holes from the remaining dough. (Again, dip the cookie-cutter in flour between each cut to prevent sticking). Transfer the donut holes to a second parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover both baking sheets with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
DEEP FRY: In a large saucepan, heat 2 1/2" - 3" of oil until it is 350F. (*) Using a spider whisk, gently place the donuts into the oil. Fry for ~1 1/2 minutes on each side. Only fry up to 3 donuts at a time.
Once done, transfer the donuts onto a cooking rack heavily lined with paper towels. Fry the remaining donuts and donut holes.
Once the donuts are cool enough to handle, roll the donuts in sugar, covering completely.
MAKE THE GLAZE: Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the donuts and donut holes.
Donuts are best the same day. Otherwise, store donuts, covered, in the refrigerator up to a few days.