Jam Doughnuts

Pillowy enriched-dough doughnuts fried until golden, tossed in caster sugar and piped full of fruity jam.

⏱️ Prep: 30 min🍳 Cook: 4 min🍽️ Makes 20

Ingredients

500 g		strong white bread flour
60 g		golden caster sugar
15 g		fresh yeast, crumbled
4		eggs
½ lemon		lemon zest
2 tsp	10 ml	fine sea salt
125 g		softened unsalted butter
150 g		water
2 litres		sunflower oil, for deep-frying
—		caster sugar, for tossing
300 g		jam, for filling

Put the 150g water and all the dough ingredients except the butter into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a beater paddle. Mix on medium speed for 8 mins, or until the dough comes away from the sides and forms a ball. Turn off the mixer and rest the dough for 1 min.
Start the mixer again on medium and slowly add the butter, about 25g at a time. Once incorporated, mix on high speed for 5 mins until the dough is glossy, smooth and very elastic.
Cover the bowl and leave to prove until doubled in size. Knock back briefly, re-cover and chill in the fridge overnight.
The next day, cut the dough into 50g pieces (about 20).
Roll each into a smooth, tight bun and place on a floured tray, well spaced so they don't stick as they prove.
Cover loosely and leave for 4 hrs, or until doubled. Half-fill a deep-fat fryer or heavy-based pan with the sunflower oil and heat to 180C.
Carefully slide the doughnuts off the tray with a floured pastry scraper and lower into the oil without deflating them, 2–3 per batch.
Fry for 2 mins each side until golden brown; they puff up and float, so gently push them under after 1 min to colour evenly.
Lift out onto kitchen paper to drain.
Toss in caster sugar while still warm. Repeat, checking the oil stays at temperature. Cool before filling.
Make a hole with a small knife in the crease of each doughnut, along the white line between the fried top and bottom.
Pipe in jam until nicely swollen, about 1 tbsp per doughnut. Best eaten straight away; store in an airtight tin.