Paul’s $1 Perfect 20-minute Donut Recipe for Idiots

Paul’s $1 Perfect 20-minute Donut Recipe for Idiots

This recipe is perfect, costs about $1 per dozen and is easy enough for pretty well anyone to make in 20 minutes and oh yes, the donuts are incredibly good!

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The equipment you need is a microwave or some device for heating such as a stove or hotplate and a cast iron skillet or deep fryer for cooking the donuts.

The ingredients you need are:

• Vegetable oil (for cooking) you will need about 1.5 inches (4 cm) deep of oil so the donuts float.
• ½ teaspoon (2 ml) of salt
• 1 potato (250 gr or more) not too small not too big
• 5 teaspoons (25 ml) of yeast
• ¼ cup (60 ml) of  sugar
• 1 cup  (250 ml) of milk (needs to be warm)
• 2 cups (500 ml) of all purpose flour

First we need to cook the potato as we will use mashed potatoes in the recipe. So bake your potato any way you can. I use a microwave; I poke holes in the potato with a fork and nuke it for around 5 minutes in the microwave.

I preheat the oil at 375 F (190 C) and I put enough vegetable oil in my deep fryer so the donuts will float. Usually around 1.5 inches (4 cm) deep will do. If the donuts touch the bottom they will burn. You can use a cast iron skillet or a deep fryer, I use a deep fryer. 

Donut Dough:

To make the donut dough put 5 teaspoons (25 ml) of yeast in 1 cup (250 ml) of warm milk. I use a microwave heat the milk. My microwave takes around 30 to 40 seconds to warm the milk up. If the milk is too hot it will kill the yeast and if it is cold the yeast will not activate. Once the milk is warm add the yeast and a pinch of sugar. The sugar will ensure the yeast is activated and grows. The sugar is not to sweeten the milk but to ensure the yeast is activated, so just use a pinch of sugar. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes at least.

On a cutting board or countertop take the skin off your baked potato, use around half the potato and mash it with a fork. What you want is around ½ a cup (125 ml) of mashed potato so use as much of the potato as you need to get ½ a cup (125 ml) of mashed potatoes.