Excerpt
Introduction
Doughnuts or donuts, however you spell this sweet treatand#8212;the mere word elicits a passionate response from devotees. A Bakerand#8217;s Field Guide to Doughnuts brings you the recipes and information you need to make airy, yeast-risen doughnuts as well as cakelike baking powder doughnuts in flavors sure to please both kids and adults, whether youand#8217;re looking for a classic or something new. You will also find doughnutsand#8217; brethren, such as fritters, churros, and beignets, in all sorts of flavors, shapes, and sizes.
Doughnut history is murky: Some say they were brought to North America by Dutch settlers, while others point to the fact that archaeologists have found remnants of fried ring-shaped cakes in the southwestern United States, suggesting that they were made by early Native Americans. Regardless of their origin, by the 1920s doughnuts were being mass-produced in the United States and had become a standard American treat. The popularity of doughnuts was firmly cemented with the opening of large chains such as Krispy Kreme and Dunkinand#8217; Donuts in the and#8217;40s and and#8217;50sand#8212;in fact, most people have only ever bought their doughnuts, never made them at home.
I hope to change that in A Bakerand#8217;s Field Guide to Doughnuts, as making your own doughnuts requires mastering just a few techniques and will reward you with incredible flavor and texture that you simply wonand#8217;t find in store-bought doughnuts.