Baker’s Favorite Quick Donuts

 

 

“Fat is flavor! Repeat after me, FAT IS FLAVOR!”

This is the mantra we heard from chef Brian Polcyn at a class long ago. And he was, of course, right!

There are few better ways to use lard than to fry things. Especially in the fall, there are few things yummier to fry than donuts. Lard is especially suited to frying because of it’s high smoke point and tolerance for heat. Rancidity and breaking down into free radicals is an issue with plant fats, some more than others, of course. But not so with pigs bred and raised for good quality fat. The less corn and soy your pigs eat, the cleaner and better quality the fat will be. Lard also gives fried foods a nice, clean, crisp taste. That’s especially true if it’s lard from a heritage, lard type pig like the Mangalitsa.

Here’s our favorite recipe for homemade donuts. If you come to a Homestead Hog Harvest or Charcuterie and Pork Preservation class, we may even make some for you!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Baker Family’s Favorite Quick Donuts

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

  • Author: Jill Baker
Print Recipe

Description

This is one of our favorite recipes, especially in the fall!

Ingredients

Units Scale

4 Egg Yolks (or 2 whole eggs)

1 c. Sugar

2 Tbsp. Soft Shortening (butter, oil, softened lard or tallow)

3/4 c. Thick Buttermilk or Sour Milk*

3 1/2 c. Wheat Flour (White or Whole)

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1/4 tsp. Cinnamon

1/8 tsp. Cloves (optional)

2 tsp. Vanilla (optional, may use instead of spices)

Instructions

Create The Dough

  1. Thoroughly beat the 4 egg yolks (or 2 whole eggs)
  2. Beat in sugar and soft shortening
  3. Stir in thick buttermilk or sour milk (or regular milk if you do not have either)
  4. Sift together dry ingredients and stir into the wet ingredients until smooth (leaving out the baking soda if using regular milk)

Frying

  1. Melt fat in a heavy kettle or deep fat fryer.  You’ll need about 3-4 inches of fat in the pan. Heat to 390º F while you roll out the dough. The fat will drop slightly in temperature when you add the donuts. If it gets too cool, you’ll have greasy donuts. If it gets too hot, the dough will brown too much on the outside before cooking on the inside.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a floured board or counter top. Roll out gently to 1/4″ thick. Cut with a floured sharp donut or biscuit cutter.  You can cut a hole with a smaller cutter for donut holes, or just pinch a hole into the center of the  donut.
  3. Slide the donuts individually gently into the hot fat using a spatula. Get as many in the pan as will fit at a time.
  4. When the donuts rise to the surface and are lightly browned underneath, turn them over.  Fry about 3 minutes until completely browned on both sides.
  5. Lift the donuts from the fat with a long fork or slotted spatula or spoon. Let it drain for a couple seconds over the pan, then place on absorbent paper.

Finishing

There are several ways to finish your fried dough cakes, depending on your tastes:

  1. Enjoy it as is! Dunk it in your coffee, hot chocolate, or spiced cider.
  2. Powdered: Roll it in powdered sugar when you remove it from the fat.
  3. Cinnamon sugar crusted: Roll it in cinnamon sugar (you can make it at home, exactly as it sounds: just mix sugar with a bit of cinnamon to taste) when you remove it from the fat.
  4. Frosted: when the donuts cool, apply your favorite frosting.
  5. Glazed: Add 1/3 cp. boiling water gradually to 1 cup confectioners’ sugar.  Mix well. Dip warm donuts into the warm glaze.

Notes

*If you don’t have buttermilk or sour milk, simply use your regular milk and leave out the baking soda.

You can make a simple hack with the spices by simply using “pumpkin pie spice” in place of all the individual spices.

Go GLUTEN FREE! You can replace the wheat flour with alternative flours, just know the texture will change a bit, too. For a donut dough that sticks together a bit better, add a little extra corn starch, tapioca flour, or arrowroot powder.

Adapted from Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book. This is one of my favorite “how to cook real food” reference books!

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Pastured Pigs: everything you wanted to know

Pastured pigs are the thing for a homesteader for so many reasons. Pigs and pasture/outside land just go together.  

It’s an unconventional idea, though. We hadn’t thought so until we talked about it with a wider audience.  Like so many things, as we’re a couple generations into modern agriculture we’ve forgotten, or never knew, how to raise pigs in a sustainable, regenerative way.  

In truth, we’ve even bred our pigs to not do well on pasture. We’ve found there’s a big difference when you raise a heritage breed, like the Mangalitsa, on pasture vs. a breed adapted to today’s standards like a Yorkshire, Berkshire, or Landrace pigs.  And that raises A LOT of questions. 

“What forages can pastured pigs eat?”

“How much land do I need per pig for this kind of farming?”

“I wonder if there’s something other breeds of pig, like Yorkshire, would eat that could be easily grown.”

“How do I know if my pastured pigs are getting enough and getting the right nutrition?”

These are questions you’ve asked. Here are the answers. 

All About Pastured Pigs: live Q&A with Mark from Baker’s Green Acres.

Want to learn more about Mangalitsa pigs? 

Check out this playlist on our The Anyone Can Farm Youtube channel: How to raise Pastured Pigs

Come to a class! While you learn field to freezer, nose to tail hog butchering skills, you’ll also get to spend a weekend with Mark on Baker’s Green Acres seeing exactly how we raise these Mangalitsas and getting all your questions answered:  Homestead Hog Harvest

Not ready to dive that deep but want to check it all out? Come to Tribe Day to learn homesteading skills and hang out with like minded folks. You can see and experience it all in the summer and make connections that’ll enrich your life whether you’re doing the thing or part of the support system. Join us for Tribe Day in July with early bird pricing through April, 2023.

MILD FETA GOAT MILK CHEESE

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
cheese

MILD FETA GOAT MILK CHEESE

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

  • Author: Jill Baker
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

1 gal. Milk

14 c. Culture or Buttermilk

1/2 tsp. Liquid Rennet

1/4 c. Cool Water

Non-Iodized Coarse Salt

Instructions

 

  1. Warm milk to 86º F. Add 1/4 cup cheese culture or buttermilk and stir well. Let milk set for 1 hour to ripen. 
  2. Add ½ teaspoon liquid rennet to 1/4 cup cool water, add to milk. Stir gently for 1 minute. Cover and allow to set, another hour.
  3. Cut the curds into ½ inch cubes. Allow the cheese to rest, for about 5-1 minutes. Stir gently for 15 minutes, keeping the curds at 86° F. 
  4. Pour curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth. Tie the bag of curds and hang to drain for 4-6 hours.
  5. Slice curd ball in half. Sprinkle hunks of cheese with about 4 to 5 tablespoons of coarse salt. Place slices into a dish, cover and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours.
  6. After 24 hours, salt all surfaces again, let rest at room temperature for 2 more hours.
  7. Place cheese in a covered container, place in the refrigerator and allow to age 5-7 days. Use within 2 weeks or wrap and freeze.

Notes

For information on cheese making basics, please go here.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Excerpt taken from A Cheesemaker's Journey by Mary Jane Toth

To purchase, please click here: https://amzn.to/3Pln21m

Cheese Basics

Equipment for Simple Cheese Making

  •         Stainless steel or enamel pot (NO aluminum)
  •         Slotted spoon
  •         Thermometer
  •         Cheesecloth or linen cloth  (NOT painting cheesecloth)
  •         Rennet
    ⇒Tablet vs. liquid: use liquid. The tablets yield inconsistent, at best, results.⇐
  •         Cultures
    ⇒Vinegar, citric acid, lemon juice, buttermilk⇐
    ⇒Thermophilic or mesophilic culture⇐
    ⇒Yogurt culture, kefir culture/grains⇐
  •         Colander
  •         Long knife
  •         Non-iodized salt (cheese salt, kosher salt, sea salt)

 

Basic procedure

  1.   Heat milk
  2.   Add a culture
  3.   Add rennet
  4.   Process curds according to the particular cheese you’re making.

 

Learn More With These Recommended Books:

A Cheesemaker's Journey by Mary Jane Toth

To purchase go here.

Cheesemaking Made Easy by Ricki Carrol & Robert Carrol

Purchase book here.

The Art of Natural Cheesemaking: Using Traditional, Non-Industrial Methods and Raw Ingredients to Make the World's Best Cheeses by David Asher

To Purchase book, click here.

Sorrel, Chicory, and Crispy Ear Salad

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Sorrel, Chicory, and Crispy Ear Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

  • Author: Jill Baker
  • Yield: Serves 8
Print Recipe

Description

This is a fine accompaniment for Brawn (Headcheese). You will need the pig’s ears as cooked in that recipe.

Ingredients

Scale

2 Pig’s Ears, cooked

Vegetable Oil for Frying

2 Handfuls of Sorrel Leaves, picked from the stems, washed and drained

2 Heads of Chicory (also called Curly Endive or Belgian Endive)

A Handful of Curly Parsley Leaves, picked from the stem

1 Generous tsp. of Capers (extra-fine if possible)

Vinaigrette (recipe here)

Instructions

Allow the ears to cool and firm up, then slice very thinly. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan (or deep-fryer if you have one) and drop the ears in. Be careful, as even if dry they are likely to spit.

Stir to avoid their sticking in one great mass.

When crispy, remove from the oil and lay on paper towels to drain off excess fat.

Pick off the sorrel leaves, chop the chicory, and finely chop the curly parsley, add the capers, dress with vinaigrette, and then top with the crispy ears.

Notes

This excerpt is taken from The Whole Beast by Fergus Henderson, purchase the book here.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!