Paul Hollywood’s Jam Doughnuts | Bake Off Technical Challenge

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I’ve always wanted to try deep-fat frying something – and it was so much fun! I tried deep-fat frying just using a pot, sugar thermometer and a crazy amount of sunflower oil the other week to complete another of the Bake Off Technical Challenges: Paul Hollywood’s Jam Doughnuts.

I decided to half the recipe (making 10 doughnuts seemed slightly excessive…) and actually think it went really well! Usually, I try not to deviate from the recipe when trying to do the Technical Challenges…. However, with this one I just couldn’t resist! These Jam Doughnuts are just too much like German “Berliner” – find out what I mean by that below!

Paul Hollywood’s Jam Doughnuts Recipe

The original recipe (which you can find on the BBC Food website here) makes enough dough for making 10 doughnuts. Since I can’t (well… better say shouldn’t) eat 10 doughnuts I decided to half the recipe and only make 5. The recipe actually lent itself really well to halving, the only thing I thought was that the dough was quite sticky, so I ended up adding a little extra flour.

For the filling, the original recipe called for strawberry jam. I’m not a great fan of strawberry jam, so I used my mum’s homemade raspberry jam instead. You can of course use shop-bought jam or try making some yourself. For example, you could follow the raspberry jam recipe (or use strawberries) in my Bakewell Tart post, but you would probably have to triple the amounts. I would also recommend using a 2:1 ratio between fruit and sugar, so using 300g raspberries and 150g jam sugar.

“Ich bin ein Berliner” – Are you from Berlin or are you a Jam Doughnut?

Paul’s original Jam Doughnuts recipe called for rolling the doughnuts in caster sugar after frying them. However, in Germany a very similar bake (can you call it a bake when you don’t use the oven?) exists – a jam-filled doughnut coated in icing sugar which is called a “Berliner”. I haven’t had a Berliner in years and really like the icing sugar coating, so I couldn’t resist coating these doughnuts in icing sugar instead.

Some of you might be aware of the “joke” surrounding this German classic. When John F. Kennedy went to visit West Berlin in 1963 he gave a famous speech titled “I bin ein Berliner”. What he was trying to say, was that he is a “Berliner”, which is what a person from Berlin is called. But technically, he was also saying that he’s a jam doughnut…

What equipment do you need to make Paul Hollywood’s Jam Doughnuts?

When it comes to making the dough you can of course use your hands to do it. I usually love making and kneading dough by hand, but it is definitely a bit more difficult when it is an enriched dough (i.e. it contains sugar and fat, e.g. in form of milk, butter, eggs or a mix of those). Enriched dough can be quite sticky to work with, so I would definitely recommend using an electric whisk with a dough hook attachment to make this. I was excited to not use my hand-held mixer this time, but to test out my brand-new Kenwood Kitchen Chef! It was great being able to leave the dough to knead while going off to do other things!

For deep-fat frying, you can obviously use a deep-fat fryer if you have one. That is the easiest option as it can control the heat of the oil, however, I am assuming most people do not own a deep-fat fryer.

You can also use a pot, but you will definitely need a sugar thermometer so that you can keep an eye on the temperature. The oil needs to be at around 180-190°C in order for the doughnuts to cook all the way through without burning. Once the oil is hot, it tends to get hotter very quickly. If you have a gas hob though, it is fairly easy to control the heat by checking the thermometer and increasing/decreasing the flame depending on if the oil gets too hot or too cold. This is a bit harder if you have an electric hob, there you might have to try moving the pot on and off the heat.

Finally, you will also need a large slotted spoon to help you carefully lower and remove the doughnuts from the oil.

More Technical Challenges from the Great British Bake Off

I am absolutely obsessed with the Great British Bake Off and have challenged myself to attempt all of (or at least the ones that are “realistic” – I won’t be making pitta breads on a camp fire in the back garden!) the technical challenges from the programme! I have tried quite a few already, so make sure you check out some of the other recipes and see how I got on!

Paul Hollywood’s Jam Doughnuts | Bake Off Technical Challenge

Recipe

Ingredients (makes 5 doughnuts, easily doubled):

FOR THE DOUGH:

250g strong white bread flour
25g caster sugar
20g unsalted butter
7g (1 sachet) instant yeast
5g salt
75ml lukewarm milk
65ml water

TO FINISH:

5 tbsp raspberry jam
100-150g icing sugar

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

Electric mixer (I used my brand-new Kenwood!)
Deep saucepan (or a deep-fat fryer)
0.75L sunflower oil (or a little more)
Large slotted spoon
Sugar Thermometer (I can highly recommend this one)
Piping Bag

Method:

To make the dough, place all ingredients into a large bowl reserving roughly a quarter of the water.
Carefully stir with your hands or a wooden spoon until a dough is formed.
Slowly add the remaining water and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes until stretchy and smooth. Either do this in the free-standing mixer, or, if doing by hand, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface after a few minutes and continue kneading there.
If kneading by hand, place the dough back into the bowl, then cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for an hour until doubled in size.
Tip the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and deflate the dough by pressing down into the dough using your knuckles. This technique is known as knocking back.
Divide the dough into 5 equal portions (around 80g each). Tuck the outer parts of the dough into the middle, then place onto the surface seam-side down. Cup your hand over the dough and using circular motions, shape each portion into a ball.
Place all balls onto a floured baking tray and allow to rise again for an hour.
Fill a deep pot (or a deep-fat fryer) with sunflower oil, enough to make sure the doughnuts will float in it. Heat the oil to 180°C, using the sugar thermometer to control the heat. When you are frying the doughnuts, watch the thermometer carefully and turn the flame (if using a gas cooker) up or down to adjust.
Lower each doughnut into the hot oil and cook on one side for 4-5 minutes. Carefully flip, then cook the other side for a further 4-5 minutes until the doughnuts are golden brown and cooked through.
Use a slotted room to remove the doughnuts from the oil and roll in the icing sugar until fully coated.
Then set the doughnuts aside and leave to cool.
Spoon the raspberry jam into a piping bag or a piping syringe. Use a sharp knife or metal straw to cut an opening, then pipe a generous amount of jam into the doughnuts.