Can I use instant yeast?

Yes! There is no need to activate or bloom instant yeast in warm milk. Just combine all of the brioche ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer and proceed with the recipe. Make sure your milk is warm though.

I don’t have a stand mixer. Can I make this by hand?

Yes, you can! Believe it or not, I used to make all yeast doughs by hand. You will just need to knead the dough by hand for up to 20 minutes. It can get quite sticky, but refrain from adding too much flour. I like to knead the dough with oiled hands and use a plastic bench scraper to help move the dough around. Don’t forget to perform the window pane test to know that it has been properly kneaded.

What are freeze-dried strawberries?

In the simplest of terms, freeze-drying is a process in which 98% of water is removed from a product while also retaining its nutrients and flavor. According to the FDA, freeze-drying or lyophilization removes water by freezing a product at a low temperature and then placing it under a vacuum. This allows the ice to change directly from a solid state to vapor, all while bypassing the liquid phase. This leaves the strawberries dry, light and crisp.

Rose Brioche Donuts

Description

Gorgeous Rose Brioche Donuts coated in pink sugar! These ultra fluffy brioche rose-shaped donuts are fried to perfection and then coated in a delicious strawberry sugar. A special treat that will surely impress!

Ingredients

Scale

Brioche Dough

¾ Cup (170g) Whole Milk, warmed 105 to 110ºg (40 to 43ºC)
2 ¼ Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
1/3 Cup + 1 Teaspoon (67g + 4g) Granulated White Sugar, divided
2 1/2 Cups (300g) Bread Flour
1 1/2 Cups (180g) All-Purpose Flour
3 Tablespoons Dry Milk Powder (optional)
6 Tablespoons (85g) Salted Butter, softened *see note below
2 Large Eggs + 1 Yolk, room temp
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Paste or Extract
1 Tablespoon Rum (optional)

Coating

1 Cup (200g) White Sugar
2 Tablespoons (7g) Freeze Dried Strawberry Powder, **see note below

For Frying

2 Quarts (1.89 L) of Oil (canola, vegetable or shortening)

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Instructions

Make your brioche dough. In a small bowl, combine warm milk (105ºF/41ºC), 1 teaspoon sugar and active dry yeast. Allow to “bloom” for about 8 to 10 minutes. The yeast mixture should be frothy. ***See note below for instant yeast.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, add yeast/milk mixture, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, yolk, softened butter, vanilla, rum, bread flour, all-purpose flour and dry milk powder. With a spoon or spatula, mix the ingredients together until a rough ball of dough forms (will be shaggy).
Fit your stand mixer with a hook attachment and knead the dough on medium speed for 20 minutes. The dough should be elastic and is ready when it passes the window pane test (****see note below).
Coat your hands with oil and lift the dough out of the bowl and form it into a ball. Then oil your bowl (I use the same one) and place the dough back in. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
Gently punch the risen dough down to release gas bubbles. Transfer the dough onto a work surface and divide into 30 equal pieces. *****See note below.
Grab a piece of dough and press it flat to get rid of any air bubbles. Then gather and pinch the edges together and place it on your work surface. Next, start rolling the dough into a ball with your hand in a “claw” shape. You’ll want the balls to be as tight and smooth as possible. Please watch the video below. Be sure to cover your dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
With a rolling pin, roll the dough balls into flat round discs to about 1/8 inch (3.1 mm) thickness.
Shape your rose donuts (see photos and video for reference). Start by overlapping 5 discs of dough on top of one another in a straight line. Place a chopstick on its side and press it down the middle of the dough (lengthwise) to help fuse the pieces together. Flatten the edges of the dough with your finger tips, then tightly roll into a log. Finally, with a sharp knife, cut the log into 2 pieces. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. You should have a total of 12 rose donuts.
Place the donuts on 4×4 inch (10×10 cm) parchment paper squares and then transfer to a large baking tray. Make sure to place them 2 inches apart to give them enough space to proof.
Loosely cover the tray with plastic wrap and allow to proof for about 30 minutes or until it passes the “poke” test. (******see note below)
While the donuts are proofing, make your coating! Pulse freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder and combine with your sugar; set aside.
Frying and finishing your donuts. Next, get your oil ready so that you can start frying right away. Fill a medium to large sized pot with 2 to 3 inches of vegetable shortening or neutral oil such as canola, vegetable, or avocado oil.
Optional – When the donuts are done proofing and is ready to be fried, gently pinch and flatten the edges of the rose petals to create a more distinct rose shape. See photo in body of the post for reference.
Once the oil reaches 350ºF to 360ºF (176ºC to 182ºC), fry 2 to 3 donuts at a time for 1 minute and 20 seconds on each side (set a timer). Try not to overcrowd the pot as it will bring the temperature down. I HIGHLY recommend using a thermometer to monitor the oil.
Transfer fried donuts onto a cooling rack lined with paper towel. Allow to cool for several minutes and then coat with pink sugar. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

*If you are using unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt to your dough mixture.

**1/4 cup of uncrushed freeze-dried strawberries will yield about 2 tablespoons of strawberry powder.

***For Instant Yeast; Combine instant yeast with all the dough ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer and proceed to step 3. Just make sure the salt and yeast are not touching and that your milk is warm.

****To perform the Window Pane Test, take a small (2 tbsp) ball of dough and stretch it into a small square. It should be stretched thin enough to let light pass through without tearing it. If it tears, knead for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

*****Dividing Dough – Weigh your dough after the first rise and then divide that number by 30. For example, my dough weighed 953 grams. After dividing it by 30, it came out to 31.1 grams. So each dough ball weighs between 31 and 32 grams.

******How to know when your donuts are done proofing – Perform a “Poke” test! Gently press your pointer finger into the dough and if it springs back slowly and leaves a slight indentation, it’s ready. If the dough bounces back immediately, then needs more time.

Prep Time: 1 Hr
Rise/Proof Time: 1 Hr + 30 Mins
Cook Time: 10 Mins Total