Crullers. Fritters. Old-fashioned. Cake. Twist. Glazed. Jelly-filled. Whatever style and flavor of donut comes to mind when you’re craving one, odds are that it is something decadently sweet and sugary. But have you ever tried a savory donut? Instead of glazing your donut with sugar or filling it with cream, top it with some herbs and coarse sea salt for a change.
Donuts are a perfect food. Whether they’re raised or cakey, frosted or glazed, stuffed or iced, they are grand. Each and every one of them. We could subsist on sweet donuts for days, only we would miss the taste of salt (and the ability to see our toes).
Enter the savory donut. Savory donuts are not new to the world. People have been experimenting with making donuts viable lunch or dinner options for a long time. I personally am not a fan of deep-fried things whether they are sweet or savory. So, my recipe challenge today was to make a savory raised baked donut. Since potato dough is one of my favorites, why not go with a savory sweet potato donut!
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- 320 gm (about 1 1/3 cup) sweet potato, cooked & mashed
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups flour, divided
- 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water, divided
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Ingredients
Dough
Topping
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- In a bowl, combine yeast, 1/2 cup flour & 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Let sit for about 20 minutes until frothy.
- Cook & mash sweet potato; add it along with the remaining 3/4 cup lukewarm water, 4 cups flour, olive oil & salt to the yeast mixture. When dough forms, knead for about 7-8 minutes until the dough is soft & satiny. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & allow to rise in a draft free area until doubled in size.
- Lightly grease your work surface with olive oil. Put the dough on it & pat it out with your hands or rolling pin into a 12 x 14-inch rectangle. Using a donut cutter make 12 donuts. With the remaining scraps, divide equally into 8 portions and form into balls. You can either leave them as is or cut holes in the centers for the donut 'look'.
- Place the donuts in 'donut' pans or on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and allow to raise until doubled in size.
- 1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Add the rosemary to the olive oil. Very lightly brush the tops with the olive oil and rosemary mixture. Sprinkle with sea salt.
- Bake for about 20 minutes. The tops will be lightly browned. Remove to a rack to cool.
- Beauregard is the most common sweet potato sold at grocery stores. The skin is reddish, and the flesh is bright orange and is the sweetest for orange types. The slightly stringy, soft, and moist texture makes it great for mashing into a puree for baking.