Maple Doughnut Bars

Baking is a more precise science than cooking due to its chemistry, because a few teaspoons too much of one ingredient could potentially completely ruin a dessert. A chef can add more salt or lemon juice to a chicken dish to affect the taste and not the chemistry, and while a baker can affect the taste of a dish, the basic ingredients (water, flour, sugar, butter) affect the chemistry. All this to say, to the Americans that may read this, this particular dish uses a scale and weights only because it needs to be that precise. Ten different scoops of flour can weigh ten different weights depending on the type of flour, brand, how packed it may be, the age, or one hundred other factors.

MAKES: 15-20

INGREDIENTS:

For the dough:

• 100mL water
• 130mL milk
• 20mL vinegar
• 1 beaten egg
• 58g melted butter
• 455g all-purpose flour
• 58g sugar
• 1 tsp (2.5g) salt
• 1 ½ tsp (4g) yeast

For the maple glaze:

• 2 cups (240) powdered sugar
• Milk, as needed
• 3 tbsp (30mL) pure maple syrup

STEPS:

1. Using a scale, measure out the ingredients that need to be weighed. For the butter, measure the weight before melting.
2. In a large bowl, combine the water, egg, and melted butter. Pour the milk in a measuring cup and mix in the vinegar (for buttermilk; alternatively use 150mL of buttermilk). Add to the rest of the wet ingredients.
3. Add the dry ingredients, yeast last, and combine.
4. Mix until a dough forms. Cover with a towel and let it rise for about an hour. On a lightly floured board, knead the dough for five minutes or until it's soft and consistent in texture. Work with half the dough at a time, placing the unused portion under a towel.
5. With one half of the dough, roll it out with a rolling pin to make a rectangle shape about 1cm thick. Cut into small rectangles.
6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper and place the doughnut bars on it. Turn on the oven and let it heat up for a couple minutes, then turn it off, just to warm it up. While doing so, boil water and pour into an oven-safe dish, then put it in the oven. The steam from the hot water prevents the doughnuts from forming a skin while they’re rising.
7. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes. Just before they’re ready to come out of the oven, heat up a deep-fryer or prepare a frying pan with cooking oil, enough to coat about half the doughnut when placed in the pan. You can test the oil by dropping in a small piece of dough. It should start to sizzle right away but won’t brown immediately.
8. Cook the doughnuts in the oil for 3-4 minutes, then flip and cook them for another 3 minutes. Place on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil.
9. Once all the doughnuts are cooked, allow them to cool for 10 minutes and then prepare the maple glaze. Combine the icing sugar and maple syrup and then add milk a bit at a time, adding more as needed depending on your desired consistency. It should be just runny enough to coat the doughnuts.
10. Dip the doughnuts in the glaze and place on a cooling rack so excess glaze can run off. Wait a few more minutes to allow the glaze to firm before enjoying.