Trying to make healthy donuts--help!

College Confidential Community
1

<p>Initial recipe:
1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons warm water (105–115°F)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for sprinkling and rolling out dough
1 cup whole milk at room temperature
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
About 10 cups vegetable oil for deep frying</p>

<p>Healthified recipe:
1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons warm water (105–115°F)
3 1/4 cups wheat flour plus additional for sprinkling and rolling out dough
1 cup skim milk at room temperature
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened -- how can i substitute this?
3 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
About 10 cups sesame oil for deep frying</p>

<p>--</p>

<p>Will this work? I'm not much of a baker, but will this taste OK? Also, would it work to add chunks of granola/carob chips to the dough?</p>

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<p>crisco maybe. cause you know lard is a great substitute.. however hate to say it but all types of pastry does consist of alittle-alot of butter..</p>

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<p>I think using skim milk instead of whole and whites instead of yolks will change the chemistry of your product alot; substituting for the fat in butter will as well. Baking is ALOT like chemistry & you should search the internet for the role of fat in baking. Often it is largely flavor, but it does other things as well. If your going to deep fry I'm in not sure if trying to reduce the fat in the recipe is going to make your treat "low fat". Why sesame oil? I'm not sure it has a high enough "smoke point" for deep frying. I think "safflower oil" is supposed to be the healthiest & while some are worse for your health ( I think Crisco is worse because it's hydrogenated ) I believe they all have the same 9 caloriess per gram. There are different wheat flours but whole wheat flour will be too "heavy". "White whole wheat" or a combo might work. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Yeah, I think Crisco might work... However, since it is deep fried, you might not be able to make it too healthy anyway. It sounds like most of your changes shouldn't affect the recipe too much, but like Shrinkrap says, taking out the fat might change the recipe a lot. Anyway, good luck!</p>

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<p>Donuts are never healthy. I think the "healthified" recipe will taste terrible. But go for it if you want.</p>

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<p>Here's a google link.</p>

<p>[<a href="http://library.thinkquest.org/J003336/healthydonuts.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://library.thinkquest.org/J003336/healthydonuts.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>The skim milk may not work well either. And I would try frying in canola oil instead of sesame.</p>

<p>I, for one, would not bother eating a donut without sugar. Might as well eat a piece of fried bread.</p>

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<p>Dont they make healthy doughnuts already? i thought they were called bagels.</p>

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<p>I didn't notice the second recipe has no sugar. Sugar ( sometimes in the form of apple butter or prune puree for health reasons; adds moisture with less fat) is a pretty key part of the science of baking.</p>

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<p>I think adding homer simpson's adipose tissue will do the trick</p>

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<p>10 cups of sesame oil is most likely going to be a lot more expensive than vegetable oil unless you're using really cheap stuff. Also, sesame oil has a flavor+scent and that might make it taste not like a typical donut. Id just stick to the vegetable oil, and I dont know if sesame oil is any healthier anyway.
When I bake I always use margarine instead of butter, I dont notice any difference but then again I'm not really picky about those kinds of things. You could probably cut down the butter by at least 1/4 and it'd be ok but I think the main problem is the oil. Find some way to cook it without using as much. You probably do this already but after you cook it put it on paper towels to absorb the oil, that might help.
Donuts are supposed to be pretty soft so I think adding granola to it will make it taste kind of weird. If you want to add it I think you should maybe glaze the donuts and then put the granola on it while its still not dry yet.
But basically you probably aren't going to be able to make a really healthy donut because it is after all deepfried.
The only way I can think of is to bake the donuts instead of deepfrying them but I've never tried it and have no idea how it would taste. Here's some recipes you can look at if you want to do that.
<a href="http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,baked_donuts,FF.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,baked_donuts,FF.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Ok, thanks for all the help.</p>

<p>I wikipedia'd it and sesame oil is supposedly good for deep frying, but it's also very low in saturated fat. However that odd smell sounds bad. I forgot to put sugar in the 2nd recipe, but it's supposed to be there. I might replace the sugar with Xylitol, or even splenda? Any ideas?</p>

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<p>Both are bad, but Crisco is even WORSE than butter healthwise. Both are pure fat, but another term for shortening is partially-hydrogenated vegetable, in other words Trans Fats.</p>

<p>"Healthy donuts" is a contradiction.</p>

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<p>The idea of a healthy donut makes me sick.</p>

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<p>The link I posted has a recipe for "healthy" donuts and some impressions of them. They are baked.</p>