← Things Bakers Know: The King Arthur Baking Podcast
Things Bakers Know: The King Arthur Baking Podcast
Diving Deep on Doughnuts, with Fany Gerson
00:49:43
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- [00:00]
Jessica Battalana
This episode is sponsored by Brod and Taylor, helping more people bake bread. Gather around the table and share something made by hand.
- [00:07]
David Tamarkin
It's a game.
- [00:08]
Jessica Battalana
It is.
- [00:08]
David Tamarkin
It's a game with hot oil. You're playing with literal fire. And good luck.
- [00:17]
Jessica Battalana
From King Arthur Baking Company. This is things bakers know. I'm Jessica Battalana, King Arthur's staff editor.
- [00:23]
David Tamarkin
And I'm David Tamarkin, King Arthur's editorial director. And today, it's our donut episode. Long time coming. Yeah, Donut day. Is there a donut day? I think there is.
- [00:37]
Jessica Battalana
Oh, there's definitely a donut day. There are multiple donut days, and today is one of them. And I'm gonna start today's episode with a little story time. Gather round, children.
- [00:46]
David Tamarkin
Oh, I'm here.
- [00:49]
Jessica Battalana
So there's a family story about donuts that I thought was, like, a nice. It's another one.
- [00:53]
David Tamarkin
Battle on a family story.
- [00:54]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, a battle on a family story. It's another one that's like, is it funny or is it sad? I'll let you decide. Kind of like my car crash one in the Chinatown Bay. Cause if people haven't heard that, they can go back and hear about that.
- [01:06]
David Tamarkin
Okay. Yes.
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Jessica Battalana
So a similar story. So listeners of this podcast, and you know that I grew up not far from King Arthur headquarters in rural Vermont, and I was probably like, 8 or maybe 10 years old, and it was a snowy winter day, and I got a call from a friend inviting me to come for a play date.
- [01:26]
David Tamarkin
I waited for that call my entire childhood.
- [01:32]
Jessica Battalana
So, you know, I browbeat my parents into taking me to my friend's house. We at that time had an old Pontiac station wagon. You know, the kind with a wood panel. Yeah, or the wood panel. I'm using quotes because it was not really wood. And so I begged my dad, and my dad sets off to my friend's house, which is, like, up a, you know, windy dirt road, as many houses in rural Vermont are. And we get, like, partway up the road, and my. The car will not. Like, the tires are spinning. Like, we can't get up the hill. No traction. I'm desperate to go to this play date. I probably like you. Like, they were probably few and far between. And so I was bound and determined to go to this play date. So I said to my dad, it's fine. Their house is just around the bend. I'll walk.
- [02:16]
David Tamarkin
That tracks for you, knowing who you are.
- [02:19]
Fanny Gerson
Yeah.
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Jessica Battalana
Independent child. And my dad was like, okay. So he drops me off and he goes, I think to Work.
- [02:24]
David Tamarkin
He slides down the hill.
- [02:25]
Jessica Battalana
He backs up. He leaves me on this road. I start walking, and I round the bend, and it's the strangest thing, but the house is not there. And I think I must have just misremembered.
- [02:37]
David Tamarkin
Okay.
- [02:37]
Jessica Battalana
So I keep walking alone on this dirt road, and it starts snowing, like, a little harder now. And I'm walking and I'm walking and I am walking. And, you know, this is like, pre. Cell phone, pre. Meanwhile, the family that I was supposed to have the play date has, like, called my mother and said, like, your daughter has not shown up.
- [02:56]
David Tamarkin
Oh, no. Oh, my gosh.
- [02:58]
Jessica Battalana
And then this car drives up.
- [03:01]
David Tamarkin
Okay, I would run.
- [03:02]
Jessica Battalana
I know, because this was like, peak 80s stranger danger. Like, do not talk to strangers. Do not get in a car with strangers.
- [03:10]
David Tamarkin
And this older man in the dark,
- [03:13]
Jessica Battalana
in the dark, snowy woods.
- [03:15]
David Tamarkin
No.
- [03:16]
Jessica Battalana
And he leans out the car window and he's like, are you lost? And I at that point was like, yeah, I'm lost. Like, I. I don't. You know, like, I shouldn't get in the car with this. But also, like, I can't keep walking forever. And Zim says, like, what?
- [03:30]
David Tamarkin
It's gonna end badly either way. Choose your poison.
- [03:34]
Jessica Battalana
So he's like, get in the car and I'll drive you to my house and you can call your parents. I did. I did. I got in the car. This story is a happy ending, though. And we drive a couple of miles down the road to his old farmhouse.
- [03:50]
David Tamarkin
I'm waiting for the donuts to show up.
- [03:52]
Jessica Battalana
Donuts are about to show up. We go into his house. His wife is there. They're quite elderly, and she is frying donuts in their house.
- [04:02]
David Tamarkin
Wow.
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Jessica Battalana
Just for, like, an afternoon snack.
- [04:05]
David Tamarkin
Oh, wow.
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Jessica Battalana
And I was like, actually, this, like, worked out all right for me. Like, I was so cold. I come in from the cold, and it's just like that smell of, like, a freshly fried donut. It's like Hansel and Gretel a little bit, you know.
- [04:19]
David Tamarkin
Oh, a little bit. Yeah, A lot.
- [04:22]
Jessica Battalana
Anyway, all's well that ends well. They call my parents. My parents have to borrow somebody else's car, like a truck to come rescue me. And they're like, your daughter's safe here eating donuts. My parents showed up. They sent us home with, like, a half dozen freshly cooked cake donuts. And I live to tell the tale.
- [04:42]
David Tamarkin
So you know what? I. For a minute, I thought the story was going to be like. And I decided to stay. And that family came, my mom and dad.
- [04:53]
Jessica Battalana
I tell you that story because obviously it ties into donuts. But there was a time in my childhood, and I think probably for other kids that grew up in rural areas where people did make donuts at home,
- [05:03]
David Tamarkin
I think it was more common. It was more common back in the day.
- [05:06]
Jessica Battalana
Back in the day. But still, it felt like a pretty extraordinary thing to wander in from the woods to discover.
- [05:12]
David Tamarkin
Yeah.
- [05:13]
Jessica Battalana
Anyway, donuts. The topic of today's episode, Were the donuts good? They were great.
- [05:17]
David Tamarkin
And were they. Question.
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Jessica Battalana
Here we go.
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David Tamarkin
I think I know the answer. Were they cake donuts or were they yeasted donuts?
- [05:24]
Jessica Battalana
They were cake donuts.
- [05:25]
David Tamarkin
Yes.
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Jessica Battalana
And to this day, I mean, I'm already gonna tip my hand early here and say that I love a cake donut. I mean, I like a yeast donut too. But for me, when you say, like, what is your perfect donut? It's gonna be a cake donut.
- [05:40]
David Tamarkin
It's really a who are you at your core question.
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Jessica Battalana
I think it is, yeah. Are you fluffy and insubstantial but sweet?
- [05:47]
David Tamarkin
Are you? Right?
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Jessica Battalana
Yeah, I think that's. Is that what you were gonna say?
- [05:54]
David Tamarkin
No, but I like that.
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Jessica Battalana
I mean, donuts are. People made donuts. You know, I think people made donuts at home prior to donut chains being ubiquitous, which they are now. But donuts are a uniquely. Well, I don't know if that's fair to say. They are an American bake. You know, we've talked about business.
- [06:15]
David Tamarkin
The donuts, the round donut that we think of, I think is.
- [06:19]
Jessica Battalana
Is. But it of course has, you know, it originates as all things do, with something else, which is, you know, Americans were not the first people to fry dough in hot fat. I mean, the credit is given to the Dutch for, you know, that today the modern day donut that we think of as a yeasted or, you know, cake donut fried in oil is a descendant of the something called olibolin or oil balls, which were just balls of fried dough. So that's like, you know, I mean, I think that has roots anywhere there was. I've said this before, I feel like anywhere where there was hot oil and dough, like, of course people tried to fry it.
- [06:57]
David Tamarkin
Yeah, why not? Yeah. But the modern donut, right, but that donut that you're talking about, that was brought to America by immigrants, European immigrants, like you said, it was like either donut whole or maybe it was a little bit bigger, but it did not have a hole in the middle, a
- [07:11]
Jessica Battalana
hole in the center.
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David Tamarkin
It was a round of dough that had been fried and maybe Put, you know, tossed with sugar. The hole, I think, is an American invention.
- [07:20]
Jessica Battalana
Okay.
- [07:21]
David Tamarkin
And it's an interesting story because in doing research for this episode, came across a really great article from Smithsonian magazine, which we'll put in the show notes and in our substack. Subscribe to the substack about how the hole came to the donut. And the legend is. And who knows if this is true, but the legend is there's a woman named Elizabeth Gregory who was the mother of a ship captain, and she was a fan of, you know, making fried dough. She used his spices from his travels. So that's where, you know, the nutmeg and cinnamon came into. Came into play. And she being worried that the middle of the dough would not cook. Oh, wow. Which, of course, is something we'll get to. Which is really a key thing in frying. Frying everything but donuts especially. She put nuts like hazelnuts and walnuts in the middle of the dough. She wrapped the dough around the nuts and dropped them into the oil so that the dough would fry around it.
- [08:24]
Jessica Battalana
Were the nuts in their shells? That's an absurd question.
- [08:27]
David Tamarkin
Well, I have no idea.
- [08:28]
Jessica Battalana
Okay.
- [08:29]
David Tamarkin
But that's where you get the name Donut Doughnut. Yeah.
- [08:32]
Jessica Battalana
Who knows?
- [08:32]
David Tamarkin
Is that true? Who knows? But I love the story.
- [08:34]
Jessica Battalana
I love the story. It's almost as good as me being kidnapped, but ending in donuts.
- [08:40]
David Tamarkin
But that's where the. But that's the, you know, the origin story of the hole. And then, of course, later, the whole was done mechanically. Now, I love this story, too. The first machine that made donuts, you know, that dropped the donuts into hot oil. Oil was a phenomenon, and people lined up in Manhattan to see this first machine in action at donut shops. And what's funny about that is that today in Manhattan, I mean, I could tell you just a week ago, in the middle of Times Square is an enormous Krispy Kreme where people line up outside the windows and inside, of course, too. But like, to watch donuts being made, I mean, it's just so. It's. Donut theater is a great word for it. Mesmerizing. Yeah, it's mesmerizing. And I think actually all a lot of Krispy Kreme locations have that element of that voyeuristic element. They, they. They show the donuts on the smart,
- [09:34]
Jessica Battalana
like, conveyor belt kind of thing. Getting covered in glaze.
- [09:37]
David Tamarkin
Yes, the glaze waterfall. But it's an entire. It's a. It's an entrancing thing because donuts Are very. They have a pool, right?
- [09:45]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah.
- [09:45]
David Tamarkin
They have a deep pool on people. Sort of like what we were talking about with croissants in a previous episode, where it's the type of thing that, you know, a lot of people are not eating every day. A lot of people are not making them at home. Although I would argue that they're much, much easier to make at home than a croissant.
- [10:00]
Jessica Battalana
Yes.
- [10:02]
David Tamarkin
And so there's a decadence and sort of extravagance to it that I think is very appealing and really draws people to, you know, to want to watch them be made.
- [10:09]
Jessica Battalana
You know, I mean, donuts have the nostalgia factor, but they also. I mean, they have, like, deep cultural roots. You know, I mean, the Jewish tradition. We have talked about this before. Suzanne Oat.
- [10:21]
David Tamarkin
Yeah.
- [10:22]
Jessica Battalana
You know, also in the Christian tradition, like, donuts are traditionally made, you know, for Fat Tuesday. The idea of being like, you're using up, like, your eggs, your butter, your sugar, your frying oil as this indulgent treat before, you know, the sort of Lenten abstinence.
- [10:38]
David Tamarkin
Yeah. If you're in the Midwest, it's a whole day around that ponchky day, which is the donut day, people line up all over for paczki.
- [10:45]
Jessica Battalana
Also, I want to say that our test kitchen just developed a paczki recipe, and someh. I don't know how I missed every single testing and retesting.
- [10:56]
David Tamarkin
I did, too, and I am. But I. I actually think I'm gonna make those pretty soon because I just. They look so good. I'm just struggling to. I need to find a day when I will have something to do with a dozen donuts.
- [11:07]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah. Other than sit on the couch and eat right.
- [11:09]
David Tamarkin
Yeah.
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Jessica Battalana
The pachki are traditionally jelly filled. Like the soufgani yogurt.
- [11:15]
David Tamarkin
Yeah. Like sufgani yogurt. Yeah. A jelly donut, as you said, has many different names, but a lot of them are just the same thing. And they have. A lot of them have significance, you
- [11:24]
Jessica Battalana
know, and one interesting sort of piece of donut trivia that you and I were reading about and getting ready for this episode was about donut lassies. And these were women who volunteered during World War I and two to fry donuts for soldiers.
- [11:49]
Francis Lam
Hey, it's Francis Lamb, host of the Splendid Table Podcast. Every week on our show, we celebrate the intersection of food and life. And this month, we're releasing a new series called Culinary Masters. It highlights some of the most iconic people in the food world. And we're revisiting conversations with People who have fundamentally changed how many of us cook and think about food. People like Jacques Pepin, Claudia Rhoden, and Tony Bourdain, to name a few. You can listen to this special series now. Just search for the splendid table in your podcast app.
- [12:22]
David Tamarkin
To fry donuts for soldiers in France. To give them, you know, sustenance to, you know, and to motivate them, but also to give them something, you know, that tastes them a little bit like home.
- [12:35]
Jessica Battalana
Right, right.
- [12:36]
David Tamarkin
Yeah.
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Jessica Battalana
At that point, they were called. It's interesting. I mean, like, the etymology is sort of cool to think about, but they were calling those soldiers doughboys. But not because they were eating these donuts.
- [12:46]
David Tamarkin
No, Maybe. Maybe it went the other way around. They're like. Well, they're doughboys, so we're gonna. What else do you feed a doughboy?
- [12:51]
Jessica Battalana
That's what they say. They say that, like, that term dough. That term doughboy actually dates back to the Civil War, and it was like, you know, I guess for sort of lame soldiers. It's such a name because, like, I don't know, the buttons on their uniforms looked like balls of dough. Who knows? Who knows if this is real? But the. The term doughboy preceded the serving of donuts to troops in France. But, I mean, you know, in some
- [13:16]
David Tamarkin
ways, that's a kind of cute term of endearment. In other ways, I don't know if I want to be called a doughboy. You know, I'm like, I served this country by going to war, and you're calling me a doughboy.
- [13:24]
Jessica Battalana
You're calling me a doughboy.
- [13:25]
David Tamarkin
I don't know if I love it. I mean, but I will take the donut.
- [13:27]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, yeah. And donut Lassie, on the other hand, like, I mean, that's kind of charming. I'm surprised nobody has taken that name for, like, a chain yet. Oh, this could be our second act.
- [13:35]
David Tamarkin
Here we go.
- [13:35]
Jessica Battalana
Third act.
- [13:37]
David Tamarkin
King Arthur Booth. Lassie.
- [13:40]
Jessica Battalana
So when's the last time you made donuts at home, if I may ask?
- [13:43]
David Tamarkin
That's a good question. It's been. It's been a few years, and I think I've only made yeast donuts at home. And one thing that I love is that, I mean, you really can fry a lot of yeasted doughs. And so I don't think, like, frying the dough for, like, a loaf of white bread is gonna be a particularly delicious donut. But I've fried savory donuts out of focaccia with, like, rosemary in them and, like, rolled them in. In. In salt and rose and chopped rosemary. I did that too. This is like. Yeah, yeah, look at me. Like, when did I have time to do that? But I did that.
- [14:17]
Jessica Battalana
I mean, we messed around with frying pizza dough for the book of Pizza.
- [14:21]
David Tamarkin
That's basically a doughnut.
- [14:22]
Jessica Battalana
This is a beignet, which is a donut.
- [14:24]
David Tamarkin
Exactly.
- [14:24]
Jessica Battalana
You know, by any other name.
- [14:26]
David Tamarkin
Yeah. I think I've had more success with yeasted donuts at home. I don't know. I don't know why. I. Cake donuts are certainly faster.
- [14:34]
Jessica Battalana
I know why. But we'll talk about that later. I have theories about why.
- [14:37]
David Tamarkin
Okay.
- [14:37]
Fanny Gerson
Yeah.
- [14:38]
David Tamarkin
How about you?
- [14:40]
Jessica Battalana
Oh, it's been a long time. Yeah, I talk about it a lot because I, unlike most Americans, have no fear of frying at home. I'm always frying. It's like I just always have a kettle of oil on. Who knows what's going to go in there?
- [14:54]
David Tamarkin
Because you never know when a lost child is going to show up.
- [14:57]
Jessica Battalana
Exactly. And I'll have freshly fried some donuts for them. I do think the frying at home is a pain point for people. And we're going to talk about that because I want to get everyone over the hump. But I mean, I think there is, like, there is a. There's another option. There's, you know, the big chains. Krispy Kreme, Duncan.
- [15:16]
David Tamarkin
Yeah.
- [15:16]
Jessica Battalana
Tim Hortons, maybe if you're Canadian, you know, in a certain part of the world. But there are a lot of. I mean, I, I'm shuddering at the word artisanal, but there are a lot of artisanal donut makers now.
- [15:31]
David Tamarkin
Yeah.
- [15:32]
Jessica Battalana
Which is like the third place. Right. Like, if you're not making them at home and you don't want to go to a chain. Like there has been, there have been a lot of donut disruptors who have cropped up. And one of our very favorite is the guest on today's episode.
- [15:44]
David Tamarkin
Yeah.
- [15:44]
Jessica Battalana
Fanny Gerson.
- [15:45]
David Tamarkin
Yeah, I love Fanny. She's great.
- [15:47]
Jessica Battalana
Fanny, Friend of the brand and her
- [15:49]
David Tamarkin
donut shop is not necessarily, you know, a Mexican donut shop, but it's got some, you know, it's got some canela in there and some other Mexican flavors. And she's just like, they're like big puffy yeast risen donuts. Very delicious. Worth going to Brooklyn for.
- [16:04]
Jessica Battalana
Culture.
- [16:06]
David Tamarkin
Worth going to Brooklyn.
- [16:08]
Jessica Battalana
But like a lot of things that we see, you know, like people are putting innovative spins on it. And I think Fanny is, you know, very smart about interesting, like new flavor combinations or like old flavor combinations applied to donuts. In a new way. Just like really creative and interesting and. And she's terrific. So we're going to talk to her about donuts. Fanny Gerson, thank you so much for joining us here on Things Bakers Know. For anyone who doesn't know you, you are the author of three cookbooks and you also have three different establishments in New York City. Right. You have Spot, you have a sort of casual Mexican restaurant, and then you have Fan Fan donuts, which is why we wanted to get you on the show here today.
- [16:59]
Fanny Gerson
Yes. Well, thank you so much for having me.
- [17:02]
Jessica Battalana
What strikes me about Fan Fan Doughnuts is that, you know, you sort of apply all of your training, like your culinary institute degree, your years working at fine dining restaurants, like your rigorous pastry background, to a form that is like, I think, really familiar to a lot of Americans. So it's like something that resonates with so many people that people have, like, a lot of nostalgia for, but you have tweaked it. So let's talk about that and sort of like your inspiration for. Cause these are not the donuts you're making. It's not like your regular glazed or butter crunch or jelly filled. Like, they are Definitely Donuts 2.0.
- [17:39]
Fanny Gerson
Yeah. Well, thank you. Thank you so much for the kind words. Yeah. Like, to me, the donut, I grew up in Mexico City, so of course I had donuts, you know, growing up, but they weren't, you know, it's not a quintessential treat the way that it is in the States. And so when I started making donuts, I came from sort of an immigrant point of view. And so I like to, you know, sort of. I said, because I'm not trying to recreate something from my childhood or, you know, have very strong feelings and memories linked to something like donuts. And so I want to kind of honor and respect that. And so I said, well, it's sort of my approach, bringing everything that I have done so far in my career, but also how I see the world. And I use the donut as a canvas to explore different cultures, different flavors that excite me that are, you know, make up New York. But also I wanted to do it in an approach. So my intention is when people come to the shop, they can right away see or feel that it's not your average, you know, or your typical flavors. Not your average, your typical flavors. There's something special, but it's also approachable because it's still a donut, you know.
- [19:06]
Jessica Battalana
Right.
- [19:07]
Fanny Gerson
I don't want it to be precious, but we make everything from scratch in house. No colorings, no flavorings, including the sprinkles.
- [19:17]
Jessica Battalana
Wow. I mean, and that is very, very unique, I would say, because I think most people might not know, like, if you take your sort of run of the mill donut shop, you know, often they're making the dough itself from a mix, or if they're making the dough, you know, from scratch, then like, the cream filling is from a can, the jelly is from a bag. You know, the glaze is perhaps premixed. Like it's. You know, I would say the exception to find a donut shop these days where every element is made from scratch. You make what, like a dozen varieties on a weekday, and then like a couple dozen different varieties on the weekends
- [19:54]
Fanny Gerson
is that we usually have at least, like, I'm gonna say 16 flavors on a weekday. We have certain ones, I think about nine that we always try to have, like our classics, what we call our classics, which are the flavors, what you think of classic flavors, but also what have been around since we opened. But I always want to make sure we have, you know, like, the classics. You know, we have a really, you know, one of my favorites is our cinnamon sugar. And we take whole Mexican cinnamon and grind it and, you know, to make it. And it has like this beautiful floral taste from. From that cinnamon and the classic glazed. So we always like to be inventive, but for me, it's always important to have something for the more sort of curious or adventurous, you know, But. But it's things that, regardless of what they are, like, there's a reason sometimes people come and apologize. Like, I'm so sorry. I just want a plain glaze. I'm like, no, don't apologize. There's a reason they're classics.
- [21:02]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah. I mean, it's kind of like an ice cream parlor in that way. It's like you expect to find chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, you know, and then they might have wild ones, but you kind of want to have those anchors for people that are like, to me, a donut is this. I had read something about, speaking of cinnamon, that you use some sort of cinnamon tea to flavor the dough. Is that okay? Tell us about that. Yeah.
- [21:23]
Fanny Gerson
So when I did my research for my first cookbook, My Sweet Mexico, and I learned to make churros from this guy in the state of Tabasca in the market. And they were very unusual, and there was something different about them. And I've had quite a bit of quite a lot of churros in my life. And there was something about Them like a kind of. And I couldn't place it. And he was kind enough to let me see how he made it. And he made a cinnamon tea, and that's what the liquid. And it adds some kind of seasoning to it. It doesn't, but it's kind of the way that when you put salt and pepper to a steak, you know, you don't necessarily. Unless it's a lot, you don't necessarily like. If it has just salt, you don't necessarily taste the salt, but it brings out all these other flavors. So at La Ni Orquina, when we make the churros, I started making them like that. And so when I started at Fan Fan, I said, I'm gonna. When I was developing the recipe, I tested with water, with milk, with a combination. And then one day I said, I wonder if the. If doing the cinnamon tea does anything to it. And then. And then I was like, I think it does. But I was. I thought maybe. Is it. Is it. It just me or. You know what I mean? I like the idea of it because, you know, sort of the story.
- [22:51]
Jessica Battalana
Romantic. Yeah.
- [22:52]
Fanny Gerson
Yes. And so then I did sort of blind tastings with friends and family.
- [23:00]
Jessica Battalana
My.
- [23:01]
Fanny Gerson
My husband was a very willing guinea pig.
- [23:03]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah.
- [23:06]
Fanny Gerson
Compared. Like, the recipe once I had, it was going to be like water based as a liquid, but side by side, you know, literally. And there was something that it did to it, like, again, a kind of seasoning. But it also, I think some of the natural. Again, I'm not a chemist at all, but I feel like some of the natural oils also do something to it. So we make like, big batches of whole Mexican cinnamon tea, and that's what we use. But we also use fresh ground nutmeg that we grind ourselves.
- [23:41]
Jessica Battalana
I'm sure there are a million desserts that you could kind of mine as potential donut flavors. Tell me about the process of, like, creating a new donut flavor for the shop. Is it like. You see a dessert and you think like, oh, can I donut donutify that? Or how does that. How does that happen?
- [23:57]
Fanny Gerson
I think my creative. I'm just a naturally creative person. Like, my mind can't stop, and I suffer from insomnia, so I. Often, my ideas come at 4 in the morning.
- [24:11]
Jessica Battalana
Sure.
- [24:12]
Fanny Gerson
And it's just. It's not. It's actually rarely influenced by a dessert. It's usually. It can be anything from. You know, went to the farmer's market and I saw this. Or there was an element in something savory that I tried. Whether it was like a part of a garnish or, you know, a crunchy element or, you know, a book that I'm reading or. I love art or sometimes even music. You know, a lot of flavors are rooted in nostalgia, for. Sure, sure. But I also love to do a lot of collaborations and that I really. It's a lot of work, but it's a work that I create for myself. So I do. Like, this would be the fourth year. I think I'm gonna do like an Aapi box. And then I also, I love to have the little details, you know, but nothing with tweezers. You know, we're making. We're nothing against, like, I don't want, I don't want. Yeah.
- [25:17]
Jessica Battalana
It's maybe not against the spirit of a donut shop, right? To make it, like, too fussy.
- [25:21]
Fanny Gerson
Like, it's still. It's still. It's still a donut. It's still. We try to be consistent, but it's the. The beauty's in the imperfection. You know, it's in the. In the. Not exactly round. Always. Like, sometimes it's a little bit, you know, more oval shaped. Sometimes it drips a little more, sometimes it drips a little less. But it's consist. And I have to say, I know you didn't ask me this, but there's something really amazing about people going into a donut shop. Like, it's adults. It's like you get the kid in them comes out. It's just exciting to be there and so to be able to bring joy. And I get to do that for a living.
- [26:06]
Jessica Battalana
But Fan Fan Doughnuts is an extraordinary place. You're an extraordinary baker.
- [26:10]
Fanny Gerson
Thank you so much.
- [26:11]
Jessica Battalana
You've done so much for the city of New York with all of your businesses. And I just, I love the way that you, you know, you sort of honor the tradition of donut making. You honor your own heritage, but you're just pushing forward in all these exciting and creative ways. So thank you for joining us and
- [26:29]
Fanny Gerson
thank you so much for having me.
- [26:33]
Jessica Battalana
This episode is sponsored by Brod and Taylor. Brod and Taylor is an independent family owned company that builds tools for all bread bakers at every to transform complex baking challenges into simple pleasures.
- [26:46]
David Tamarkin
Rod and Taylor, I mean, they are so passionate about bread and baking. When I talk to those folks, it really feels like I'm talking to someone at King Arthur ii. There's that synergy there because we only have one thing on our minds. It's baking. Baking, baking.
- [26:59]
Jessica Battalana
I love their tools. They really, truly are an asset for every home baker. And you and I both have quite a few of them in our own kitchens. You know, my favorite I think is the, the countertop proofer. I don't know you're into the baking steel, but they have a lot of great tools. Whether you're a first time baker or you're like in deep like us, there's something for you@broadandtaylor.com that's B R O- A N D T A Y-L-O-R.com this
- [27:28]
David Tamarkin
episode is brought to you by Supernatural. Supernatural makes sprinkles, food colors and flavors that are colored by plants, fully traceable and totally free from anything artificial or synthetic.
- [27:40]
Jessica Battalana
Every time I go to the donut shop with my kids, invariably one of them chooses the sprinkle topped donut. And that is because it is a proven fact that sprinkles make everything more fun. Whether it's pancake batter, a bowl of ice cream, a frosted cake, or a donut, they are all enhanced by the mighty sprinkle.
- [27:58]
David Tamarkin
From whimsical sprinkles colored with plants to playful natural flavorings like gummy bears. Take your next batch of donuts all the way with Supernatural. You can find their sprinkles, food colors, flavors and more@Kingarthurbaking.com or supernatural kitchen.com it's time for our next segment. Ask the Bakers. For Ask the Bakers, we want to hear from you. If you have a baking question for us, head to kingarthurbaking.com podcast to record a voice message and we may end up using it on the show. That's kingarthurbaking.com podcast.
- [28:30]
Jessica Battalana
But you know, sometimes you just can't wait three months for us to answer your question. And in those circumstances, in those circumstances, get some patience. Get some patience.
- [28:39]
David Tamarkin
You know, learn some patience. Sit down, read a book. Wait.
- [28:42]
Jessica Battalana
I mean, maybe the answer is on our website, but if not, you can also go to kingarthurbaking.com bakers hotline and a real live person will answer your question via phone, email, chat.
- [28:57]
David Tamarkin
Yep, it's kind of. You can also call.
- [28:59]
Jessica Battalana
Call 855-371-225-3253. As in bake. We're here for you.
- [29:06]
David Tamarkin
It's a beautiful thing. Now let's hear our questions.
- [29:12]
Fanny Gerson
What's the secret to getting perfectly light and fluffy?
- [29:16]
Jessica Battalana
Yeast raised doughnuts. Okay.
- [29:20]
David Tamarkin
Yeah.
- [29:21]
Jessica Battalana
What is the secret?
- [29:22]
David Tamarkin
I mean, there are. The thing is, there are lots of secrets, right?
- [29:24]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah. I mean, I think the well, we were talking earlier very briefly and I said we would revisit this idea. And the idea that I wanted to revisit is, you know, this question of, you know, really what we're getting down to is like how to prevent a dense donut, right. Whether it's a cake donut or a yeast raised donut. So we'll start with yeast raised since that was a question that was asked of us. But I think with a yeast raised donut, like, you've gotta take a little bit more care with the dough. So you wanna proof it it so that it's, you know, well proof before it goes in the oil. Right. So minding the temperature, minding the time of that, that proof or that second rise is going to go a long way towards having a light and fluffy donut. Not rushing it, not rushing it. But I think once, you know, supposing you've done all that, right, here's where it comes down to the frying. And this is true. Whether it's a cake donut or a yeast donut, you have got to get the temperature of your oil right. And in order to get the temperature of your oil right, you also need to be frying in enough oil. Right. Because it's really hard to maintain temperature if you're like have some rinky dink little pot of oil. Like you need a good amount of oil.
- [30:38]
David Tamarkin
Yeah.
- [30:39]
Jessica Battalana
You need to be monitoring the temperature of that oil with a, you know, deep frying thermometer. And then you can't crowd the pot.
- [30:47]
David Tamarkin
Right.
- [30:47]
Jessica Battalana
Because if you add, you know, a donut, whether it's cake donut or yeast donut to oil, that's not the right temperature either. Too cold, it's going to soak up oil like a sponge. Gross. Too hot, it's going to burn on the outside and be raw on the inside. Like, you know, which is the whole point of having a hole in there is you're trying to avoid raw dough in the center.
- [31:09]
David Tamarkin
Right. And you know, and there are plenty of donuts that do not have holes. In fact, there's some of my favorites, the jellyfill, the cream filled, the Bismarck we've not talked about Bismarck donut requires that you really cook that thing all the way through. So you're never going to know if it's cooked all the way through unless your temperature is correct and you're following the recipe for the time. Because the time given in a recipe is conditional on the oil temperature being on point.
- [31:39]
Jessica Battalana
I mean, and I've done it both ways, like I Have messed up in both directions. Too cold, too hot, you know, So I, you know, I know what I speak. And I also think, you know, I said when I started answering this question, like, you want to make sure you've proofed your dough. Right. But I didn't really tell people, like, what to be looking for. Right. So I think that is if you have your, you know, your cut out yeasted donuts, they're rising nicely, you go and you take your floured fingertip and you press it into one of them gently. You know, you're not stabbing it. It should like spring back and fill in that indentation slowly. And then, you know, like if it sticks in all the way, not great. If it pops back immediately, not great. So you want it to kind of sl. Slowly fill in that indentation and then, you know that it's properly proof. Just like bread. I mean, same, you know, sort of test for. For proof. I think those tips will be helpful. Yeah, yeah.
- [32:33]
David Tamarkin
And you're really speaking to me and bakers like me who are like, I don't want to use all this oil. I don't want to, like, waste all this oil because I don't want to, you know, I'm going to try it in a smaller pan. But you're right, that's just a fool's errand. And it is a very good point and a reminder to people that the minute you put anything in a vat of bubbling oil, the temperature goes down.
- [32:57]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, it goes down dramatically.
- [32:58]
David Tamarkin
And so the more donuts you put in there, the more it's gonna go down. So really, it's a game.
- [33:02]
Jessica Battalana
It is.
- [33:02]
David Tamarkin
It's a game. With hot oil, you're playing with literal fire and good luck.
- [33:10]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, good luck.
- [33:12]
David Tamarkin
It's worth it.
- [33:13]
Jessica Battalana
It's totally worth it. Let's go to our next question. I hate wasting all that oil when I fry. Can I reuse it?
- [33:22]
David Tamarkin
Speak of the devil. Yeah, that was me. I don't know if you recognize my voice. That was me.
- [33:27]
Jessica Battalana
I mean, this is the thing, this is the whole thing that gets people down. Yeah, they have oil anxiety. First of all, I just want to say, in the grand scheme of things, a giant jug of oil. Oil, not expensive, you know, because you're, you're using, you know, canola oil, vegetable oil, not, you know, not expensive. You can't buy.
- [33:50]
David Tamarkin
Yes, it is a good point. Do not, do not fry your donuts in olive oil.
- [33:54]
Jessica Battalana
No, you don't need olive oil.
- [33:55]
David Tamarkin
That's also not going to taste very.
- [33:56]
Jessica Battalana
No, it's gonna Be gross. Yeah. So. But still, it doesn't change the fact that like you then have this vat of, you know, like if you're frying, I like to fry in a high, like high sided deep pot, like a Dutch oven, something like that. So like it's six cups of oil, eight cups of oil. So, okay, you can go in one direction and not the other. You know where I'm going with this? Like, you can presumably fry your donuts, let the oil cool, strain it.
- [34:26]
David Tamarkin
Yep.
- [34:27]
Jessica Battalana
Put it back in, you know, back in the bottle or back in storage containers.
- [34:31]
David Tamarkin
You're going to strain it through cheesecloth.
- [34:33]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah. Or a fine mesh sieve or.
- [34:35]
David Tamarkin
Fine. Okay, right. Because you're trying to get all, all the little burn bits because otherwise that's gonna flavor your oil and make it go rancid. But also if you heat it up against, it's gonna burn immediately. So.
- [34:47]
Jessica Battalana
Yes. So then you could go say from donuts to. You could probably get a couple batches of donuts, you know.
- [34:54]
David Tamarkin
Is that what you do?
- [34:55]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah. Or I'll do donuts and then French fries.
- [35:00]
David Tamarkin
French fries. I like to do fish and then donuts because I just, I love that savory element in my donuts, you know?
- [35:07]
Jessica Battalana
Also, I think people sometimes are like, well, how many times I can use the oil? Like, this is where the old nose comes into play. If you smell your oil and it smells rancid, it's going to taste gross. So give it a sniff, you'll know if it can be used again.
- [35:22]
David Tamarkin
Also a good rule of thumb for anything that smells rancid.
- [35:25]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, Just like, if it smells off, don't reuse it. But I find I can usually get a couple of rounds. And so I strain my cooled oil, store it in quart containers in my pantry where it's like a cool, dark place and you can come back to it. It. And I would say like, yes, you come back to it for donuts, but in reality, people aren't making like a batch of donuts every weekend. I mean, I wish I was, but. So the other thing that is annoying for people is like, what do you like? Okay. Once the oil has run its course, it's like, then what do you do? Not down the drain. You know, you can compost used oil in a lot of places, cooled used oil, so that's great. But if you don't have a compost, and even if you do. So there's this product, and I've already evangelized about this product when we were talking about soufgani oat last season. It's called Fry Away.
- [36:16]
David Tamarkin
Why were we talking about soufgani, Yo?
- [36:18]
Jessica Battalana
Why weren't we talking holiday baking, baby? Okay, so because we just love to talk about fried dough. We just can't get enough. But Fry Away, for anyone who didn't hear me talk about in that last episode, is it's like a powder that you sprinkle on your cooled oil. You gotta cool your oil. Then you sprinkle it on, and it turns your oil into, like, a solid disc.
- [36:39]
David Tamarkin
It's so cool.
- [36:40]
Jessica Battalana
It's so cool. I mean, it's amazing. So.
- [36:43]
David Tamarkin
And then you cut that up and spread it on toast, right? You spread on. Right? You. You're like dinner served.
- [36:48]
Jessica Battalana
Close the circle. Then it's obviously much easier to discard like, a solid disc. Like, it can go in your trash, it can go in your compost. It's not like the greasy volume that you'd have. But it's not that hard. You know, people do hard things all the time.
- [37:02]
David Tamarkin
It's not that hard.
- [37:03]
Jessica Battalana
Oil is not something to be feared. No, it's something to be embraced. Because at the end of that oily rainbow is a freshly fried donut. And I think. I haven't. I don't. I can't believe I haven't said this already in this episode, but when you get a donut, for me, it's a cake donut, fresh out of the oil, and it's, like, craggy on the outside and, like, a little crispy, and then you bite through and you have that, like, nutmegy, soft interior. I mean, like, what's the point of living if you're not doing that?
- [37:34]
David Tamarkin
It'll make you reject your parents and. And. And moving. Yeah, truly. So it's true. It's so worth it. And I just want to note that, you know, I think people have this idea that this jug of oil that you've, you know, if you strain it and, you know, put in a container and put it somewhere, and that you have to use it again en masse, but you don't.
- [37:55]
Jessica Battalana
You can.
- [37:56]
David Tamarkin
You can use that oil to, like, fry some potato pancakes or to fry some vegetables. I mean, do any frying you need. You can parcel that out. There's no reason you have to use it in bulk.
- [38:05]
Jessica Battalana
That's so true.
- [38:06]
David Tamarkin
So just think about that.
- [38:07]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, think about that.
- [38:09]
David Tamarkin
Just think about it when you're trying to go to sleep tonight. Think about all that beautiful oil.
- [38:13]
Jessica Battalana
I think we have one more question. I love donuts, but hate frying.
- [38:19]
Fanny Gerson
Is it possible to make great baked
- [38:21]
Jessica Battalana
donuts that rival fries? No.
- [38:24]
David Tamarkin
Well, see, people, see, I mean, here we go again, people, this fear of frying.
- [38:28]
Jessica Battalana
No, I mean, is it possible to make a baked donut? Yeah. Yes. A baked donut is a different thing though. Like, if you, if you love donuts, what you love is a fried donut. I imagine you don't love a baked donut. Nobody's like, oh, I'm really craving a baked donut. Like, a baked donut is what you have because you've given up. Good night, good night, and good luck. No, I think a baked donut is a different thing.
- [38:53]
David Tamarkin
It's a much different thing. It's cake. It's cake in a ring. It's like a little Bundt cake or something. And you know, they can be very delicious. And we have, have some baked donut mixes and we have the pans and obviously it's a lot less fuss, you know, to make a baked donut, but
- [39:09]
Jessica Battalana
it's not a donut.
- [39:09]
David Tamarkin
I don't know. Much less fuss. And honestly, a cake donut is pretty fast to make. There's no, unlike a yeast donut, there's no rise time. The dough for a cake donut. I don't know if people know this, but, like, it's pretty quick. I mean, I think you, you a lot of recipes, you have to like, give it a little chill. You can make them in a morning, you know.
- [39:28]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah. And you know what I would say for this person who's asking, I think there is another thing you could make which is the donut muffin, which is not a donut in shape. It's like a vanilla muffin, nutmeg scented vanilla muffin. And when it comes out of the oven, you dip it in melted butter and then you roll it in cinnamon sugar. It is donut. Ish. It is not a donut, but they are very good. And I would say they're even easier.
- [39:57]
David Tamarkin
Wait, are you, you're rolling it? Wait, you said this, right? Melted butter, right? Yeah, it's really good.
- [40:02]
Jessica Battalana
I mean, and that's nice too because you get a little bit like, you get a little extra fat and you get a little crispiness from that. And then you can, you know, they're coated fully in cinnamon sugar. So that gives it a donut, like, quality. Is it a donut? No, but I think it's a, I think it's a good second thing. And also particularly nice if you don't own a baked donut pan. Like, maybe you don't want to have like, you know, you don't want to get a custom pan just for baked donuts. I think donut muffin is great. Put that recipe in the show notes.
- [40:31]
David Tamarkin
I think the donut muffin is emulating donuts perhaps better than some other baked donuts do, because it's giving you that textural element on the outside. And that's what you're going to forego if you decide to bake your cake donuts instead of fry them. You're never gonna get that, you know, kind of crispy, textural contrast in a baked donut that you get in a fried.
- [41:01]
Jessica Battalana
Right, right, right. Yeah.
- [41:02]
David Tamarkin
So, you know, you make your choice.
- [41:04]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, you make your choice.
- [41:05]
David Tamarkin
You know, you make your choice and you have to live with them, you know.
- [41:09]
Jessica Battalana
Okay, well, in the interim, I'm gonna share an opinion with you.
- [41:13]
David Tamarkin
What? Well, first, don't cut me out. I had to do my intro. I got to set you up.
- [41:20]
Jessica Battalana
Okay, all right. Set me up.
- [41:21]
David Tamarkin
Every episode, we like to talk to Jessica and see what wildly surprising and full throated opinions are in her head. Although I got to say, these are becoming less and less surprising. Like, we're now expecting them from you.
- [41:31]
Jessica Battalana
Well, you know me so well.
- [41:32]
David Tamarkin
Now it's a segment we lovingly call Jess Opinions. And Jessica is dying to give her Donut Jess opinion, which is.
- [41:40]
Jessica Battalana
Well, I think there is one thing that you should do, whatever donut shop you go into, like, there, which is that you should always order an Old Fashioned.
- [41:51]
David Tamarkin
Oh, okay.
- [41:52]
Jessica Battalana
Because I think an Old Fashioned donut is like the barometer by which I measure a donut shop.
- [41:58]
David Tamarkin
Nice.
- [41:58]
Jessica Battalana
Like, I. I just feel like it's the simplest, but it tells you a lot about, like, you know, how well are they frying things? Like, is the oil fresh? Like, is the temperature? Right? Like, you know, I mean, I think it's stripped away. Right. Like, anything's gonna taste pretty good if it's covered in sugary glaze or like those floor sweepings or stuffed with jelly or like with pastry cream inside of it and dunked in chocolate, like, that sort of obscures. But if you just have an Old Fashioned donut. Nowhere to hide, huh? So I always will get one.
- [42:28]
David Tamarkin
But an Old Fashioned donut is glazed, though.
- [42:31]
Jessica Battalana
No, not always, David. Sometimes times.
- [42:35]
David Tamarkin
But you're talking. Are you specifically talking about a plain Old Fashioned? So you just want a craggy?
- [42:40]
Jessica Battalana
I do.
- [42:41]
David Tamarkin
Unglazed?
- [42:42]
Jessica Battalana
Yep.
- [42:44]
David Tamarkin
Not rolled in sugar. Just a plain. Just a plain ass.
- [42:46]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah. Just a plain ass donut.
- [42:48]
David Tamarkin
You really are for New England. You've got that New England. Like, do you know people?
- [42:53]
Jessica Battalana
Is she 40? Is she 100? We don't know. We can't tell. But I think it's worth doing. Like, even if you think you're gonna get other donuts. Like, I will often get other donuts. Donuts, but I will always get an old fashioned.
- [43:06]
David Tamarkin
Wait, so do you go to a donut shop and you're like, no, wait, your family wants. You're like, hold on, I gotta order it. I gotta see if this donut place is worth it. No, you order this.
- [43:15]
Jessica Battalana
No, I mean, we'll just order all. We will always order.
- [43:17]
David Tamarkin
Okay.
- [43:19]
Jessica Battalana
I also think this is less of an opinion, but I'm just gonna add it on here that the best time to eat donuts is actually for dessert.
- [43:26]
David Tamarkin
Oh, God, no, no, don't give me that.
- [43:30]
Jessica Battalana
I do. I mean, I like sweet things in the morning, but they're are cake, you
- [43:34]
Fanny Gerson
know, these people who are like.
- [43:36]
David Tamarkin
Who are like, oh, I don't like a sugary breakfast. I'm like, get over it.
- [43:39]
Jessica Battalana
You know?
- [43:40]
David Tamarkin
You know what they eat in Europe, you know what they eat in Italy. Everywhere. So many places around the world, like, a sugary breakfast.
- [43:46]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah.
- [43:46]
David Tamarkin
And I'm one of them.
- [43:47]
Jessica Battalana
You're one of them?
- [43:47]
David Tamarkin
I'm one of the countries in this world that loves the sugary breakfast.
- [43:50]
Jessica Battalana
Country unto yourself.
- [43:51]
David Tamarkin
I support a donut first thing in the morning. Why not crash out immediately? You know, why wait till the end of the day?
- [43:58]
Fanny Gerson
Why wait?
- [43:59]
Francis Lam
Why wait?
- [43:59]
David Tamarkin
Yeah, I like to wake up and go right back to bed bad.
- [44:02]
Jessica Battalana
All right, we did it. Here we are.
- [44:04]
David Tamarkin
Are you baking donuts at home this week?
- [44:07]
Jessica Battalana
No, I'm not going to bake donuts this week. I am going to. What am I going to do? I'm going to. So we're working, believe it or not. I mean, we've. We're talking about our pizza book, which just came out.
- [44:19]
David Tamarkin
Right.
- [44:19]
Jessica Battalana
And yet we are working on another book, a baking book that will come out in the fall of 2027.
- [44:25]
David Tamarkin
And because there's some room on the shelf.
- [44:27]
Jessica Battalana
There's some room on the shelf. And. And there has been lots of exciting development, but one of the recipes that we started developing for that book, we decided actually was not gonna go in the book, but it was such a good recipe that we were gonna put it on the site right away. And it's for these cream cheese chocolate chip cookies.
- [44:46]
David Tamarkin
It's wild.
- [44:46]
Jessica Battalana
I know what these people are thinking.
- [44:47]
David Tamarkin
Wild.
- [44:47]
Jessica Battalana
Like, does the world need another chocolate chip cookie?
- [44:50]
David Tamarkin
I would think. Does the world need another cream cheese cookie.
- [44:55]
Jessica Battalana
But these are really quite distinctive. They're very rich. They're just. They're a really great chocolate chip cookie. And if you're a person that likes chocolate chip cookies the way that I like them, which is that I always want to try, you know, a new one, this is one worth trying. Sarah Jampel developed this recipe. And spoiler, not spoiler. But it is not the chocolate chip cookie that is going in our new book. That one is even more groundbreaking.
- [45:19]
David Tamarkin
Yes. But this one, that one's truly, truly mind blowing.
- [45:23]
Jessica Battalana
But this, in the interim, we give you this little teaser of these cream cheese chocolate chip cookies that are really very good.
- [45:29]
David Tamarkin
So it's not that wild to have cream cheese in a cookie. I mean, I think arugula has cream cheese in the dough and you can have chocolate rugula. So that's a. I like that combination, that kind of tangy dairy. Yeah. With chocolate to ferment. Is cream cheese fermented? No, no, cultured.
- [45:45]
Jessica Battalana
Cultured, yeah. Yeah.
- [45:46]
David Tamarkin
So it's a little bit fermented.
- [45:47]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, it's a tiny bit.
- [45:48]
David Tamarkin
So chocolate's fermented product. I think there's a synergy there. I like chocolate. I've always liked chocolate with yogurt. Yogurt.
- [45:54]
Jessica Battalana
Oh, interesting.
- [45:55]
David Tamarkin
There's a fermented sisterhood there.
- [45:57]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah.
- [46:01]
David Tamarkin
Anyway, so this is not. I mean, it sounds kind of weird, but actually I think I can see how it would be congruous.
- [46:08]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, I want people to give them a shot, you know.
- [46:10]
David Tamarkin
Nice. Well, I'm also not making donuts, but I'm making something close because we've been talking jelly donut cake. You just said you think jelly, you think donuts are good for dessert. I wholeheartedly disagree with that. But speaking of Sarah Jean palace, she did develop a cake based on a jelly donut. And it is really charming and really cake. Again, it's got that nutmeg in it, which like that donut muffin we talked about earlier. That's kind of what gives it that je ne sais quoi of a donut. And it's got a ripple of jam through it. So giving you that.
- [46:46]
Jessica Battalana
And crucially, it is baked in a sugar dusted pan. So you get like that sugary crust on the outside. And then you didn't even mention the best part about that cake.
- [46:58]
David Tamarkin
What?
- [46:58]
Jessica Battalana
The jelly buttons.
- [46:59]
David Tamarkin
I don't do that.
- [47:00]
Jessica Battalana
Oh, you don't?
- [47:01]
David Tamarkin
That's too much work. But you. Yeah, if you have, if you want to do some piping, you can pipe a little jelly Button on every, like, all around on every single one.
- [47:09]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah. So then it really looks like a jelly donut.
- [47:11]
David Tamarkin
Yeah, I'm. No fuss, you know.
- [47:13]
Jessica Battalana
Oh, really?
- [47:14]
Fanny Gerson
Yeah, yeah.
- [47:17]
Jessica Battalana
Those are both. Those are both good recipes. So hopefully people try those in addition.
- [47:20]
David Tamarkin
And all the donuts on our site,
- [47:22]
Jessica Battalana
I mean, yeah, all the donuts on our site just. And get over your fear of frying. We're here for you if you have questions.
- [47:27]
David Tamarkin
We also have a good YouTube video of Claire Saffitz. We have a great YouTube video, sour cream Donut Walkthrough on our site. And because she's Claire, she went deep. I think that video was like 40 minutes long. Yeah. It's basically like a masterclass on donuts. So if we didn't, you know, get you all the way convinced, watch that on our YouTube channel. That'll get you there.
- [47:47]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, totally. Totally. As ever, we appreciate everyone tuning in and listening to us here on Things Bakers Know.
- [47:53]
David Tamarkin
Remember to like and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. So, you know, when the next episode and the next season drops, leave us
- [48:03]
Jessica Battalana
a review and specifically leave us the name of your favorite, you know, small town donut shop or big town donut shop. I want to know. I'm just, I like to just keep a list.
- [48:13]
David Tamarkin
Yeah, go to our substack, actually and leave a comment there. We will have a post. We have a new post up now all about donuts. So put that in the notes. Let's get a debate started.
- [48:22]
Jessica Battalana
Yeah, let's. Let's get a list going. That's what we need.
- [48:25]
David Tamarkin
Yeah. And folks, while you're doing all that, just remember, always, especially when you're frying, follow the recipe. Things Bakers Know is hosted and executive produced by me, David Tumarkin and me, Jessica Battalana Rossi Anastapoulo is our senior producer. Chad Chanay is our producer and Marcus Bagala is our engineer. Original music by Megan and Marcus Pagala.
- [48:47]
Jessica Battalana
And what a treat it was to have Fanny Gerson talk donuts with us. Fanny, of course, is the owner of Fan Fan Doughnuts in New York City. She is also the author of many cookbooks and just a buddy of ours. And she has also starred in quite a few of our videos on our YouTube channel.
- [49:04]
David Tamarkin
Things Bakers Know is a King Arthur Baking Company podcast. This episode is brought to you by a new collaboration between King Arthur and Supernatural. Supernatural, of course, is the maker of America's brightest dye free sprinkles. And we are putting those sprinkles in our new confetti cake mix and confetti sugar cookie mix. Let me tell you something. I made the cake, and I made it into an ice cream cake. It was gorgeous. It was celebratory. It was like my birthday. But it wasn't even my birthday. Find both mixes at Target. Target. Target. Com and of course, at kingarthropaking. Com.