I am making these over Labor Day weekend. I like the idea that you make your own cider reduction and the recipes from this site have always worked well for me. Alexa Apple Cider Doughnuts Adapted from Lauren Dawson at Hearth Restaurant Makes 18 doughnuts + 18 doughnut holes (suggested yield for a 3-inch cutter; my larger one yielded fewer) Most apple cider doughnuts, despite their name, are kind of a bummer because they don�t taste very apple-y. One of the many things that appealed to me about this recipe was the way the apple cider was reduced and concentrated to hopefully give it more presence. And despite the fact that these are cake doughnuts, which have always played second fiddle to yeast doughnuts in my experience (likely because cake are more likely to get stale sooner, or you know, by the time you buy them), I think this is all the more reason to make them at home. Personally, I don�t think a sweetened doughnut needs any kind of topping, but I went with a cinnamon-sugar coating anyway. Hearth dips theirs in an apple cider glaze, and serves them with applesauce and barely-sweetened whipped cream. We had ours with a dark beer. 1 cup apple cider 3 1/2 cups flour, plus additional for the work surface 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) butter, at room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1/2 cup buttermilk Vegetable oil or shortening (see my explanation in the post) for frying Toppings (optional) Glaze (1 cup confectioners� sugar + 2 tablespoons apple cider) Cinnamon sugar (1 cup granulated sugar + 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon) Make the doughnuts: In a saucepan over medium or medium-low heat, gently reduce the apple cider to about 1/4 cup, 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Set aside. Using an electric mixer on medium speed (with the paddle attachment, if using a standing mixer) beat the butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat until the eggs are completely incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the reduced apple cider and the buttermilk, mixing just until combined. Add the flour mixture and continue to mix just until the dough comes together. Line two baking sheets with parchment or wax paper and sprinkle them generously with flour. Turn the dough onto one of the sheets and sprinkle the top with flour. Flatten the dough with your hands until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Use more flour if the dough is still wet. Transfer the dough to the freezer until it is slightly hardened, about 20 minutes. Pull the dough out of the freezer. Using a 3-inch or 3 1/2-inch doughnut cutter � or a 3 1/2-inch round cutter for the outer shape and a 1-inch round cutter for the hole from a set like this, as I did � cut out doughnut shapes. Place the cut doughnuts and doughnut holes onto the second sheet pan. Refrigerate the doughnuts for 20 to 30 minutes. (You may re-roll the scraps of dough, refrigerate them briefly and cut additional doughnuts from the dough.) Add enough oil or shortening to a deep-sided pan to measure a depth of about 3 inches. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 350�F*. Have ready a plate lined with several thicknesses of paper towels. Make your toppings (if using): While the cut doughnut shapes are in the refrigerator, make the glaze by whisking together the confectioners� sugar and the cider until the mixture is smooth; make the cinnamon sugar by mixing the two together. Set aside. Fry and top the doughnuts: Carefully add a few doughnuts to the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan, and fry until golden brown, about 60 seconds. Turn the doughnuts over and fry until the other side is golden, 30 to 60 seconds. Drain on paper towels for a minute after the doughnuts are fried. Dip the top of the warm doughnuts into the glaze or cinnamon sugar mixture (if using) and serve immediately. Here is a link that might be useful: Apple Cider Donuts from Smitten Kitchen

Although all-purpose flour has commonly been used for making raised yeast doughnuts I suggest bread flour. But when it comes to cake doughnuts (leavened with baking powder), you want lower-gluten flour, so try them with cake flour. I like to make mine with low-gluten spelt flour. Keep mixing to a minimum so you don't get a lot of gluten development. Deep frying hints: -Temperature of the fat, the temperature of the food, the amount of fat in the fryer, and the amount of food are an all-important mixture to be considered. -When the food is fried at a high temperature, the item browns quickly and needs to be taken out of the fat before it runs out of moisture. When it runs out of moisture, it begins to soak up fat and get greasy. -The shorter the frying time, the less fat is absorbed. -You need enough fat in the fryer to maintain the temperature when the food is added. If too much cold food is added, the temperature will drop. So don't overload your fryer. -Use a fat with a smoke point much higher than the frying temperature. -Old helpful hint - Add 1 T. vinegar or 1 t. ginger to oil before heating. This prevents the dough from absorbing too much grease while frying. -Something interesting to do with the doughnut holes: (source: Recipes from the Old Mill) Doughnut Hole Sticky Muffins (make with raised dough) Grease 12 muffin cups. In the bottom of each cup place 1 T. brown sugar, 1 t. light corn syrup, 1/2 t. water, and 1 t. chopped nuts. Arrange 4 doughnut holes in each cup. Cover with plastic wrap (or a cloth) and let rise until double. Bake at 350-degrees F for about 20-25 minutes. Carefully invert pan as soon as they come out of the oven on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. -You can also bake raised doughnuts. Cut the dough with a doughnut cutter that has a large hole. Place on a greased cookie sheet and let raise until light. Bake at 375-degrees F for about 12-15 minutes. Brush with butter on all sides while still warm and roll in granulated sugar/cinnamon mixture. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts Turtorial

Durum is yellow. Semolina is coarse, and usually, but not always durum. There is also fine durum flour. The red in hard red wheat is in the brown bran. The refined flour is white-ish, or pure white if bleached. Most US bread flour, AFIK, is hard red wheat, though it could be hard white, which has had the color (and some of the strong flavor) bred out of it. Cake flour is soft white wheat. AP is a combination of the two, usually with a little barley thrown in. They can test for the protein content of the wheat crop, and most mills do adjust to a particular standard. KA is milled by ADM, so they have a lot of flour to choose from and can blend for their desired protein content. General rule: If the protein content you're citing is a statement on the bag, you can trust it well enough. If you're trying to figure from the nutrition label, don't bother. A lot is lost in rounding error. Here is a list of a lot of flours and their protein contents on The Fresh Loaf. Scroll down to Antilope's post: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17045/protein-content-flour

Great thread Lars! Thank you. Last lodge I purchased wasn't terribly smooth, but for pizza and such, I'd think it just fine. Lodge factory here, so may go that route. I've often thought of sanding my CI, but never find the time. For what it's worth, I like a 2 to 1 mix of fresh mozzarella and drier mozzarella, if that makes sense. I tend to get the fresh mozzarella stringing from my mouth to my lap!