Berliner Recipe - German Jam Donuts

A plate of Berliner German jam donuts dusted with powdered sugar, one broken open to show the raspberry jam.

5 from 1 vote

Berliner Recipe - German Jam Donuts

German jam donuts made the way the bakeries do. Enriched yeast dough, fried at 170°C, filled with jam and rolled in sugar.

Prep Time2

Cook Time10

Total Time2 10

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: German

Diet: Halal, Vegetarian

Servings: doughnuts

Calories: 284kcal

Author: Ayla Clulee

Ingredients

4 cups strong white flour (plain flour) (500 grams)
2 ¼ teaspoon fast action dry yeast (7 grams)
6 ¾ oz low-fat or whole milk (200 ml)
3 egg yolks (at room temperature)
⅓ cup caster or granulated sugar
2 ½ oz unsalted butter (softened at room temperature) (70 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
⅛ teaspoon salt
6 oz jam (300 grams)
1 ½ tablespoon powdered sugar (for dusting)
vegetable, rapeseed or sunflower oil for frying

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the Dough

In a mixing bowl, combine the lukewarm milk and dry yeast. Let it sit for a few minutes until it becomes frothy.
Transfer the yeast mixture to a stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook attachment.
Add the sugar, vanilla bean paste, flour, salt, and vinegar to the yeast mixture in the stand mixer bowl.
Mix on low speed until a dough forms and then add the egg yolks.
Once the dough has come together, add the softened butter in very small portions piece by piece, and let it incorporate into the dough before adding more.
Let the mixer knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky. Stretch a small piece between your fingers to check: it should go thin enough to see light through before it tears.

Proof and Shape

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, covet it with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour, or until it doubles the size in a warm place.
Once the dough has risen, divide it into 12 equal pieces, each weighing approximately 70 grams (2 ½ oz).
Roll each dough portion into a ball and flatten it slightly to form a donut shape.
Sit each one on its own small square of baking paper on a tray, lightly sprinkle with flour, and cover them with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. The squares let you lower them into the oil later without pressing the air out of them.
Let them rise for another hour until they have doubled in size.
Remove the cover and allow them to rise for an additional 30 minutes, allowing a slight crust to form.

Fry and Fill the Donuts

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or pot to 165°C (330°F).
Lower the risen donuts into the hot oil paper side up, then peel the paper away once they float. Fry for about a minute on each side or until they turn golden brown and puffy.
Do not overfill the pan; do it in 2 or 3 batches, depending on the size of your frying pan.
Remove the Berliners from the oil using a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-lined wire rack to drain excess oil.
If you want your Berliners sweeter, allow them to cool down for 10 minutes, or until they are easier to handle, and then roll them in superfine sugar.
Allow them to cool down to room temperature, and then, using a jam filler or a thin-nozzled piping bag, fill each Berliner with your choice of jam.
Dust them with powdered sugar and serve as still warm and fresh.

Video

Notes

Storage. Berliner are at their best the day they are made. Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two. Do not refrigerate them, as the fridge dries them out quickly.
Freezing. Freeze them unfilled for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, warm through in a 150°C oven for a few minutes, then fill and dust with sugar.
Make ahead. The dough can be made the night before. Give it 30 minutes at room temperature, then 10 to 12 hours in the fridge. Let it come back to room temperature for an hour before shaping.
Oil temperature. 165°C is the target and 175°C is the ceiling. Any hotter and they brown before the middle cooks. Any cooler and they drink the oil.
Fat. Use a neutral oil or clarified butter. Never mix solid fat and oil in the same pan.
Flour. Use plain flour rather than plain. The extra gluten is what stops them collapsing once they come out of the pan.
Filling. Fill them as still warm but not hot, going in through the pale band. About 1 tablespoon each is right. Use a smooth jam with no pieces in it, or it will block the nozzle.
Which jam. Apricot is standard in Bavaria and Austria, plum butter in eastern Germany, and rosehip in Baden and Swabia. Raspberry and strawberry work just as well.
Other fillings. Vanilla custard, and eggnog around New Year, are both common in German bakeries.
If they turn out greasy, the oil was too cool or the pan was too crowded. Fry three or four at a time and let the oil come back up to temperature between batches.
If they collapse after frying, the dough was overproofed or the flour was too weak.

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