Behind the fryer: temperature is everything

A great donut should be light and airy inside with a thin, golden shell and that signature pale ring around the middle. All of that comes down to one number: oil temperature.

The goldilocks zone

Too cold and the dough soaks up oil and turns heavy. Too hot and the outside browns before the inside cooks. We hold our oil at 175°C and fry only six at a time, so the temperature never drops more than a couple of degrees.

Each donut gets about ninety seconds per side, flipped once with a wooden dowel. Then it rests on a rack for exactly two minutes before glazing, warm enough that the glaze melts into a thin, glossy coat.