St John Doughnut

I have fantasised about these many a time. Fortunately St John Smithfield is within walking distance from the house and I knew after emailing them that these morsels of heaven were available from 10am, so I made certain that they were penciled in as breakfast for our first morning. 

Did they live up to expectation? Yes, they did.

The recipe was recently printed in the Observer: St John doughnuts Makes 25 

strong white flour 500g caster sugar 65g, plus extra for coating salt 10g fresh yeast 15g large eggs 4 lemon grated zest of 1 water 155ml softened unsalted butter 125g sunflower oil for deep frying Place all the ingredients except the butter and oil in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a beater. Mix on medium speed for 6 minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix on medium speed again, adding the butter, 20g at a time, until all is incorporated. Keep mixing for 6-8 minutes, until the dough has come away from the bowl and looks smooth, glossy and elastic. Place the dough in a large bowl, sprinkle the surface with flour and cover bowl with a tea towel. Leave to rise for 2-3 hours in a warm place, until doubled in size, then knock back. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Cut the dough into 25 pieces and roll into smooth balls. Place on floured baking sheets, leaving 5cm between each one. Cover with clingfilm and leave to prove for 2-3 hours to double in size. Half-fill a deep fat fryer or a deep, heavy-based saucepan with sunflower oil and heat it to exactly 190C. Fry the doughnuts, in batches of 3 or 4, until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Check the temperature of the oil between each batch. As the doughnuts are done, place on kitchen paper to soak up excess oil, then toss in caster sugar.