Savory Baked Doughnuts

Ingredients

• (Yield: About 17 doughnuts)
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1/4 c warm water
• 3/4 c milk
• 1/2 c mashed potatoes
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp fine salt
• 2 tsp minced fresh thyme
• 2 oz Manchego cheese, finely shredded (divided)
• 3-4 c all-purpose flour
• Canola oil (for the bowl)
• 1 egg beaten with 1 TB water (for eggwash)

Directions

1. Oil a large bowl with canola oil and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast and warm water; let sit 5 minutes. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until it just starts to steam and small bubbles form at the edges; turn off heat and cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, stir together mashed potatoes, egg, sugar, salt, and thyme. Slowly stream milk into mashed potato mixture, stirring to incorporate. Using a wooden spoon, stir in 1 1/2 c flour, then 3/4 of the Manchego (reserve the remaining cheese for topping the doughnuts before baking).
4. Stir in another 1 1/2 c flour; once it gets too hard to stir with the spoon, turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead it, adding flour as you need from the remaining 1 c (the dough should still be sticky; you shouldn�t need the full 1 c of remaining flour here, save the rest of it to use when you roll out the dough after the first rise).
5. Knead about 5 minutes, or until you press a finger into the dough and the indentation remains.
6. Transfer dough to the oiled bowl, lightly cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
7. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and sprinkle a little flour on top; roll dough out (or push it out with your fingers) until it�s about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick.
8. Use a 3-inch ring to cut out your doughnuts, then poke the center of each with a straw; there will be a very small hole � use your fingers to work the hole out so it�s 1/2 to 1-inch in diameter.
9. Re-roll the scraps and repeat this process until all the dough is used (you should get about 17 doughnuts).
10. Transfer the doughnuts to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat liner, leaving about 2 inches between each doughnut.
11. Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly drape a piece of plastic wrap over the doughnuts and let them rise at room temperature until they�re puffed (about 30 minutes).
12. Lightly brush eggwash on top of each doughnut (you will have extra eggwash) and sprinkle the reserved cheese on top. Bake doughnuts for 15-20 minutes, or until light golden brown, rotating the trays once.