Make the dough: Add the milk and butter to a microwavable bowl and heat in the microwave until the butter has melted. I do this at 45 sec increments until it has fully melted. Once melted set aside.
To a stand mixer bowl add both the flours, salt, sugar and yeast then whisk them together. If you have a kitchen thermometer, use it to test the temperature of the melted butter and milk. Ensure it is below 43oC. If you don’t have a thermometer, ensure it is just above lukewarm.
Pour the melted butter and milk into the bowl with the dry ingredients then then add the vanilla extract and egg. Use a dough hook to bring all the ingredients together (around 2 minutes). If you’re not using a stand mixer then use a spatula and bring all the ingredients together until the dough is formed.
Flour a surface and pour the dough out onto the floured surface using a spatula. At this point the dough will be quite sticky because of the bread flour. Begin to knead the dough for around 2 minutes or until it is soft and smooth.
Allow the dough to rise: Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place the bowl in a warm area to rise. It should take around 1 hour to double in size if the room is warm enough. If not, this may take longer.
Cut the shapes: Firstly line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside. Once the dough has doubled in size, roll it out to around 1 – 1.5 cm thick and cut the shapes using a doughnut cutter or you can use a large and small cookie cutter. Place each doughnut onto the baking tray and ensure there is space between each of them. You can re-roll the scrapes and make more doughnuts. I also re-roll the doughnut holes too.
Allow the dough to rise again: Once all the dough is cut, cover the doughnuts with plastic wrap and allow to rise again for around 1 hour. Bear in mind that the doughnuts re-rolled from the scrapes may not rise as tall as the first set you cut.
When the doughnuts have risen, heat the vegetable oil on a medium heat in a large heavy-duty pot until it reaches around 150oC. While the oil is heating complete step 9.
Make the glaze: Make the glaze by mixing all the glazed ingredients together and set aside. Place a cooling rack over a baking tray and also set aside.
Cook the doughnuts: Carefully lift a doughnut with a spatula and place it into the oil. The dough will be super soft at this point so do this as gently as possible to avoid squashing them. Place as many doughnuts as you can fit into the pan but ensure there is plenty of space between them. I cook 3 at a time.
Cook the doughnuts for 1 minute and until it is golden brown then using a fork, gently flip the doughnuts onto the other side. Cook for 1 minute on the other side then remove the doughnuts and place them onto a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat the process until all the doughnuts are cooked.
Have the cooling rack placed on top of a baking tray ready then dip each doughnut into the prepared glaze then place them onto the cooling rack so the glaze can drip onto the baking tray. Allow the glaze to set then enjoy!