caraway-and-rye

King Bakery Yeast Donuts

Read the Notes before scaling this one. The salt row on the original card contains two transcription errors, one of which would ruin a batch. The figures in the table below are corrected.

Ingredients

The 8 qt column is the source of truth. Every other column is scaled exactly from it.

Ingredient	8 qt	6 qt	4 qt	2 qt	1½ qt*	1 qt**	¾ qt^	½ qt
Milk (room temp)	7257g	5443g	3629g	1814g	1361g	907g	680g	454g
Eggs	1814g	1361g	907g	454g	340g	227g	170g	113g
Bread Flour	12701g	9525g	6350g	3175g	2381g	1588g	1191g	794g
Pastry Flour	3629g	2722g	1814g	907g	680g	454g	340g	227g
Sugar	1814g	1361g	907g	454g	340g	227g	170g	113g
Shortening	2722g	2041g	1361g	680g	510g	340g	255g	170g
Salt	283g	213g	142g	70.9g	53.2g	35.4g	26.6g	17.7g
Yeast	454g	340g	227g	113g	85g	56.7g	42.5g	28.3g
Baking Powder	227g	170g	113g	56.7g	42.5g	28.3g	21.3g	14.2g

* 1½ qt is the maximum bowl capacity on the Hobart. ** 1 qt is the absolute power and volume limit on a KitchenAid Professional 6. ^ ¾ qt is the more reliable quantity on a KitchenAid Professional 6 — easier on both the motor and the bowl.

Method

Mix for longer than you think you need to. The gluten really needs to develop — the dough should end up almost silky.

Makes

Batch	Dozens
8 qt	52
6 qt	42
4 qt	28
2 qt	14
1½ qt	(not recorded)
1 qt	6
¾ qt	5
½ qt	3

These run about 6.5–7 dozen per quart and were clearly rounded to whole dozens on the card, so they are approximate rather than derived.

Notes

• Two errors in the salt row on the original card. Both are corrected in the table above:

  Column	Card as written	Should be	Used here
  6 qt	7-8 (7 lb 8 oz)	7½ oz	213g
  1½ qt	2-0 (2 lb)	1⅞ oz	53.2g

  7-8 is almost certainly “7.5” written with a hyphen and then read as pounds-and-ounces. 7 lb 8 oz of salt in a 6 qt batch would be sixteen times the correct dose and completely inedible. The 1½ qt figure is the same kind of slip. The 4 qt, 2 qt and 1 qt columns all scale exactly from 10 oz at 8 qt, which lands at 1.74% of flour — a normal bakery dose, confirming that 10 oz is the right anchor. (The ¾ qt and ½ qt columns were rounded up on the card to 1 oz and ¾ oz; the table above uses the exact 0.9375 oz and 0.625 oz instead, in line with how roundings are handled elsewhere in the collection.)

• The 1½ qt column has two further discrepancies, also corrected above:

  Ingredient	Card as written	Exact from 8 qt	Used here
  Yeast	6 oz → 170g	3 oz	85g
  Shortening	1 lb → 454g	1 lb 2 oz	510g

  The yeast one matters — 6 oz is double the correct amount and would give you a fast, boozy, over-proofed dough. Milk, eggs, both flours, sugar and baking powder all scale exactly in that column, so the errors are isolated rather than systemic. If the 1½ qt column was ever hand-tuned deliberately — it is flagged as the Hobart’s max capacity, so it may have been the house batch — say so and I’ll restore the card’s numbers.

• The card never says which yeast. At 2.8% of flour this reads as fresh yeast. If instant, the dose is roughly triple normal.
• Total flour is 36 lb at 8 qt (28 lb bread + 8 lb pastry). Baking powder alongside yeast is deliberate — it gives the lift that makes a raised donut light rather than bready.
• Batch size in quarts means quarts of liquid at 2 lb per quart: 16 lb milk = 8 qt.
• Card note: each egg averages 2 oz and cost 6.7 cents.

Appendix — Original card, as written

Reproduced uncorrected, errors included, for reference only. Do not bake from this.

Yeast Donuts	8 qt	6 qt	4 qt	2 qt	1.5qt*	1 qt**	3/4 qt^	1/2 qt
Dozens		52	42	28	14		6	5	3
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Milk (Rm Temp)	16-0	12-0	 8-0	4-0	3-0	2-0	1-8	1-0
Eggs		 4-0	 3-0	 2-0	1-0	 -12	 -8	 -6	 -4
Bread Flour	28-0	21-0	14-0	7-0	5-4	3-8	2-10	1-12
Pastry Flour	 8-0	 6-0	 4-0	2-0	1-8	1-0	 -12	 -8
Sugar		 4-0	 3-0	 2-0	1-0	 -12	 -8	 -6	 -4
Shortening	 6-0	 4-8	 3-0	1-8	1-0	 -12	 -9	 -6
Salt		  -10	 7-8	  -5	 -2.5	2-0	 -1.25	 -1	 -3/4
Yeast		 1-0	  -12	  -8	 -4	 -6	 -2	 -1 1/2	 -1
Baking Powder	  -8	  -6	  -4	 -2	 -1.5	 -1	 -3/4	 -1/2

Mix for more than you think you need to - the gluten really needs to develop.
Dough should by almost "silky".

* 1.5 qt is the maximum bowl capacity on the Hobart
** 1 qt Absolute power and volume capacity on a Kitchen Aid Professional 6
^ 3/4 qt is a more reliable and easier quantity (for both power and bowl capacity)
  on a Kitchen Aid Professional 6.

Each egg weighs an avg of 2 oz and costs 6.7 cents.

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