I spent yesterday morning and early afternoon making doughnuts in, our friend, Wylie Dufresne's beautiful doughnut shop. I was making our cider and Super Cake doughnuts for a presentation that I were doing with Wylie and Clare Gordon at this years Star Chefs ICC. Wylie designed his kitchen to be an efficient doughnut producing machine as well as a beautiful space to cook. The combination of beauty and functionality guided by Wylie's baked-in efficiency and passion for a design aesthetic meant I had a lot to observe and absorb. It also meant I was able to run our Super Cake doughnuts through a doughnut robot. The doughnut robot is the several steps up in efficiency from the doughnut depositor we currently use. It also has the benefit of being able to make a slightly larger cake doughnut, an added benefit for me.
As the morning progressed, and the team at Du's finished their morning production, there was a window to load our super cake batter into the robot. Wylie tested one doughnut. The results were wonderful. The doughnut had a bit more size and the robot did the cooking and flipping. With the initial test a success we flipped a switch and let the robot work. And boy did it work, extruding our super cakes while I tended to organizing my chaos for the presentation.
What does this mean for us, our process and our doughnut shop. I learned. I explored. I tested. There is more work to be done. A doughnut robot has tremendous potential for us, though the financial outlay is an obstacle. Working around Clare and Wylie brought insights into the worlds of other doughnut obsessives and fueled my own obsession further. I realized we can only achieve what we are willing to reach for.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
