Fly Free, Giant Eagle

Shocking.  I'm eating more doughnuts.  

Of course I'm eating more doughnuts.  Good ones for sure.

This time they are from Giant Eagle, a Pittsburgh based grocery store.  Not to be confused with Giant Eagle Market District—their upmarket version.  These came from the regular Giant Eagle at Bethel and Sawmill in Columbus, Ohio.

See, they do very similar doughnuts.  But Market District tries to make their version more, well, upmarket.  The result is, well, upmarket and a bit cloying.  I think I even ended up with a custard filling once.  I don't think there is anything wrong with a custard filled Long John, but it is a real shock to the system to bite into something and get gush of custard if you have no warning.

Now, these doughnuts—these doughnuts—are pretty good doughnuts.  Why?  Well, I'll tell you:

The Pastry:  

1. The Skin: When you bite into there is little resistance caused by the skin—a doughnut shouldn't have a crust and the skin should be barely noticeable.  Staleness is going to happen, but overcooked doughnuts have an unnecessarily thick and crunch skin.  That might be nice for a fritter, but not so much here.  B+, a little too much bite, but only a little.

2a. Interior Texture: Tight, but not too tight.  Ok, here I think for a glazed ring you want a more open crumb (something on the baguette end of things), but for something filled you need a medium crumb.  A crumb that is too dense will create dense nodules when displaced by filling—too light and it isn't satisfying.  A-, good, supportive texture, nice chew.

2b. Interior Moisture: The crumb is moist—almost but not quite custardy on its own.  Not wet, that would be terrible.  But a dry crumb makes for an unpleasant doughnut.  A, just about right.

Frosting: Dark, not too sweet.  Not too much.  A-, it could have even more bitterness for my taste, but I am likely a bit extreme in my taste.  

Filling: Somewhere between soft peaks and stiff peaks.  You know, medium peaks—ones that stay peaked, but sag under its own weight when you take a bite and it splooges out the other end.  Sweet, a little vanilla (not overpowering, but necessary to balance the chocolate).  Shouldn't be oily or wet feeling.  A.

The only sad thing is that I don't have more of them.

Young Lovers