Mom's Raised Doughnuts

Method

1. Warm 1 cup of the milk with the butter until the butter melts, then let it cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile stir the yeast into the warm water and leave it 8 minutes until foamy.
2. Combine the milk mixture, the yeast, the granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg, and eggs in a large bowl, then work in the flour a cup at a time to make a soft dough. Knead 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic and only slightly tacky; a stiff dough gives heavy doughnuts.
3. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Punch it down, roll it 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) thick on a floured surface, and cut rounds with a 3-inch (7.6 cm) cutter and holes with a 1-inch (2.5 cm) cutter.
4. Set the doughnuts and holes on floured parchment, cover loosely, and let them rise 45 minutes, until visibly puffy and slow to spring back when touched.
5. Heat the frying oil in a deep heavy pot to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C) and keep a thermometer in it. Fry two or three doughnuts at a time for 60 to 75 seconds per side, until deep golden with a pale band around the middle. Let the oil recover to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C) between batches, since cool oil makes greasy doughnuts and hot oil burns them raw inside.
6. Drain on a rack. Whisk the confectioners' sugar with the remaining 1/4 cup milk and the vanilla into a thin glaze, dip each doughnut while still warm, and set it back on the rack to drip and set.