Essential Doughnut Equipment Needed to Run a Doughnut Shop

Ahh, doughnuts! That sweet indulgence that you just can’t get enough of. There’s no denying that they’re a big part of our culture and we’ve all had that dream of running our own doughnut shop. If that was the case with you, maybe it’s time to make a business plan and open your shop. To do this, you’ll need electrical cooking equipment or specialised machines that’ll help you make the best doughnuts in town. If you don’t know where to start, here’s the essential equipment every doughnut shop needs.

Fryers – For Frying Your Doughnuts to Perfection

Although you might think that you’d need an oven, donut fryers are used for making delicious donuts. You may be familiar with the home-making technique for doughnuts but running a shop is a completely different experience. You’ll need to make a large number of goodies so you need to find the best donut machines to help you do the job efficiently.

There are many available fryers on the market by different manufacturers but you need to think about your needs before purchasing. The fryer allows you to fry more doughnuts at the same time in a large vat. It has a pair of grates lowered into the vat and oil and it keeps the doughnuts submerged in oil but away from the heating elements. When the doughnuts are done, they need to sit for a while on a draining board that drains the extra oil from the donuts before they’re ready to be served.

These doughnut machines or fryers are made of stainless steel and can be benchtop or freestanding, semi-automatic or automatic machines. Floor or freestanding types are those that are frequently used in a professional or commercial setting, while the countertop ones can be for commercial or home use.

You need to find a high-quality machine manufactured from high-grade steel that will give you the best service for your money. It should be fast in frying so it can produce the needed number of donuts, easy to operate so you don’t get confused in the middle of the process, and be able to do it all in the most efficient way. Also, these quality fryers are oftentimes designed to save more electricity.

There are flat-bottom fryers as well, which have the heating elements under the frying pot. They have a rectangular shape and no cooling area, which means that the entire bottom gets hot and everything that falls off the doughnuts during frying continues to fry, so you’ll have to constantly clean the oil (which isn’t really feasible while the machine is operating) or it can get a burnt flavour.

When it comes to powering this doughnut machine, it can be electrical or gas. Electric doughnut fryers connect to a power outlet, which is typical for commercial and home use. Gas fryers are commonly used in places where there are no reliable electrical outlets, such as fairs and all kinds of outdoor events, so they use gas to heat the oil.

Fillers – For Fully Filled, Yummy Doughnuts

Doughnuts can be filled using pastry bags, which is great if you’re starting small and staff isn’t a problem. But when you’re limited in time or you don’t have enough people to fill in all of those doughnuts, you need a doughnut filler. These donut machines allow you to fill a great number of doughnuts in no time. They’re used in shops, bakeries, cafes, and can inject jam, cream, and other types of fillings.

Depending on how many doughnuts you plan to make a day, you’ll need something compact that won’t take up much space but can still provide you with the necessary quota. Fillers should be able to accommodate various nozzles for different ways of filling. Look for a model that can hold the necessary dose of filling, that’s easy to clean and easy to use so you can save time on training employees on how to use the equipment.

Fillers consist of several elements, including the base that is the body containing the switch and control panel, and a pump that’s placed on the base. Also, there’s the hopper, which contains the filling and can be of different sizes.

Proofer – To Make Sure You Always Have the Best Doughnuts

This donut machine is needed for making yeast-raised doughnuts. Proofing is the final step in the process of making donuts before frying them. It provides the ideal environment necessary for mouth-watering doughnuts. Since dough rises in warm environments, a proofer allows you to achieve that perfect temperature that will enable you to produce consistently good donuts. It’s different from a bread proofer or a heating cabinet because they don’t have such precise monitoring as a donut proofer. Doughnuts need a high level of humidity, which the proofer is able to achieve. Look for models that can hold more sheet pans and are mobile so you can move them around according to the need.

Glazers – For Creating Aesthetically-Pleasing Doughnuts

Doughnut glazers are used to give a shiny coat to your doughnuts. They’re time-saving machines that enable you to glaze your doughnuts much easier than if you were to use a hand glazer. The glaze applicator simply slides along the rails as it glazes. The advantages are producing evenly glazed doughnuts and improving shelf life. Also, the excess glaze is stored in the reservoir for reuse and the entire machine can be taken apparat for thorough cleaning.

Other Types of Equipment Doughnut Shops Need

• Icers – These are used for evenly icing the doughnuts. This commercial donut machine provides efficient icing of more screens in less than a minute;
• Sugar Coaters – These ensure that all doughnuts are evenly coated in sugar. They can be found in different sizes and storage capacity;
• Depositors – This machine deposits the doughnuts into the fryer;
• Mixers – A bakery mixer is an essential piece of equipment for making the doughnut batter.