• Mix the dough. Combine flour, salt, and yeast the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. In a separate bowl, whisk together warm milk, honey, vanilla, and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together in a shaggy messy ball on the dough hook, about 3-5 minutes. The dough will look dry at first, but will hydrate as it mixes. Be patient!
• Knead the dough. Increase speed to medium-low and knead the dough for 5-7 minutes, ideally until it passes the windowpane test. If it doesn't pass, cover and let the dough rest for 5 minutes, knead 1 minute more, then proceed to the next step.
• Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. With the mixer running on medium-low, add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Let each piece fully incorporate before adding more. The dough will look like it is falling apart each time you add more butter, but it will come back together. Pause the mixer to scrape the butter down into the bowl occasionally as needed. This can take up to a minute per piece of butter. Be patient!
• Knead the dough again. Increase speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth, shiny, and passes the windowpane test again, about 5-7 minutes.
• Cover and rise. Tuck the edges of the dough under so you have a nice ball with a smooth top. Place in a lightly greased container and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in size, then 1-24 hours in the fridge to cool it down before cutting. Alternately, place it in the fridge immediately and let it rise for 3-24 hours in the fridge before cutting.

Cutting & Proofing Donut Holes

• Roll out the dough. Turn the chilled brioche dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Use your hands to gently flatten the dough trying to avoid any big wrinkles or creases in the surface. Roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thick, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
• Cut the donut holes. Use a 1"-1¼" round cutter to cut as many donut holes out of the dough as possible. I like to start in the center and work my way out, but you do you. Get them as close to each other as possible to get the most out of the dough.
• Final Rise. Arrange the donut holes on a parchment lined sheet pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 45-60 mins, until the donut holes are looking a little puffy.

Frying Donut Holes

• Heat the oil. Toward the end of the rise time, begin heating about 3 inches of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven, using a candy thermometer or frying thermometer to bring the oil to 350°F. Line a second sheet pan with paper towels and place a wire cooling rack inside it.
The oil will cool down each time you add a new batch of donut holes, so adjust the temperature as needed to maintain that temperature.
• Fry the donut holes. Use a wire spider to gently lower donut holes into the oil in batches. Fry each batch for 2-3 minutes, using the wire spider to keep the donut holes moving in the oil so they brown evenly on all sides. Remove the donut holes to the cooling rack to drain. This allows any excess oil to drip off, and leaves room for air to circulate so the donut holes don't get soggy.
• Powdered sugar coating. Let the donut holes cool for about 2 minutes before tossing in a bowl with powdered sugar to coat. Remove them back to the wire cooling rack to finish cooling or directly to a serving platter. Donuts are best enjoyed within a few hours of frying!
For a more subtle powdered sugar coating, give the donut holes a quick shimmy in a wire mesh strainer to shake off any excess sugar. For a more intense powdered sugar coating, or if the powdered sugar melts into the donut holes more than you want, wait 15-20 minutes, then toss in powdered sugar a second time.