Warm the cup of milk in the microwave until about 100° F. Pour half of the milk into the Bowl of a stand mixer, along with the yeast and 1 tsp of sugar.
Stir to combine and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. At 5 minutes, the mixture should be frothy and bubbly.
Once the mixture is frothy, add the remaining milk, melted butter, granulated sugar, salt and 2 cups of flour.Knead until fully combined.
Slowly add in the remaining ¼-½ cup until the dough cleans the side of the bowl, is tacky to your finger but doesn’t stick if pulled away quickly.
Knead for an additional 5-7 minutes.
Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.
Once the dough has doubled in size, turn onto a lightly floured surface.
Gently press the dough out into a rectangle and then use a donut cutter to cut your donuts out of the dough. Cut the leftover dough into small portions for bite sized donuts.
Cover with plastic wrap or a cloth and allow to rise for an additional 30-45 minutes.
Pour 2-3 inches of oil in the bottom of your pan. Heat the oil until 350°.
Fry the donuts at 350° for about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown on each side. Do not over crowd the pan.
When they are golden brown, let the donuts rest on a cookie cooling rack that is paced inside of a cookie sheet.
Repeat with remaining dough.
When the excess oil has dripped off of the donut top with your favorite glaze (recipe above) or with chocolate frosting (recipe above)