Fully melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add milk, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well until everything is well dissolved. Break an egg into the mixtures and mix well. Add the yeast and stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Add 3 cups flour and mix well with a wooden spoon. When everything is well mixed, use your hand to knead the dough for a few minutes, and shape it into a big lump. Cover with plastic wrap.

Let the dough rise until it double it size, usually about 1 hour.

Deflate the gas with your hand and knead the dough for a few minutes until it’s soft and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap again and let it sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour until it doubles in size again.

Uncover the dough and knead it for a few minutes. Put 2 tablespoons of flour on the corner of your cutting board to use for dusting. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces.

Take a piece of dough and roll it out on your cutting board so it forms a rope. If it’s sticky, sprinkle some flour on the area you’re working in. When you roll out the dough, move one hand upward and the other downward so that the rope is twisted in between your hands as you roll it.

Take the dough off the board, hold it aloft, and bring the ends together. The tension in the dough will twist it as it hangs. You can add as much tension as you like, but I think the best looking kwabaegi has 3- 4 twists in it.

Place the twisted dough on a floured cutting board or tray. Repeat with the rest of the pieces of dough.

Let the doughnuts expand for about 30 minutes. 15 minutes in, gently flip each doughnut over with your hands so the bottoms don’t get flat and all sides expand nice and round.

Heat uoil in a deep pan over medium high heat. Lower the heat to medium heat, then gently set each doughnut into the hot oil by hand. Be careful not to get your hands too close to the oil. Add as many pieces to the oil as your pan will allow, enough so the doughnuts can sit in the oil without pushing against each other.

Cook for about 5 minutes, occasionally gently flipping them over with tongs, until they get crunchy outside and are evenly golden brown.

Strain the cooked doughnuts. Put them in the brown paper bag with the sugar, milk and cinnamon mixture. Shake a few times until they are evenly coated. This is best done when the doughnuts are still warm. Repeat this with all the doughnuts until they are all cooked and coated.