Yeast Risen Donuts - Problems with rising

[foodnfoto]

Another trick you might try to yield a lighter doughnut is to use less flour -1 3/4 cups liquid to 5 cups flour seems like a lot. The problem you have then is a very soft and sticky dough. This can be dealt with by chilling your dough for 30-45 minutes before rolling out and cutting them.
I use this trick with my Christmas stollen recipe and it works really well in avoiding that heavy, dense texture.
I make a doughnut kind of similar to yours and chilling the dough works pretty well with them though the recipe I use contains quite a few more egg yolks.
Good luck.