How to make Homemade Sourdough Donuts with Glaze
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Sourdough Donut Recipe: This simple sourdough recipe gives you soft, fried donuts topped with a sweet glaze.
If you want to make a special treat for your family or friends, this sourdough donut recipe is super simple and a hit. What's not to love about a fried piece of dough dunked in a sweet glaze or topped with a rich chocolate ganache? The sourdough makes these a healthier option, plus frying them in coconut oil makes these almost a health food, haha!
Recipe Overview: Homemade Sourdough Donuts with Glaze
- ⏱ Prep Time: 25 minutes
- 🚨 Resting Time: 7 hours
- 👩🏻🍳 Baking Time: 3 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 7 hours 28 minutes
- 🍞 Serving: 14 donuts
- ⚡ Calories: 458 calories per donut
- 🍂 Flavor Profile: Light and airy sourdough donuts with a subtle tang, soft crumb, and a sweet, glossy glaze for a delightful treat.
- 👌 Difficulty: Medium — for home bakers comfortable handling sourdough dough and frying or baking donuts.
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- Recipe Overview: Homemade Sourdough Donuts with Glaze
- Why You Will Love This Homemade Sourdough Donut Recipe
- How to Make Homemade Sourdough Donuts with Glaze
- Ingredients:
- How to Make These Delicious Homemade Sourdough Donut Recipe
- FAQs
- Other Recipes You’ll Love
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- How to make Homemade Sourdough Donuts with Glaze
I make these irresistible sourdough donuts fairly often on Saturdays. Last week, I made them for my kids and their friends, and they nearly finished them all! This is a pretty big recipe, so that says a lot. It can easily be halved if you don't need 30 donuts.
Why You Will Love This Homemade Sourdough Donut Recipe
-Simple recipe
Making donuts at home might seem a bit daunting, but I promise it's not. One of my kid's friends who was here when I made them last week said, "I didn't know you could make these at home, Mrs. Hofer!" She had only ever known about donuts from donut shops and gas stations. You don't need any fancy equipment for these, and I will share my simple method for frying them and even cutting them without a donut cutter.
-Sourdough
The way to my heart is through sourdough. Anything made with flour can be made healthier by fermenting the dough using a sourdough starter. Using sourdough in your baking brings the benefits of fermentation, breaking down nutrients in the dough to make them easier for your body to digest. Plus, it adds a unique and delicious flavor to your baked goods. Take a look around this food blog, and you'll find plenty of other delicious and easy sourdough recipes to try.
How to Make Homemade Sourdough Donuts with Glaze
Ingredients:
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 1 ½ cup sourdough starter
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- coconut oil (to fry)
How to Make These Delicious Homemade Sourdough Donut Recipe
- Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan or microwave-safe container just until the milk is warm and the butter is melted. If it gets overly hot, let it cool before the next step.
- Add the milk and melted butter, active sourdough starter, eggs, 3 cups flour, and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix it with the paddle attachment for a minute, until it looks smooth.
- Switch out the paddle attachment for the dough hook, and add the remaining 2 cups of flour. Start mixing on low speed until the flour is incorporated, and then turn up to medium speed and let it mix for 4 minutes. The dough should come together into a smooth ball, and the sides of the bowl should be free of dough. If it looks too wet and sticky, add ¼ cup of flour.
- Transfer the dough from the stainless bowl to a greased large bowl, allowing it to double in size over the next couple of hours.
- Cover the dough with a lid or a damp towel and let it rise for about 6 hours at room temperature. This will vary depending on the temperature of your home, but you will know when it has almost doubled in size and is ready.
- Place the donut dough on a clean surface and roll it out to about ½ inch thick. If it's too sticky, roll it on a lightly floured surface or use a tiny bit of oil on your hands.
- Using a donut cutter, cut your donuts and donut holes.
- Place the cut-out donut holes on a well-oiled piece of parchment paper and let them rest for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare your glaze (recipes below).
- When your dough has rested for an hour and the donuts look slightly puffy, prepare your frying oil. You can use a fryer or whatever frying method you prefer and set it to 325 degrees F. I add an inch of coconut oil to a deep frying pan on my stove and use a food thermometer to know when the oil temperature reaches 325 degrees F. You want to keep it at a consistent temperature.
- Add a few donuts to the oil at a time, and leave for one minute or until the bottoms have turned a golden brown. Flip the donuts and heat the other side until they are golden brown as well.
- Transfer the cooked donuts to a cooling rack lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil.
- Before the donuts are cooled, dip them into the prepared glaze and place them back onto the cooling rack, where they will finish cooling and the glaze will set.
- Serve your donuts fresh for the best crispy results.
Vanilla Glaze Recipe
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoon milk
Melt butter and then whisk in the other ingredients until smooth and lump-free
Chocolate Glaze Recipe
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
Heat the cream in a pot on the stove on low until it is hot but not boiling. Add the chocolate chips and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes and then stir until smooth. Add butter and corn syrup and whisk until smooth.
Other Topping ideas
There’s so much you can do with these donuts. Powdered sugar is always a classic, or you can roll them in cinnamon sugar while they’re still warm. If you’re into sprinkles, dip them in a simple icing and toss some on top.
Crushed nuts or shredded coconut are great if you want a little crunch. You could even drizzle on some caramel or spread a little fruit jam. Honestly, whatever sounds good to you will probably taste amazing on these donuts.
Notes:
- These donuts don't store great; they are best eaten fresh when they are still crispy!
- Don't try to bake or air-fry these donuts. They need that instant burst of heat from the oil to puff up.
FAQs
Yes, you can. Use about 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast in place of the starter. Bloom it in warm milk with a little sugar before mixing the dough. The rise will be quicker, and the flavor will be slightly less tangy, but they’ll still turn out soft and delicious.
Make sure you’re using enough oil and that it’s at the right temperature (around 325°F). If the oil is too cool, the donuts can stick and absorb too much oil. Fry in small batches and use a slotted spoon to gently flip them. Avoid overcrowding the pan.
They should be golden brown on both sides and will usually float to the top as they cook. This typically takes about 1–2 minutes per side. Keeping your oil temperature steady is key for even cooking.
No problem. Use a drinking glass or round cutter for the outer shape, and something small like a bottle cap for the center. You can also shape them by hand—roll the dough into a ball, flatten it slightly, and stretch a hole in the middle.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
Easy Sourdough Dutch Oven Artisan Bread Recipe
Easy Sourdough Pumpkin Scones with Pumpkin Glaze
How to Make Flaky Sourdough Croissants Recipe at Home
Best Overnight Sourdough Pancake Recipe {So Fluffy!}
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How to make Homemade Sourdough Donuts with Glaze
Equipment
- 1 Small saucepan
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 large bowl
- 1 donut cutter
- 1 fryer
- 1 cooling rack
Ingredients
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 1 ½ cup sourdough starter
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- coconut oil to fry
Vanilla Glaze Recipe
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoon milk
Chocolate Glaze Recipe
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
Instructions
- Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan or microwave-safe container just until the milk is warm and the butter is melted. If it gets overly hot, let it cool before the next step.
- Add the milk and melted butter, active sourdough starter, eggs, 3 cups flour, and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix it with the paddle attachment for a minute, until it looks smooth.
- Switch out the paddle attachment for the dough hook, and add the remaining 2 cups of flour. Start mixing on low speed until the flour is incorporated, and then turn up to medium speed and let it mix for 4 minutes. The dough should come together into a smooth ball, and the sides of the bowl should be free of dough. If it looks too wet and sticky, add ¼ cup of flour.
- Transfer the dough from the stainless bowl to a greased large bowl, allowing it to double in size over the next couple of hours.
- Cover the dough with a lid or a damp towel and let it rise for about 6 hours at room temperature. This will vary depending on the temperature of your home, but you will know when it has almost doubled in size and is ready.
- Place the donut dough on a clean surface and roll it out to about ½ inch thick. If it's too sticky, roll it on a lightly floured surface or use a tiny bit of oil on your hands.
- Using a donut cutter, cut your donuts and donut holes.
- Place the cut-out donut holes on a well-oiled piece of parchment paper and let them rest for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare your glaze (recipes below).
- When your dough has rested for an hour and the donuts look slightly puffy, prepare your frying oil. You can use a fryer or whatever frying method you prefer and set it to 325 degrees F. I add an inch of coconut oil to a deep frying pan on my stove and use a food thermometer to know when the oil temperature reaches 325 degrees F. You want to keep it at a consistent temperature.
- Add a few donuts to the oil at a time, and leave for one minute or until the bottoms have turned a golden brown. Flip the donuts and heat the other side until they are golden brown as well.
- Transfer the cooked donuts to a cooling rack lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil.
- Before the donuts are cooled, dip them into the prepared glaze and place them back onto the cooling rack, where they will finish cooling and the glaze will set.
- Serve your donuts fresh for the best crispy results.
Notes
Note:
- These donuts don't store great; they are best eaten fresh when they are still crispy!
- Don't try to bake or air-fry these donuts. They need that instant burst of heat from the oil to puff up.
