I've been working on a recipe for sourdough donuts (or sourdoughnuts as I like to call them) for a while now and let me tell you, they are GOOD! Like Kyle and I ate a dozen in 2 days good. The donuts are light and airy and made with a combination of sourdough starter and instant yeast. They are deep fried to perfection and then dunked in the most amazing vanilla bean glaze. All of that is to say, you can expect sourdough donuts in a ton of different flavors coming soon! 🙂
I dare say they're better than Krispy Kreme when they're fresh and warm!
You might also like these sourdough beignets or these pumpkin spice cream donuts!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a handful of simple ingredients to make these sourdough donuts!
- Sourdough starter - You can use either ripe sourdough starter or sourdough discard to make these donuts! Don’t have a sourdough starter? Never fear! Just check out my Sourdough Guide for all my tips and tricks!
- Instant yeast - The sourdough starter is just for flavor, so the yeast is necessary to help these donuts rise and puff up when frying! I like to buy my instant yeast in bulk and store it in the freezer! I always recommend using instant yeast and NOT active dry yeast.
- Vanilla bean paste - I love using vanilla bean paste because the flavor is more concentrated than vanilla extract! The specs of vanilla bean in the glaze also look really pretty!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sourdough Donuts
The dough for these donuts is super easy to make!
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine all of the dough ingredients and knead on medium low speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should come together in a cohesive ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl but is still slightly sticky. If the dough does not come together, add in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover. Place the dough in the fridge and chill overnight (8-12 hours).
In the morning, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
When the dough is finished rising, lightly punch it down and then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a large rectangle about ½ inch thick.
Using a 3 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough into 12 circles. If you don't quite get 12 you can re-roll the scraps and cut out more circles. Then using a 1 inch or 1 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut the center out of each donut. You can discard the scraps or fry up some donut holes (I recommend the later). Lightly cover the donuts and let rest while the oil is heating.
I also cut leftover donut holes out of the leftover dough scraps!
To cut the sourdough donuts, you can use a legit donut cutter, or just different sized round cookie/biscuit cutters! I have a set of round biscuit/cookie cutters that work great perfectly! I use the 3.5" circle for the donut and the 1.5 inch circle for the hole.
Pour 2-4 cups of vegetable oil (you want it to be about 2 inches deep) into a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven and heat over medium high heat until the oil reached 375°F. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and position it next to your stove. [I love this thermometer because it clips to the pot.]
While the oil is heating, whisk together the glaze and set aside. In a medium bow, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla bean paste until smooth and there are no more lumps.
Once the oil reaches 375°F, fry 2-3 donuts at a time for 1 minute on each side. The donuts should be a deep golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on the cooling rack to allow excess oil to drain off.
Repeat with the remaining donuts as well as the donut holes.
While the sourdough donuts are still warm, dip them in the glaze making sure to cover both sides. Place the donuts back on the cooling rack to allow the excess glaze to drip off. The glaze will set and harden after about 15-20 minutes.
After the glaze has set, you can drizzle any leftover glaze over the top to make fun designs.
Don't forget to dunk the donut holes too!!
These donuts are best eaten the same day while they're still slightly warm. But they will last covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. However, I recommend heating them up before serving for the best taste and texture! Just microwave for about 10-15 seconds!
Sourdough Tips & Tricks
If you've never baked with sourdough before, it can be a little tricky. But don't worry, I have a full Sourdough Guide all about making and maintaining a sourdough starter! I also have a full guide on different types of flour you can use to make sourdough. Below are a few quick tips and key terms you need to know.
- Sourdough Starter - A culture of wild yeast and bacteria that leavens and flavors sourdough bread. I use what's called a "liquid starter" versus a stiff starter. This means the starter is made with equal parts flour and water and should be a consistency similar to cake batter.
- Sourdough Discard - The portion of your starter that is discarded when feeding your starter (can be used in tons of recipes like sourdough discard blueberry muffins or sourdough pancakes).
- Ripe Starter - A starter that's ready to be used in baking. Your starter is ripe roughly 6 hours after feeding and will have doubled in size, have lots of visible bubbles, and a fresh acidic aroma.
Weigh your ingredients! For all my sourdough recipes, I measure the ingredients in grams because it's much more accurate! I highly recommend getting a kitchen scale if you don't already have one! However, I have included alternate US customary measurements for your convenience.
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all breads and baked goods! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Easy sourdough recipes for beginners! If you've never made sourdough bread before, I recommend starting with some simple, no-fuss recipes like my sourdough naan or sourdough bagels! But if you're already a pro, I have a ton of fun sourdough recipes you can try!
Recipe FAQ's
This recipe was specifically designed for deep frying the donuts. If you would prefer baked donuts, I suggest looking up a different recipe.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Sourdough Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card
Sourdough Donuts with Vanilla Bean Glaze
Ingredients
Donuts
- 227 grams sourdough starter
- 236 grams whole milk
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 120 grams granulated sugar
- 85 grams unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2-4 cups vegetable oil , for frying
Vanilla Bean Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine all of the dough ingredients and knead on medium low speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should come together in a cohesive ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl but is still slightly sticky. If the dough does not come together, add in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover. Place the dough in the fridge and chill overnight (8-12 hours).
- In the morning, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- When the dough is finished rising, lightly punch it down and then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a large rectangle about ½ inch thick. Using a 3 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough into 12 circles. If you don't quite get 12 you can re-roll the scraps and cut out more circles. Then using a 1 inch or 1 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut the center out of each donut. You can discard the scraps or fry up some donut holes (I recommend the later). Lightly cover the donuts and let rest while the oil is heating.
- Pour 2-4 cups of vegetable oil (you want it to be about 2 inches deep) into a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven and heat over medium high heat until the oil reached 375°F. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and position it next to your stove.
- While the oil is heating, whisk together the glaze and set aside. In a medium bow, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla bean paste until smooth and there are no more lumps.
- Once the oil reaches 375°F, fry 2-3 donuts at a time for 1 minute on each side. The donuts should be a deep golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on the cooling rack to allow excess oil to drain off. Repeat with the remaining donuts as well as the donut holes.
- While the donuts are still warm, dip them in the glaze making sure to cover both sides. Place the donuts back on the cooling rack to allow the excess glaze to drip off. The glaze will set and harden after about 15-20 minutes. After the glaze has set, you can drizzle any leftover glaze over the top to make fun designs.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Lizzy says
Alright. I’m about to ask a sad question but in a pinch - could I skip the vanilla or use vanilla extract instead? Or is there something else you’d suggest using? Alternatively, do you think I could skip the vanilla in just the donut dough and only put it in the frosting? I’m trying to order vanilla bean paste but I don’t think it’s going to arrive in time for what I need to bake for :(. This recipe sounds so amazing!!
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes of course!! The flavor of vanilla bean paste is just a bit more concentrated and it adds those pretty little flecks to the glaze. But regular vanilla extract works just as well!
Andrea says
Alright, I thought Sadie's comment was nuts. Surely nothing tastes as good as Krispy Kreme.
Well, she's right. These are unbelievable. I ate far too many, far too quickly. I have time to burn them off before beach season, right?! Fantastic job.
Sadie Thompson says
I'm not kidding, these taste just as good as krispy cream! My mind is blown!