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A horizontal image showing a batch of sourdough apple cider donuts cooling on a wire rack. There is a bite taken out of one of the donuts showing the texture inside.

These sourdough apple cider donuts are soft, fluffy and packed with concentrated apple cider flavor, all without frying or waiting for dough to proof. You can mix, bake and coat them in cinnamon sugar in less than an hour, making them the perfect sourdough fall treat when you want something delicious without turning it into an all-day baking project.

Made with sourdough discard and leavened with baking powder and baking soda, these are cake-style sourdough donuts, so there’s no proofing required. Your sourdough starter brings flavor and tenderness, but it definitely isn’t the boss of the schedule here!

Why you’ll love this recipe!

Ready in Under an Hour – From mixing the batter to rolling warm donuts in cinnamon sugar, you can have these on the table in less than an hour.

Big Apple Cider Flavor – Reducing the cider concentrates the apple flavour without making the batter too wet.

Baked, Not Fried – There’s no pot of hot oil and no messy frying. Just pipe the batter into a donut pan and bake.

Classic Cinnamon Sugar Finish – I love finishing these with cinnamon sugar, just like you get at the apple orchard, but you can also use a glaze if you prefer.

Why you’ll love this recipe!
Ingredients
Apple Cider Reduction
How To Make Baked Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts
Don’t Use Overly Sour Discard
If you don’t have donut trays
How To Store + Freeze
Reheat Leftovers In The Air Fryer
Baked Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts Recipe

Two sourdough apple cider donuts stacked on top of each other. The donut on the top has a bite taken out of it. There are some red apple in the background of the photo.

Ingredients

Sourdough Discard – You can use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter. I usually like to use discard that’s around 24 hours old, that way it doesn’t make the donuts taste too acidic. Because these are cake-style sourdough donuts, there’s no need for the batter to ferment before baking. The sourdough starter contributes flavor rather than being relied upon for leavening.
Apple Cider – The secret to getting plenty of apple cider flavor into every bite is reducing the cider before adding it to the donut batter. Simmering the apple cider into a concentrated syrup gives these baked sourdough donuts a much deeper apple flavor without adding too much liquid. I tested using unreduced apple cider, but the flavour was too subtle. Reducing 250 g of cider down to 50 g gave me much stronger apple flavour without adding unnecessary liquid to the batter.
Light Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar
Egg
Butter – You’ll need softened butter for the donut batter and melted butter to dip them in once they’re baked.
Vanilla Extract
All-purpose Flour
Baking Powder and Baking Soda
Spices – I’ve used a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, ground cardamon but you could also use apple pie spice if you prefer. You’ll also need some cinnamon to create a cinnamon sugar mixture to dip the donuts in once they’re baked.
Salt

Flat lay of ingredinets necessary to make sourdough apple cider donuts.

Kate’s Pro Tip

Apple Cider Reduction

I’ve created an apple cider reduction by simmering down apple cider until it’s thick and syrupy. I’ve used a homemade apple cider, but you can use store bought with no issues. When simmering, you should end up with 100 grams of reduction for every 500 grams (2 cups) of apple cider, so reduced by 80%. The reduced cider should be darker, slightly thicker and almost syrupy, but it doesn’t need to become as thick as maple syrup.

How To Make Baked Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts

There were three things I wanted from this sourdough apple cider donut recipe: plenty of real apple cider flavor (just like the ones you get from the apple orchard), a soft cake-style crumb and absolutely no hot oil. I love eating fried food. Making it? Not so much.

After testing this recipe more times than I care to mention, I’ve managed to achieve all of this and more! These baked cake-style donuts give you all the fun of a warm apple cider donut with a much simpler method.

1. Reduce the Apple Cider

Place the apple cider into a small saucepan and simmer until 500 g (2 cups of apple cider) has reduced to approximately 100 g. The cider should become darker, more concentrated and slightly syrupy. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before adding it to the batter. I highly recommend having a jar of apple cider reduction in the fridge, ready for baking.

2. Mix the Donut Batter

The donut batter is so easy to put together – you only need one bowl! Whisk together the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients on top and gently fold everything together until you have a thick but smooth batter with no visible streaks of flour.

Don’t overmix the batter. Once flour is added, too much mixing can develop excess gluten and give you firmer, less tender cake donuts.

Kate’s Pro Tip

Don’t Use Overly Sour Discard

For the best flavor in a sweet discard recipe like this, avoid using discard that has become extremely acidic or has been sitting unfed for a very long time. A milder discard allows the apple cider and spices to really shine. I usually feed my starter and then use it after 24 hours, so it’s relatively fresh discard.

3. Fill the Donut Pans

I find it easiest to transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe it evenly into the donut trays. I tested this recipe multiple times to make sure the batter gives you exactly 12 donuts with no awkward spoonful of batter left over. Fill each donut hole evenly, taking care not to overfill them as the batter will rise in the oven.

4. Bake

Bake the donuts until they are risen, lightly golden brown around the edges and the tops spring back when gently pressed. Try not to overbake them. Baked donuts can dry out much more quickly than fried donuts, so removing them as soon as they’re cooked through will help keep the crumb soft and tender. Allow the donuts to cool in the pan briefly before removing them.

5. Coat in Cinnamon Sugar

Make the cinnamon sugar mixture by mixing together the cinnamon and the granulated sugar until well distributed. While the donuts are still warm, dip them into melted butter and then coat generously in cinnamon sugar.

Coating them while warm helps the butter and cinnamon sugar cling to the surface and gives you that classic apple cider donut finish.

If you prefer a glaze, you can skip the cinnamon sugar and use a simple apple cider or maple glaze instead. The simple apple cider glaze on these sourdough apple cider cookies works perfectly on these donuts too.

If you love baked donuts, try these easy sourdough baked donuts with a super fun pink glaze!

Kate’s Pro Tip

If you don’t have donut trays

You can bake this batter in a mini muffin pan to create “sourdough apple cider donut holes”. They make the loveliest bite sized snack! Bake the mini muffins for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Once baked, dip them in melted butter and toss them through the cinnamon sugar just as you would the regular donuts. They make the loveliest bite-sized fall snack – and you don’t need to buy another baking pan just to make them.

How To Store + Freeze

These baked sourdough apple cider donuts are at their absolute best when they’re eaten fresh, shortly after they’ve been coated in cinnamon sugar. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Because baked donuts naturally lose some of their softness as they sit, I recommend refreshing them before serving if they’re more than a day old.

For longer storage, you can also freeze the donuts. For the best result, freeze them before coating in melted butter and cinnamon sugar, then thaw and refresh before coating and serving.

Kate’s Pro Tip

Reheat Leftovers In The Air Fryer

The air fryer is my favorite way to bring leftover sourdough apple cider donuts back to life. Reheat them at 180°C (350°F) for around 5 to 7 minutes, or until warmed through and soft again. It’s a very easy way to make day-old donuts taste much more like freshly baked ones again.

Keep an eye on them toward the end, particularly if they’re already coated in cinnamon sugar, as the sugar can caramelize quite quickly. If you’ve frozen the donuts without their coating, warm them in the air fryer first and then dip them in melted butter and cinnamon sugar while they’re warm.