Fried Sourdough Donuts with Vanilla Glaze

FRIED SOURDOUGH DONUTS RECIPE FEATURE IMAGE

Fried Sourdough Donuts with Vanilla Glaze

Indulge in the irresistible delight of the best fried sourdough donuts, boasting a golden-brown exterior that gives way to a pillowy softness within. Each luscious bite is a symphony of sweet and tangy notes, making these donuts an absolute must for lovers of heavenly sourdough treats.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Sourdough Recipes

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 4

Fermentation Time 15

Total Time 16 4

Servings Donuts

Calories 292kcal

Equipment

Deep Fryer or Dutch Oven to fry
Donut Cutter

Ingredients

Sourdough Donuts

100 g Sourdough Starter
180 g Buttermilk (see notes for milk alternative)
3 Egg Yolks
40 g Sugar
400 g Bread Flour
60 g Butter
5 g Salt

Vanilla Glaze

125 g Powdered Sugar
30 g Milk
5 g Vanilla Extract

Instructions

The easiest way to make sourdough donuts is using a stand mixer - but it is totally possible to do this recipe by hand. For this reason, I've included 3 different versions of instructions to mix & knead the dough.
MIX & KNEAD USING A STAND MIXER - it's so easy to make this dough using your stand mixer. Add the sourdough starter, buttermilk, egg yolks and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix on low speed (with the paddle attachment) until all of the ingredients are well combined.
Change to the dough hook attachment, then add the bread flour, butter and salt to the liquid ingredients and knead using your dough hook until a soft, elastic dough forms. The dough will be tacky, but not sticky and shouldn't stick to your fingers.
MIX & KNEAD USING A THERMOMIX - add all ingredients to the bowl and use the knead function to knead for around 4 to 5 minutes or until the dough is soft and elastic. It should be tacky, but not sticky.
MIX & KNEED BY HAND - mixing by hand takes a little elbow grease, but it's totally doable. Don't be frightened when you add the butter, it will look like a mess, but with lots of kneading, the butter will go into the dough.
To a large mixing bowl, add the sourdough starter, buttermilk, egg yolks and sugar. Use a whisk to whisk the ingredients until they form a foamy batter and the sugar is dissolved.
Add the bread flour and salt to the liquid ingredients and use a spatula to bring the ingredients into a shaggy dough.
Tip the dough out onto the counter and knead for around one to two minutes, or until the dough starts to become smooth and supple.
Allow the dough to rest for around 5 minutes, then add the butter in small amount, kneading until it's all absorbed into the dough.
The dough should be soft and elastic. It will be tacky, but not sticky and shouldn't stick to your fingers once it's kneaded sufficiently.
Once the dough has been kneaded using whatever method you prefer, place the dough back into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or an elastic food cover. Allow the dough to bulk ferment at room temperature until it rises by around 50%.
Once the dough has risen, tip it out onto the counter and roll it out into a rough rectangle/square - around 25cm x 25cm (10" x 10").
Use a donut cutter to cut out your donuts (dip the cutter into flour first). If you don't have a donut cutter a glass, wide mouth jar or even a biscuit cutter is a good alternative.
If you want donuts that you can fill, it's best to use a biscuit cutter to get the round shape without the hole.
I don't use the donut holes, I add them back into the dough when I re roll it to cut out more donuts.
Place the cut donuts onto a cookie sheet or board lined with parchment paper and cover with a damp cloth. Allow them to proof until they're full and puffy.
When you're ready to fry the donuts, heat up your oil to 180C (approx. 350F).
I have used a deep fryer which regulates the temperature for me. You can use a Dutch Oven or skillet filled with oil if you don't have a deep fryer (see notes on type of oil to use below).
Add the donuts to the oil in batches - around 3 or 4 at a time. Fry for around 2 minutes on each side before removing from the oil and draining on some paper towel.
If you are using cinnamon sugar to coat, you'll want to dip them straight into this out of the oil.
When the donuts have cooled a little bit, mix the glaze ingredients together and stir until smooth. Dip each donut into the glaze and then onto a wire rack to allow the glaze to set.

Notes

Buttermilk - if you don't have any buttermilk, just use 180g of milk with a dash of vinegar. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes to thicken before adding to the donut mixture.

Bulk Fermentation and Proofing - this is a very rich dough full of butter and egg yolks. As such, it will take a long time to bulk ferment, especially in cooler temperatures. I highly recommend warming the buttermilk and milk before you add them and use room temperature egg yolks and butter to ensure the dough temp isn't too cold. The proofing also takes quite a while and you don't want to rush it because if you do, you'll get heavy, gummy donuts.

Donut Cutter - If you don't have a donut cutter, use a biscuit cutter (especially if you want to fill the donuts after they're fried). A wide mouth mason jar, glass or small bowl can be used as an alternative. A bottle cap or lid can be used to cut out the holes.

Donut Holes - it's up to you if you use the donut hole dough. Some people like to fry them up and have "donut holes". I just add them back to the dough when I re roll it to cut more donuts. You might even get 11 donuts if you do this.

Oil for Frying - I fried these donuts in a deep fryer that regulated the temperature at 180C. I used Rice Bran Oil to fry them in (mainly because it was already in the deep fryer and it's too hard to empty it out and change it just for one recipe) but they came up beautifully and weren't greasy. You can use vegetable oil, canola oil, coconut oil or any oil you like to deep fry in.

Nutrition