Baked Sourdough Donuts (2024)

Hands up if you love donuts? Well wait til you try these baked sourdough donuts!

These baked sourdough donuts use sourdough starter for their rise and baked in the oven rather than fried in oil.

I love making these for my kids because I know they are a little better for them without the deep frying. They also love helping to poke holes in the dough and dip them into the glaze!

There are lots of ways you can add flair to these donuts - we love them glazed, with cinnamon sugar and even made with strawberry icing and sprinkles! Seriously good!

Why not give these baked sourdough donuts a try today? Now if you do prefer your donuts fried, be sure to try these fried sourdough donuts with vanilla glaze.

And if you love all the treats from the fair, you might also enjoy these sourdough elephant ears, sourdough onion rings or even sourdough banana fritters!

Why Baked Sourdough Donuts?

You should make these baked sourdough donuts because they are super simple!

They use your sourdough starter to leaven them - not yeast or baking powder!

Baking them is an easier (and healthier) way to cook them than deep frying in fat or oil. It makes much less mess and less effort.

The donuts are not greasy and are very easy to handle. They work well being glazed or dusted in cinnamon sugar.

This 2 pack of donut trays is perfect for ensuring that the donuts bake with holes in the centre - but if you don't have one - or you want to fill them - you can just bake as whole, round donuts.

How To Make Baked Sourdough Donuts from Scratch

This baked sourdough donut recipe is really very easy.

I have used a stand mixer to mix the dough as it's a quick and easy way to get the dough ready for bulk ferment.

I have proofed and baked the donuts in these trays.

1. Add milk, sugar and vanilla to the stand mixer bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved.
   
2. Now add the sourdough starter, flour, egg, melted butter and salt. Use the dough hook on your stand mixer and run at the lowest setting until the dough has come together.It should be stretchy and elastic and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
   
3. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to bulk ferment until the dough doubles. Depending on the temperature of your home this could take up to 12 hours or so.
   
4. Once the dough has doubled you need to shape the donuts.Divide the dough into 12 equally weighted pieces. Somewhere between 60 to 80g is perfect (the ones photographed are 80g).
   
5. Roll the dough into balls and then poke your finger through each ball. Gently stretch the dough out so there is a hole in the middle of each one.
   
6. Place the shaped donuts onto the donut tray. Cover with a cloth and allow them to proof until they are lovely and puffy.
   
7. Preheat the oven to 180C/356F.
   
8. Brush the donuts with melted butter and bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. They will be golden when done (you can take them out a little earlier if you want a softer donut or leave them until their golden for a more chewy texture.
   
9. Once baked, allow them to cool slightly before adding toppings.
   
10. For the glaze, use tongs to dip one side of the donut into the glaze and then allow them to cool on a wire rack.

How To Make Toppings for Sourdough Donuts

You can top these donuts with anything you like really! I have chosen to use a simple milk sugar glaze for half of these and then cinnamon sugar for the other half.

But you're only limited by your imagination!

Here are some ideas for making toppings for sourdough donuts:

• Milk Sugar Glaze - add 250g of powdered sugar, a pinch of salt and 60g of milk and whisk until it's runny.
  
• Strawberry Glaze - add 250g of powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, 60g of milk and a tablespoon of strawberry jam (add a little pink coloring if you want it really pink).
  
• Chocolate Glaze - add 250g of powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, 60g of milk and a tablespoon of cocoa powder.
  
• Cinnamon Sugar - Melt 100g of butter in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, add 150g of granulated sugar and 2 tsp of cinnamon and mix until well combined. Dunk the donuts into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar.

Please note that the glazes listed here are quite runny. If you prefer a thicker "icing" then just reduce the liquid a little.

You can see the sprinkle donuts below - these are favorites with my boys!

Can You Use Sourdough Discard?

This recipe is made using an active, bubbly sourdough starter that has been fed. This is what makes the donuts rise and have a puffy texture.

If you want to use sourdough discard, I would suggest adding a little commercial yeast into the mixture as well - particularly if your sourdough starter isn't quite up to scratch yet.

If you are using sourdough discard along with some commercial yeast, the rising time for the donuts will be considerably shorter.

What Is The Texture Of Baked Sourdough Donuts?

Baked sourdough donuts have much the same texture as a regular, deep fried donut.

These donuts are made with a traditional egg, milk, butter and flour mixture. The only difference is that they are leavened using a sourdough starter rather than commercial yeast.

Sourdough donuts are not cakey like other baked donuts because they still have yeast - it's just a naturally occurring yeast.

Making the donuts using a traditional risen dough method means that you'll get the traditional light, airy crumb with the slight chew that donuts are famous for.

Ingredient Substitutions

These baked sourdough donuts are made using eggs, whole milk, butter and sugar.

Here are some of the ingredient substitutions you can use, should you need to:

• Bread flour is best, but you can use AP flour. Reduce the milk by 30g (add back if you feel dough is too stiff).
  
• Vegan butter can be substituted for real butter.
  
• Plant milk can be used instead of whole milk - use whatever plant milk you prefer.
  
• I have not made these donuts without egg.
  
• You can use honey or maple syrup instead of sugar if you want to.

Baking Timeline for Baked Sourdough Donuts

Creating a baking timeline for sourdough can be a little tricky. Here's the baking timeline I use when making these sourdough donuts for my family.

Please note that bulk fermentation and proofing times will be different depending on your sourdough starter - but you can use this as an example.

DAY 1

8am - Feed sourdough starter (50g of starter, 50g of flour, 50g of water)

12pm - Mix the donut dough and allow to bulk ferment.

9pm - Shape the donuts and then place into the fridge for second rise.

DAY 2

7am - Take donuts out of the fridge to come to room temperature.

8am - Preheat oven.

9am - Bake donuts

10am - They're cool enough to eat for morning tea!

How To Store + Freeze

These sourdough baked donuts really are best eaten just after they've cooled.

You'll enjoy them at their best this way. They are good for around 12 hours. After this, you'll find that they are not as light and airy (much like sourdough bread).

The best way around this, is to plan out the bake (as explained in the section on baking timelines) so that you can cook them just before you need them.

They are suitable for freezing. I suggest freezing them un iced. Defrost and then warm slightly in the oven before dipping into the glaze or melted butter and cinnamon sugar.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sourdough Donuts

Want More Sourdough Recipes?

Loving these baked sourdough donuts? You might also like these sourdough recipes:

• Sourdough Brioche Chocolate Donut Balls
  
• Sourdough Iced Buns
  
• Fluffy Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
  
• Easy Sourdough Bagels