Homemade Sourdough Doughnuts

It is hard not to love these homemade sourdough doughnuts. They are super light, fluffy, and just sweet enough. Honestly, they are so light that you barely notice you ate one already 😉 It is almost impossible to eat just one. Every time I make these, everyone starts silently smiling to themselves. With a steaming cup of coffee or black tea, they tend to disappear in large numbers. They are also excellent the next day, even without reheating them.

Some of my first and most fond memories of freshly baked doughnuts are while vacationing, back in the 1980s, in the small town Marina on the Dalmatian coast. There was a small local stand on the beach, where they would roll, cut, proof, and fry doughnuts all day long. They were the best; plain with just a dusting of powdered sugar. They were especially tasty after long stretches of swimming. I remember I couldn’t get enough of them.

These homemade sourdough doughnuts are fluffy, light with delicate creamy sweet flavor and not oily.

About the Ingredients

SOURDOUGH STARTER: I tested the recipe using a 100% hydration sourdough starter and the sweet sourdough starter. Both batches came out great; however I find they have creamier taste if using the sweet starter.

The most important thing, whichever starter you end up using, is that your starter should be vibrant, bubbly, and not smell acidic but rather more creamy-like.

MILK: I tried this recipe using cold, straight from the fridge, and scalded milk. The scalded milk provides for a more structured dough since the whey proteins don’t interfere in the gluten formation process.

FLOUR: You want to use very fine bread flour, similar to the Italian T00 type, for the strong and elastic dough. It creates a strong base and allows the flavors and riches of the milk and eggs to shine through.

Adding Flavors

DARK RUM: Dark rum is used to prevent the dough from soaking up too much oil while frying. Apart from this little trick, I find that the dark rum elevates the dough flavor to another level. I tried the same recipe without the dark rum, and it just wasn’t as great. It truly adds a noticeable dimension of flavor I would not omit. For this, use high-quality rum.

If you want to elevate the flavors further, I suggest flavoring the rum the day before. Take a small clean glass bottle and add a tablespoon of golden raisins and candied orange. Top the bottle with dark rum, cover, and leave on the kitchen counter at least overnight. You will be rewarded with a creamy, fruity dark rum flavor the next day. Leave it longer in the glass if you want a more pronounced flavor. I usually keep a small bottle in the cupboard. Another great flavor that you can try is carob. Just break the carob in half, and repeat the process. 

VANILLA & CLEMENTINE ZEST: The vanilla extract and clementine zest are other great flavor enhancers for the dough. Add vanilla extract only if you can find a pure vanilla extract. Clementine zest gives a little, barely noticeable, sweet and elegant citrusy kick in flavor. It nicely complements the flavored dark rum and vanilla.

For a more intense citrusy kick use lemon zest, preferably from Meyer lemons.

Enriching the Dough

EGGS & EGG YOLKS: Eggs and egg yolks add richness to the dough. I tried many recipe variations where I would swap the yolks for whole eggs and vice versa. Adding only yolks adds richness to the dough without adding the elasticity, so in the end the dough is super soft. The doughnuts are incredibly soft and just delicious, less chewy, but as they lack elasticity, they don’t spring up once you bite into them, leaving them in the end a bit too dense. So finally, I have settled for only whole eggs.

BUTTER: Butter is another ingredient that adds richness to the dough. Use high-quality European-style butter at 82% fat content. Butter is added only after the gluten is developed fully. Therefore, you should perform a window-pane test to ensure proper gluten development prior to adding the butter. If you add the butter too soon, the doughnuts will be more cake-like, not fluffy, and tend to soak up more oil while frying.

SUGAR: Use unrefined granulated sugar for a slight caramel flavor. Since the formula contains more than 12% sugar, we add it only after fully developing gluten. Sugar takes in quite a lot of liquid and can disrupt the gluten formation process. Therefore, we add it once the butter is all mixed into the dough.

Since the sugar is granulated, you should mix it with a small portion of hot milk and leave it to dissolve slowly. This will also ensure that the sugar crystals don’t break the developed gluten structure once mixed in.

The Baking Schedule

Before we go on and describe the process for making the homemade sourdough doughnuts, let’s first look at the baking schedule:

As you can see from the above schedule, I usually leave the dough to ferment overnight on the counter. That way, it is all ready in the early morning for shaping, making the doughnuts all ready for after lunch. However, if you would like to have them ready for breakfast, you should adjust the baking schedule to start with the initial dough mix in the morning or mid-day so that when the doughnuts are shaped, they can be left to rise overnight on the kitchen counter or in a proof box.

If you don’t have a proofing box, you can place the shaped doughnuts, covered, in the oven with the light on.

If you need more flexibility, you can always pop the dough in the fridge to slow down the fermentation. You can shape the doughnuts straight from the refrigerator.

The Formula

Formula for the levain: in this recipe we will be using sweet sourdough starter.

Complete formula:

The Sourdough Starter

I tested this recipe using the 100% hydration sourdough starter and 70% hydration sweet sourdough starter. In both cases, I ended up with exceptional doughnuts. However, doughnuts with the sweet starter had a lighter, somewhat creamier taste, so I opted for this one in the final recipe.

Whichever you use, it will produce wonderful doughnuts as long as it is vibrant and bubbly. Just make sure to adjust the formula if you change the hydration level of your starter.

Before using you sweet sourdough starter make sure to feed it at least three times prior to using it in the recipe.

Pictures above show a sweet 70% hydration starter ready to be mixed into the dough. As you can see, the starter is bubbly and quite alive.

How to Make Homemade Sourdough Doughnuts

Making the homemade sourdough doughnuts has its benefits as anything sourdough with proper longer fermentation. They are more digestible and hence better for your gut health. In my family, everyone jokingly comments that anything sourdough does not make you gain weight, thereby clearing the path to have just one more doughnut 🙂

There are four main steps in making these homemade sourdough doughnuts:

• making the dough
• fermenting the dough
• shaping the doughnuts
• frying the doughnuts

Making the Dough

This first step is the essential part of the process. Here you will build the structure of the dough, which is crucial to do it right since you will be frying the doughnuts. If the gluten in the dough is not properly developed, you will end up with oily doughnuts, which is not pleasing. Also, the crumb will be dense, cake-like.

It is essential to form the gluten bonds before adding the butter as this will ensure we don’t end up with a cake-like dough structure when baked, but instead with an airy and light crumb. Note that adding the butter before the gluten is formed will block the proper formation of the gluten. The butter coats the gluten-forming proteins (gliadin and glutenin) and prevents them from forming bonds.

Similarly, if added in more significant amounts (usually above 12%), sugar has a negative impact on forming gluten as it can soak up too much liquid. Therefore, for best results, you should add it after all of the butter has been incorporated into the dough. 

Another little trick is to mix the sugar in hot milk, which will soften the sugar granules. This will make it much easier to incorporate the sugar into the dough, and it will not tear the formed gluten.

In picture 1, you can see the finished dough after the mix is complete. It is shiny, extensible, and passes the window-pane test easily. It stretches so thin it is almost transparent.

The 2. picture shows the dough transferred to a proofing bowl after the mix. To make the dough look nice and form a shape, perform two coil folds. You can see how the dough clings to itself and holds structure. Now it is ready for proofing on the counter overnight. You should do another two sets of coil folds in the first two hours to further strengthen the dough. The structure should be pretty strong and not so extensible in the second set of folds.

Shaping the doughnuts

The next day in the morning, the dough should be nicely puffed up and ready to be shaped. First, divide the dough into 24 pieces, about 50g each, as shown in picture 3.

The easiest way to shape the doughnuts is to place the dough on a clean surface without any flour. Dust the palm of your hand with flour and shake the excess off. Cup the palm of your hand and place it on top of the dough. Make circles with your hand in a counterclockwise motion with medium to fast speed, cupping the dough slightly underneath with your small finger and the thumb. After about 5 revolutions, you should have a nice round ball. If you feel your hand sticks to the dough, dust it with a bit more flour.

As you shape the doughnuts, you will essentially gently deflate the dough, which will ensure uniform doughnuts structure once baked. Also, make sure to pinch any large bubbles on the surface and roll the doughnuts to seal the dough again.

It is essential to make sure there is no flour on the bottom of the working surface, preventing the nice round closed shape. Make sure to pinch and close the bottom of a shaped doughnut. If you don’t seal the bottom of the doughnut appropriately, the dough will expand as it proves, and the bottom will crack open. It will further open when frying, causing the doughnuts to soak up too much oil.

Dust the bottom part of the doughnut with flour and place it on the baking tray with the silicone mat. Make sure that there is plenty of room between each doughnut as they will double in size as they prove.

Frying the Sourdough Doughnuts

Once the doughnuts have been proofed, they will hold the structure firmly and feel incredibly light.

There is only one important thing to note when frying these homemade sourdough doughnuts: the heat of the oil and its ability to remain relatively constant while frying.

A candy thermometer comes in handy here. After all that work and time invested, you don’t want to mess it all up now in the last 5 minutes. The oil should be at 180ºC/356ºF at all times when frying. I find that the best way to achieve constant temperature is by using a deep cast iron pan.

Doughnuts can be a bit tricky to transfer from the baking tray to the hot oil since they are so light and should be handled very carefully at this point. Dust your fingers with rice flour and gently lift the first half of a doughnut just enough to slide the floured small pastry spatula underneath. Lift while still gently holding the sides of the doughnut and slowly place in the hot oil away from you, top side down.
The doughnuts are done after about 2 minutes on each side.

Storing the Homemade Sourdough Doughnuts

The doughnuts are always best when eaten on the day they are fried, preferably while still just a tad warm. However, these being leavened with only sourdough are amazing even the next day as they hold the moisture very well and don’t dry out at all. I even had them the third day, still great. For even more amazing results on that third day, you can microwave them to transform into a super soft doughnut.
After the first day, store them in a large airtight container. You can place a kitchen towel between each doughnut.

Flavoring the Doughnuts

Traditionally, I love these with just a simple dusting of powdered sugar. This way, you really get to taste the l of the doughnut itself.
Another favorite is cinnamon sugar, where I grind some granulated sugar and cinnamon in a mortar & pestle.
Basically, the flavors you wish to add to coat the doughnut or even add some jam or pastry cream inside it is really up to your personal taste. So, go crazy, but do try one with only a dusting of powdered sugar.

Related Sourdough Recipes

If you try these sourdough doughnuts please leave a comment below. Also, there are some other yummy sourdough recipes you might like:

• Homemade Sourdough Cinnamon Buns
• Homemade Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
• Sourdough Parker House Dinner Rolls
• Triple Citrus Babka With Cream Cheese, Poppy Seeds, and Cranberries
• Sourdough pumpkin burger buns
• Sourdough pumpkin pancakes with caramelized apples
• Sourdough Carob Babka
• Pumpkin Kamut Calendula Sourdough Bread

Happy baking!

5 from 1 vote

Homemade Sourdough Doughnuts

Fluffy, super light with a delicate creamy sweet flavor, these homemade sourdough doughnuts will be your next favorite indulgence. A pure challenge to eat just one, especially with a cup of steaming hot coffee or tea.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time24 minutes mins

Fermentation Time16 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time17 hours hrs 54 minutes mins

Servings 24

Calories: 149.3 kcal

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Equipment & Tools

• 1 Stand mixer with hook attachment
• 1 Kitchen scale
• 1 Large mixing bowl
• 1-2 Large baking trays with silicone mats
• 1 Candy thermometer
• Paper kitchen towel
• Cooling rack
• Small pastry spatula
• Dough whisk optional

INGREDIENTS

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

SWEET SOURDOUGH LEVAIN

• 28 g sweet sourdough starter
• 62 g water (non-chlorinated)
• 22 g granulated sugar (unrefined)
• 88 g bread flour (T00; Mulino Marino)

DOUGHNUTS

• 200 g sweet sourdough levain
• 190 g milk (scalded)
• 164 g eggs (3 eggs, rom temperature)
• 3 tsp dark rum (high-quality)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (pure)
• 2 clementines (zest)
• 10 g salt (Himalayan)
• 500 g bread flour (T00, Mulino Marino)
• 80 g butter (82% fat, unsalted, cubed, room temperature)
• 80 g granulated sugar

OTHER

• 1 L sunflower oil (for frying)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Gather all the ingredients.

SWEET SOURDOUGH STARTER – 3rd feeding

• Mix all the ingredients in the large glass jar. Cover loosely and set aside somewhere warm – Note 7.

MAKE THE DOUGH

• Scald the milk. Add 20g of the hot milk into a small bowl and mix with the sugar. Set aside.
• Add the sweet sourdough starter to the stand mixer, the remaining scalded cooled milk, eggs, dark rum, vanilla extract, and clementine zest. Use a dough whisk to mix until all the ingredients are completely incorporated.
• Add the flour and mix on 2nd speed for 2 minutes. Cover and let it rest for 60 minutes.
• Add the salt and mix on speed 4/5 for 10 minutes or until the gluten has adequately developed. Check with the window-pane test.
• Add the butter one cube at a time and continue mixing for about 5 minutes on speed 4/5.
• Continue mixing and add the sugar and milk mixture one tablespoon to slowly incorporate it into the dough. Mix for about three more minutes.

BULK FERMENTATION

• Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly buttered mixing bowl. Fold the dough twice using the coil fold method. Cover and let it rest for 60 minutes.
• Perform one set of double coil folds. Rest for 60 minutes.
• Perform one set of double coil folds. Cover and let it rest on the kitchen counter overnight.

SHAPING

• Lightly dust the silicone on the baking sheet with flour. Set aside.
• Divide the dough into 24 pieces, about 50g each.
• Place the dough on a clean surface without any flour. Dust the palm of your hand with flour and shake the excess off. Cup the palm of your hand and place it on top of the dough. Make circles with your hand in a counterclockwise motion with medium to fast speed, cupping the dough slightly underneath with your small finger and the thumb. After about 5 revolutions, you should have a nice round ball. If you feel your hand sticks to the dough, dust it with a bit more flour. – Note 1.
• Lightly dust with flour and place on the prepared baking sheet tray – Note 2

PROOFING

• Cover with the plastic wrap and prove for about 5 hours – Note 3

FRYING

• Use the candy thermometer and heat the oil to 180º/356ºF – Note 4.
• Place clean paper kitchen towels on the cooling rack. Set aside.
• Dust your fingers with rice flour and gently lift the first half of a doughnut just enough to slide the floured small pastry spatula underneath. Lift the doughnut while still gently holding the sides of the doughnut and slowly place it in the hot oil away from you, top side down. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.
• Fry the doughnuts for about 2 minutes on each side.
• Place the doughnuts, last fried side down, onto the kitchen towl to soak up the excess oil – Note 5.

SERVING

• Serve the doughnuts, once slightly cooled down, with a dusting of powdered sugar.

NOTES

1. As you shape the doughnuts, you will essentially gently deflate the dough, which will ensure uniform doughnuts structure once baked. Also, make sure to pinch any large bubbles on the surface and roll the doughnuts to seal the dough again. If you don’t seal the bottom of the doughnut appropriately, the dough will expand as it proves, and the bottom will crack open. It will further open when frying, causing the doughnuts to soak up too much oil.
2. Make sure that there is plenty of room between each doughnut as they will double in size as they prove.
3. Once proofed the doughnuts should be very light but hold the structure firmly.
4. There is only one important thing to note when frying these homemade sourdough doughnuts: the heat of the oil and its ability to remain relatively constant while frying. The oil should be at 180ºC/356ºF at all times when frying. I find that the best way to achieve constant temperature is by using a deep cast iron pan and a candy thermometer.
5. Don’t throw away the used kitchen towels. They are great for re-seasoning the cast iron pans.
6. Also, don’t throw away the plastic wrap you used when proofing the doughnuts. Gently fold it and save for next use. They don’t cling to the surface of the baking sheet that great after the first use, but you can use chopsticks to seal the edges.
7. This should be the 3rd feeding of the sweet starter.

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