Sourdough Raised Doughnuts are Light, Pillowy, and Very Tasty

By David TisueBaking, Breakfast, donuts, donuts, Doughnuts
Title of Sourdough Raised Doughnuts

Light and airy yet slightly chewy These sourdough raised doughnuts are da bomb!

Inside of Sourdough Raised Doughnut

This week I tried making Sourdough Raised Doughnuts. I think these turned out rather fabulous. These are slightly chewy and have just the hint of sourdough and I think are incredible. As a kid, My 3 brothers and I would inhale more raised doughnuts than my parents could possibly imagine. I remember them complaining that they bought 2 dozen of the pillowy, light, melt in your mouth doughnuts and they never even got one because my brothers and I had eaten all of them in one sitting. I have made good raised doughnuts in the past. I thought I would try my hand at using sourdough.

There is something very satisfying about using sourdough starter to make these doughnuts. They do take much longer to rise, and you have to be patient to wait for them. But they are worth it. They are just as light and fluffy as yeast-risen doughnuts and really delicious. Sourdough raised doughnuts have just the slightest tang to them which I think adds to the flavor. And a bit of the chewy you want from sourdough. If you have a sourdough starter these are a fun way to use starter. And expand your baking. Try them you will not be disappointed.

They disappeared quickly when I brought them into Lion King. There is definitely a history of doughnuts and Theater, especially if you are on touring show. The tradition of doughnuts isn’t just that when you are working on a show, it’s a great treat to have at each city that you are performing in, it has a seedier meaning too. If someone in the company might have met someone local and had an amazing evening with that person (wink, wink). That company member is supposed to bring in a box of doughnuts the next morning. It’s funny that sometimes when I was on tour, I would sometimes by a box of doughnuts just to treat my crew as there are some fantastic local crews out there in this country, and I would then have to explain that I did not meet anyone the evening before I was just being nice!

I used 3 ½ inch doughnut cutters from Amazon made by Ateco, they are fantastic and hold up well to cutting out all of the doughnuts. I got 2-dozen out of this dough. You could halve the recipe if you want to make just a dozen. I get a tiny portion of the sale from anything you buy from Amazon through the links on this page. Plaese consider using the links ans it helps fund this site.

 

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Sourdough Raised Doughnuts
Light and airy sourdough doughnuts are pillowy delights of tasty goodness
Course: Baking, Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: American
Keyword: doughnuts
Servings: 2 dozen
Ingredients
Sourdough Doughnut Dough
  • 1 ½ cups fed sourdough starter 300 grams fed the night before or about 8 hours.
  • 1 ½ cup lukewarm water about 85°
  • 6 tablespoons butter softened
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 6 -7 cups bread flour
  • vegetable oil for frying
Vanilla Doughnut Glaze
  • 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • ½ cup hot water
Instructions
To make the dough.

  1. In a bowl of a mixer whisk together the active sourdough starter, water, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla.

  2. Add 6 cups of the flour, sugar, the baking powder, nutmeg, and sea salt.
  3. Knead for about 6 -8 minutes until you have a smooth but very soft dough. You may need to add more flour. But it should still be slightly sticky.
  4. Scrape the dough into an oiled or buttered ceramic or glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel.
  5. Let rise until doubled, about 2 hours depending on your kitchen temperature. You could let it rise in an oven with a pan of hot water underneath to make a proofing box if your kitchen is too cold.
  6. When the dough has doubled, flour a large work surface. Pat the dough out to approximately ½ inch.
  7. Cut the doughnuts with a 3 ½ inch doughnut cutter or a 3 1/3 inch biscuit cutter and a ½ inch round cutter for the holes.
  8. Transfer each cut doughnut and hole onto a wax paper lined tray or part of your work surface.
  9. Let rise for 30 -50 minutes until the doughnuts have become puffy and doubled in size.
  10. In a large flat-bottomed pot, using a candy/frying thermometer, heat about 2 inches of oil to 350°

  11. When the doughnuts have doubled, fry a few at a time trying not to overcrowd the pot. Fry for 45 seconds until they just start to get golden brown. (the doughnuts will darken even more as they cool). Flip each doughnut and fry for an additional 45 seconds.

  12. Drain the doughnuts on paper towels as you cook more batches of the doughnuts.
  13. Start the glaze as soon as you have cooked all the doughnuts.
To make the glaze.
  1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. You may need to thin out the glaze with a few more tablespoons of the hot water if it looks too thick.
  2. While the doughnuts are still warm dip the tops of each doughnut into the glaze twisting to make sure the tops are completely covered.
  3. Invert the glazed doughnuts onto a rack to let the glaze drip over the sides. Let the doughnuts sit to let the glaze set for a few minutes.
  4. They are delicious slightly warm or let them cool.