Fluffy, sweet, and healthier for you! No frying required in this simple donut recipe the whole family will love.
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My son and husband used to have a tradition of going to a chain donut shop, when we lived in the city, on Saturdays. It was so wonderful for our son to have a special treat, and to have one on one time with dad.
However, when we moved into our first house (not our current), the tradition was a little harder to maintain with a thirty minute drive each way. We made donuts together occassionally, but they honestly weren’t all that great.
It wasn’t for another year (maybe two?) that I decided to give sourdough donuts a try. I had such a hard time finding recipes for donuts that didn’t require frying. I wanted a simple baked donut recipe that we could enjoy (mostly) guilt free.
Now I just need to teach my husband so he can make them on Saturday mornings to pick up a cherised old tradition.
Ingredients
- Active Sourdough Starter
- Melted Coconut Oil or Butter
- All Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Water
- Baking Powder
- Egg or Egg Replacer (#ad)
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Cane Sugar (split)
- Cinnamon
Add 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1 tsp of salt together in a bowl and set aside. I prefer to put this in a bowl that I will NOT be using for mixing.
I love our Pyrex Smart Essentials Mixing Bowl Set. I use them for baking and for food storage. They have been with us through 4 moves – one of which was half way down the country – which proves their durability. We try to use only glass, stainless steel, or cast iron for our baking and cooking.
Next (in your mixing bowl – I always use my Kitchen Aid Mixer #ad) mix 1/2 cup of active sourdough starter, 3/4 cup of water, and 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil or butter.
Grocery prices are absolutely insane right now, so we try to consciously cut costs where we can. Since we do not have a dairy cow to make our own butter, we prefer using coconut oil as a cost-effective alternative in most recipes.
Mix these ingredients well and then add in your dry ingredients that you set aside earlier.
Cover your batter with a damp tea towel and let ferment for 12-24 hours. I like to make this first part the afternoon before I want donuts!
We have a very sensitive little gut living in our home, so we long ferment all of our sourdough for optimal gluten break down as well as digestibility. The time that you ferment your dough is totally optional to you.
After fermentation preheat your oven to 350. Add 1 egg (or egg replacer), 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, and 2 tsp of baking powder. Mix well.
Fill your Silicone Donut Pans (#ad). My batter is always really sticky, so I tend to just accept it and get messy. I use a 1/4 cup cookie scoop and then spread it around to fill the mold.
I highly recommend placing your donut pans on a cookie sheet so that they are less flimsy when moving them around.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Use a pot holder to safely pop out the donuts and transfer to a wire rack. I give them a couple minutes to cool while I melt my butter or coconut oil for topping.
Melt 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil and pour into a bowl. In a separate bowl add 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar and mix.
Dip your donuts into the melted butter/oil and then into the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
You can top these with whatever you would like. We have experimented with strawberry jam, melted peanut butter with sugar, melted chocolate, and a pumpkin spice sugar mixture.
Have fun with it! And don’t forget to turn your oven off – like I do every single time I bake. I blame mom brain, you can too.
Quick Donuts (no fermenting)
If you aren’t sure about waiting and letting your donuts ferment, that is totally fine. Just add your “after fermentation” ingredients with the rest and bake right then.
Simple Baked Sourdough Donuts
Equipment
- 2 (6 count) silicone donut molds
- Standing Mixer optional
- Spatula
- Cookie Sheet
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Cup Sourdough Starter (active)
- 3/4 Cup Water
- 1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil
Add After Fermentation
- 1 Tsp Vanilla
- 2 Tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Egg (I use Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer)
Topping
- 1/4 Cup Melted Butter or Coconut Oil
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1-2 Tbsp Cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix flour, sugar, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
- In your stand mixer or large bowl, mix your starter, water, and coconut oil. Mix well.
- Slowly incorporate dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
- Cover and allow to ferment for 12-24 hours at room temperature
After Fermentation
- Preheat oven to 350. Add vanilla, baking powder, and egg (or egg replacer) to batter and mix until well combined.
- Place your silicone donut molds onto a study oven safe pan (cookie sheet).
- You can put batter into a zip-lock bag and cut the corner for easy distribution, but I prefer to just get messy and scoop it out with a cookie scoop. The batter will be pretty sticky and thick, this is normal. Fill the molds slightly below the top.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
- While donuts are baking, melt your coconut oil or butter for topping and combine sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
- Take them out of the pan and transfer to a rack to cool. I like to allow 15-20 minutes for cooling, but you can just get started with toppings at any time.
- Dip donuts in melted butter or coconut oil and then into a cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Did you make these donuts? Share on social media and tag us! @goodcreationsfarm on Facebook and Instagram!
