Why wait for that “Hot & Ready” light to come on at your local donut shop? It’s time to make the donuts yourself! This indulgence is a lot healthier when you make it yourself, and there’s nothing more satisfying than whipping up a fresh batch of donuts to enjoy. The first time I made this homemade glazed donut recipe with the kids on a rainy day, I caught a lot of flack for not making them sooner. Now we make them all the time and so can you!
Best Donut Recipe
The best donuts are made using the simplest ingredients. This easy donut recipe will walk you through how to make the dough and fry them and the donut holes to perfection. Once you try it, you will make them all the time!
Homemade Donut Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – Naturally, your donut needs a flour base.
- Active dry yeast – We’ve got to get our donuts to rise up!
- Whole milk – You will need to warm it to precisely 110F. Your cooking thermometer can help with that!
- Sugar – How else do you think donuts get so sweet?
- Eggs – Use 2 large ones to help bind the ingredients together.
- Butter – Melt the unsalted kind to add richness to your donut batter.
- Vanilla extract – Use the real stuff and you’ll have sublimely sweet donuts.
- Salt – Just a pinch!
- Nutmeg – Adds a special flavor to these lovely donuts.
- Vegetable oil – So you can fry these babies up.
- Donut Glaze Recipe – Make the glaze from confectioner’s sugar, heavy cream, and more vanilla extract for perfect frosted donuts.
You can’t by happiness but you can buy donuts. And that’s kind of the same thing.
Anonymous
Easy Donut Recipe
This yeast donut recipe might seem like a lot, but these are common ingredients you’ve likely got in your kitchen already. The prep takes some time, but most of it is waiting for your donut dough to rise. Once the dough is ready, it takes just minutes to fry up your donuts.
How do you Make Homemade Donuts from Scratch
Scroll down for step by step instructions for how to make donuts but the gist is this: you make the dough by starting with warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let that sit together for 5 minutes. It’s ready when frothy. That goes in your stand mixer with the eggs, butter, vanilla, nutmeg, salt, and some of the flour. Beat and add the rest of the flour until it resembles dough. Then knead it on a floured surface to make a ball. Grease a bowl and put the dough in, cover it, and let it rise for 2 hours. Punch it again then roll it out and cut donuts out of the dough. Heat oil in a pot and put a few donuts in cooking them one minute per side. Let them drain off on wire racks, make your glaze, and voila! You’ve got donuts!
Expert Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Donuts Every Time
- Patience pays! This yeast donut recipe needs time to rise. Be sure to let them do their thing.
- Flour the surface well. When you roll out the donuts, because they are based with yeast, they can stick. But don’t go overboard for too much excess flour can burn when you fry it and ruin the taste.
- Donut holes! Don’t forget to make the donut holes, they are often the kids favorites!
- Glaze your donuts while they’re still warm. This makes it easier to stick into every part of the donut. Letting them cool is best if you use a thick chocolate frosting though.
How do you make donut batter from scratch?
Just follow this glazed donut recipe to make donut batter from scratch. You only need simple ingredients that you will likely keep in your kitchen for the other things you make.
How do you make the perfect donut?
The perfect donut begins with this recipe. If you can follow directions, you can make perfect donuts!
What kind of flour is best for donuts?
All-purpose flour, as is used in this recipe, is the best and most versatile choice for making easy homemade donuts. It leaves the texture soft while the yeast works to make it rise.
How to Cook Donuts
Donuts cook best when you fry them. While getting the dough ready takes time, it takes hardly any time at all to fry your donuts up and make the glaze to go on them.
Are donuts fried or baked?
That depends on the donut. You can bake them or fry them though for this recipe, they are fried.
What is the best oil to fry donuts in?
Vegetable oil is the best for frying donuts. It has a light color and mild flavor, plus it gets hot quickly to reach the right temperature for a fried donut recipe.
How Long to Fry Donuts
Once the oil reaches 375F, you will fry each donut for one minute per side. They will float like miniature inner tubes on the oil.
How do you fry donuts without a deep fryer?
Simply use a deep stock pot or Dutch oven. This will contain the oil and make it easy for you to fry the donuts.
Why are my donuts not cooked inside?
Your oil temperature is too hot. You have to make sure it’s at 375F on the dot. If it’s too hot, your donuts brown too fast on the outside and have a raw center.
Why are my donuts so dark?
If your dough temperature is too hot, the yeast will ferment too quickly. This leads to a grainy texture and a darker hue when you fry it.
Why do donuts get hard?
Donuts get hard when they’re not stored properly. I know it’s tempting to make a ton of them at once, but unless you package them right, they’ll soon get a hard texture that will ruin the experience.
What toppings go well on Donuts
I suggest that first you master glazed donuts. Once you make this simple doughnut recipe, you’ll be completely at ease to add all your other topping ideas. Things like sprinkles, crumbled cookies, chocolate chips, bacon, caramel, chocolate frosting…whatever you love can be a part of your donut toppings.
How to Store Donuts
With homemade donuts, they’re the best right after making them. You can keep them in a pastry box or bag for a day though don’t use plastic or you’ll have soggy donuts.
How Long Do Donuts Last?
Your homemade donuts will last 3 to 4 days. You can put them in the fridge or keep them on the counter as long as they are properly contained. Do keep in mind that donuts taste their best the same day they’re made.
Can You Freeze Donuts?
Yes, you can freeze your donuts! If you’re going to do that, let them cool first and don’t put glaze on them. They’ll keep for a few months. If you glazed them already, they’ll still be good but just separate them so they don’t stick together.
How to Reheat Donuts?
Put your frozen donuts onto an ungreased baking sheet and cover them gently with foil. You can then warm them back up at 350F for about 10 minutes on up to 15 minutes.
The BEST Homemade Donut Recipe
Equipment
- Donut cutter
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk (warmed to 110F)
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 ground nutmeg
- salt (pinch)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 quarts vegetable oil
Donut Glaze Recipe
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- First, prepare the dough. Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and sugar together. Set aside and allow to sit for 5 minutes. The mixture should be frothy on top after 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, add the yeast mixture into a stand mixer. Add the eggs, butter, vanilla, nutmeg, salt, and 2 cups of the flour into the stand mixer. Beat on low speed and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour until the dough comes together, around 2 minutes.
- Once the dough comes together, knead on a lightly floured surface and form into a smooth ball. Grease a large bowl with oil and place the dough in the bowl, ensuring it’s fully coated with oil on all sides. Cover and allow the rise for about 2 hour or until doubled in size.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down to release the air. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is 1/2 inch thick. Use a 3.5 inch donut cutter to cut into 12 donuts. Place the donuts on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and cover.
- In a large pot, heat the oil to 375 F. Add 2-3 donut at a time and cook for a minute per side. Place the donuts on a wire rack. Now, make the glaze. Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together and dip the warm donuts into the glaze, making sure to coat both sets. Wait for the glaze to harden and then enjoy!
Nutrition
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