Sourdough Donuts with Vanilla Glaze

Sourdough Donuts with Vanilla Glaze is a tasty recipe idea for breakfast, brunch, desserts, or as a snack.

This flavorful donut features a light and airy inside, that has slightly tangy flavor, balanced by the sweet vanilla glaze that surrounds it.

What is a sourdough donut (doughnut)?

A sourdough donut is a donut that uses sourdough starter as the leavening agent to make the donuts light and fluffy.

I like how using the sourdough starter gives these donuts that distinctly tangy flavor that makes sourdough bread so popular.

Have you tried my recipe for EASY Air Fryer Donuts ?

Those air fryer donuts are made with refrigerated biscuit dough (the kind that comes in a can).
Both this recipe for sourdough donuts and that recipe for air fryer donuts are delicious donut recipe that you can make at home.

This recipe can be made in a countertop deep fryer. You can find a selection of deep fryers here.

Why we love these sourdough starter donuts.

Using sourdough starter gives these donuts a unique flavor that other donuts do not have. The sourdough starter also gives these donuts a light and fluffy in texture with.

Here is what else we like about this recipe.

• Even though these donuts are light and fluffy, they also have a nice chewy element to them.
• The vanilla glaze complements and balances the flavor of these donuts.
• This is one of those recipes that can be prepared the night before so that you can easily make them fresh the next day.
• Personalizing these donuts is as easy as adding a few sprinkles on top to stirring in a few chocolate chips.
• Sourdough donuts can be fried, air fried, or baked in an oven.
• You can enjoy these donuts about any time of the day, from breakfast to an after dinner snack idea.

Ingredients needed to make homemade sourdough donuts.

• Milk. Using a full fat milk is recommended for better moisture.
• Sugar. Use a granulated sugar.
• Butter. The butter adds flavor and moisture to the donuts. You can cut the butter into pats or tablespoons.
• Sourdough Starter. Use actively bubbling starter for better leveaning.
• Eggs. Your eggs should be at room temperature.
• Flour. Regular all purpose flour was used in making my donuts.
• For the glaze you will need butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and milk.

Tips for making the best Sourdough Donuts.

Make sure that you are using the actively bubbling starter rather than the less active discard. Using sourdough discard will cause your donuts to not levean properly and your donuts will not have the same tangy flavor as a donut with starter.

More helpful tips for you.

1. Your sourdough starter should be warm (not hot). If the starter is too hot it can destroy the natural yeast which affect the ability of your donuts to rise.
2. To cut the donuts out you will need a large round cookie cutter and a small cookie cutter for the hole.
3. The dough that is leftover from cutting out the hole in the center of the donuts can be easy reused to make another donut or as donut hole.
4. Refrigerating the dough before rolling it out can help make it less sticky to work with and easier to cut with the cookie cutters.
5. Allowing the dough to rise (in an oiled bowl that is covered) overnight can also help the fermentation process.
6. It is important that your oil reaches 350 for successful frying.

How to make Sourdough Glazed Donuts

Prep Time: 30 minutes .
Cook Time: 25 minutes, depending on your fryer and donuts .
Servings: 18-20 donuts .
Proofing Time: about 3-7 hours .

Here is How to make Sourdough Starter .

1. In a saucepan on low-medium heat, combine together the milk, sugar and butter. Heat the ingredients until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, whisking or stirring occasionally. Do not allow the mixture to bubble or to get too hot as this can affect your leveaning.
2. Outfit a stand mixer with a dough hook. Allow the heated ingredients to sit at room temperature for a minute before transferring them to the mixing bowl.
3. Add two and a half cups of the flour to the mixing bowl and mix (with the hook) on low for one minute. Then add the sourdough starter and eggs and set the speed to medium-low mixing until you get a tacky dough (four to five minutes).
4. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes and then add a tablespoon of flour and continue on medium-low for another four and a half minutes. Meanwhile, lightly flour a clean flat surface for kneading and oil the inside of a bowl that can be used for rising the dough in.
5. Once the dough has rested for ten minutes you can transfer it to your floured work space. Knead the dough until it is elastic, no longer sticky, and you can shape it into a ball.
6. Place the dough ball into the greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a dampened clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to double in size at room temperature (I place mine on top of my refrigerator). This can take up to six hours.
7. After your dough has doubled in size you can refrigerate it for up to 24 hours.
8. When you are ready to cut out your donuts, roll out the dough to about a half inch wide on a lightly floured surface. Then use a large cookie cutter to cut out the donut and a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the holes. Place the cut out donuts on to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Once all of the donuts have been cut out and they are placed on to the baking sheet you can let them rest for an hour so that they can get puffy. You can cover the dough again if desired.
10. When you are ready to (finally..) fry your donuts, preheat the oil to 350.
11. While the oil is preheating you can use a whisk to combine together the glaze ingredients in a large measuring cup that has a spout for pouring. Also, prepare a short stack of paper towels that you can transfer the newly fried donuts to and place a wire cooling rack on top of parchment paper or newspaper (or something similar) for glaze setting.
12. Fry the donuts for about a minute and a half on each side and then transfer them to the paper towel stack. Once the donuts have cooled slightly you can transfer them to the wire rack.
13. Once all of the donuts are on the wire rack you can pour the glaze over them.

Expert Tip 👉 Be sure to not overcrowd the donuts while frying them in the oil- you may need to make this recipe in batches. Also, these donuts can be oven baked at 350 for 12-15 minutes. You can air fry them as well, flipping them over midway through air frying (about seven minutes).

How to store Sourdough Donuts with Vanilla Glaze.

These donuts are best when served fresh. However, once the glaze has fully set and the donuts have cooled to room temperature, they can be placed in an airtight container (with parchment paper between layers) and refrigerated for up to five days.

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Print the recipe for Vanilla Glazed Sourdough Donuts.

Sourdough Donuts with Vanilla Glaze, a delicious and flavorful breakfast or snack recipe made with sourdough starter

Please see recipe post for further details on this recipe.