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donuts on a wire rack
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4.77 from 13 votes

How to Make Donuts at Home

These soft yeast donuts are the best homemade donuts ever! Everything you need to know about how to make donuts from scratch.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Rise Time1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: brunch, comfort food
Servings: 21
Calories: 169kcal
Author: Julie Clark

Ingredients

For the Dough:

  • 1 cup warm milk (about 115 degrees F)
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast* (I like Red Star Platinum Baking Yeast)
  • 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
  • 1/2 cup salted butter (Melted, but make sure it isn't super hot. Just barely melted, or even softened, is fine.)
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Powdered Sugar Topping:

Cinnamon Powdered Sugar Topping:

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

Chocolate Glaze:

Vanilla Glaze:

Honey Glaze:

Instructions

  • Pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop.
  • Add the eggs, butter, salt and sugar.
  • Add in 4 cups (save the other 1/2 cup and add only if you need it) of flour and mix using the beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids.
  • Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.
  • Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl. That's ok! Don't be tempted to add more flour at this point. We generally add about 4 1/2 cups, but start with 4 cups.
  • Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.
  • Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl.
  • Cover the bowl with a towel or wax paper.
  • Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until double. I like to turn on the oven to the lowest setting for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place the dough to rise in there. It normally takes about 30 minutes for the dough to rise. Do not allow the dough to rise too much or your donuts will be airy.
  • Sprinkle a pastry mat generously with flour. Turn out the dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour.
  • Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about 1/2" thickness. You can roll thinner if you'd like. That just means the donuts will be smaller.
  • Use the donut cutter to cut as many donuts as you can in the initial roll. You can re roll, but the donuts may not fry up as evenly. They'll still be good though!
  • Place the donuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or on a silicone baking mat.
  • Allow the donuts to sit for about 15-20 minutes before frying. You can heat the oil while they are resting.
  • In a large skillet (at least 12"), add about an inch of vegetable oil. Heat over medium heat and watch for the oil to hit 350º Fahrenheit. It needs to stay as close to this temperature as possible. If the oil is too hot the donuts will get too brown. If the oil is not hot enough the donuts will absorb too much oil during cooking. Keep a thermometer in it and watch it closely, pausing on cooking as needed.
  • Once the oil is at the correct temperature, place donuts into the hot oil. Don't overcrowd. We can fit about 5 donuts in our large skillet.
  • Fry the donuts for about 45 seconds, then flip and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the donut are completely golden brown and cooked through.
  • Place the fried donuts on a wire rack (place paper towels underneath the rack to catch any drips).
  • Continue frying until all of the donuts (and holes if you choose to make them) are cooked through.
  • Place the powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, cinnamon powdered sugar in 3 separate bowls. Whisk each well. Please note that you should wait until the donuts are cooled to coat in the powdered sugar mixes. Otherwise the sugar will melt into the donuts and be really mess. You can do the cinnamon sugar mix right away.
  • Make the three glazes. For the honey glaze, just whisk the two ingredients in a bowl. For the vanilla glaze, whisk the ingredients in a bowl, adding more milk if desired to get a thinner consistency.
  • For the chocolate glaze, melt the chocolate chips and butter in a microwave safe bowl in short 30 second increments, stirring in between each interval. Once they are completely melted, add in the corn syrup and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
  • Turn a donut upside down and dip the tops into the vanilla and chocolate glazes right after mixing them. Add sprinkles nuts or other toppings while the glaze is still wet.
  • Allow the glazed donuts to set for about 30 minutes before storing.
  • Store the donuts in an airtight container.

Notes

The calories shown are based on the recipe making about 21 donuts about 3.75" wide, with 1 serving being 1 donut with no topping. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
About the yeast:
*Different yeast calls for slightly different proofing methods. We follow Red Star Platinum’s temperature guidelines. Please check your yeast packet to see what temperature the milk should be at.
Overnight Donuts:
We often make the donut dough and at the time to rise the dough, place the covered bowl in the refrigerator. Allow the dough to rise overnight. Pull them out of the refrigerator in the morning. The dough should have doubled in size in the fridge. Roll the dough out and continue with the recipe as described above.

Nutrition

Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 180IU | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg