Hello everybody! The famous yeast dough curls are super delicious and a real eye-catcher. Our recipe allows you to make donuts without a donut maker and other special equipment.
Taste and Occasion
Homemade donuts are a lot of fun: starting with the preparation, especially the decorating, to the snacking (of course). With our donuts recipe with yeast, you no longer have to buy the delicious, colorful curls in the future but can bake your personal favorite alternative.
Originally, donuts, like cookies or cupcakes, were mainly known in the USA. Or as Homer Simpson's favorite dish 😉 . In the meantime, however, you can buy them almost everywhere. Making donuts yourself is better for several reasons: First, it is, as already written, a good mood recipe (suitable for baking with children or as a carnival snack). And secondly, your baking result will be really individual.
Ingredients
Maybe you have seen special devices for baking donuts. However, it is only an original recipe if you prepare the donuts without a particular donut maker. Because for the latter, a cake batter is used (for example, also with my healthy, vegan and sugar-free donuts), and as a result, the donuts taste a bit like waffles. The classic ones are made of yeast dough. And are then deep-fried - whether in the crock pot or deep fryer.
The best part of the donut recipe is by far the decoration. You should plan a little time for it. But your kids (grandkids, nephews, neighbors 😉) will love you 😉 ! For the decoration, I bought products from the whole supermarket's baking assortment - chocolate drops, sugar sprinkles, food coloring, rasps and Co.
How to make the Donuts
Let's jump right into the recipe: Crumble the yeast into half of the lukewarm milk. Add a teaspoon of the sugar and stir until the yeast has dissolved. Now, put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Pour in lukewarm yeast-milk-mixture and mix with a bit of flour from the sides. It's time to cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rest in a warm place for 10 minutes.
You continue by adding the remaining sugar, remaining lukewarm milk, softened butter, eggs, and salt, mixing, and kneading it for about 5 minutes to form a soft dough. Cover again and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Then, roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to about 0.4 in/ 1 cm. Cut out circles and a small hole in each center using a large round cookie cutter (e.g. glass) or a donut cutter. Cover the donuts, spacing them apart, and let them rise for 30-60 minutes on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
We're almost done: Heat 1-2 liters of frying fat or oil in a relatively high pot (to about 320°F/160°C. Carefully drop in 2 to 3 at a time and deep-fry for 1-2 minutes, then turn, continue the deep-frying process, remove and drain on paper towels.
In the end, decorate your cooled donuts as you like. They taste the best fresh but also freeze well.
Top Tip
The easiest way to decorate donuts is with ready-made or classic powdered sugar icing. Here I like to use milk instead of water or lemon juice because the glaze then "covers" better. My favorite is the cookie crumb topping 😉 Jan is into donuts with chocolate icing. And our little ones are thrilled with the red or blue marbled doughnuts with colorful sugar decorations.
Here are a few tips to make sure you succeed in making these delicious donuts:
This recipe doesn't require a baking pan or a doughnut maker. A special donut cutter makes it easier, but a glass and a mini cookie cutter for the center's hole will also work.
Basically, yes. However, you only get the typical donut flavor and texture with frying.
Pour glaze or chocolate glaze in batches into a relatively small bowl. Carefully hold donuts by the bottom and dip the donuts halfway in the glaze. Allow to drip off and invert. Alternatively, coat with a pastry brush.
The yeast pastries taste the best fresh. However, they can also be frozen well - either ready decorated or "plain".
Recipe Card
Original Donuts
Ingredients
For the yeast dough
- 500 grams (4 cups) flour
- 200 milliliters (⅘ cup) milk, lukewarm
- 30 grams (2 tablespoons) fresh yeast, or 1.5 pack of dry yeast
- 80 grams (6 ¾ tablespoons) sugar
- 90 grams (6 ½ tablespoons) butter, very soft
- 1 egg, medium
- 1 egg yolk, medium
- ¼ teaspoon (⅓ teaspoon) salt
Instructions
- Crumble the yeast into half of the lukewarm milk. Add a teaspoon of the sugar and stir until the yeast has dissolved.
- Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Pour in lukewarm yeast-milk-mixture and mix with a bit of flour from the sides. Cover bowl with a cloth and let rest in a warm place for 10 minutes.
- Add remaining sugar, remaining lukewarm milk, softened butter, eggs, and salt, mix, and let knead for about 5 minutes to form a soft dough. Cover again and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to about 0.4 in/ 1 cm. Using a large round cookie cutter (e.g. glass) or a donut cutter, cut out circles and a small hole in each center. Cover the donuts, spacing them apart, and let them rise for 30-60 minutes on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Heat 1-2 liters of frying fat or oil in a relatively high pot (to about 320°F/160°C. Carefully drop in 2 to 3 at a time and deep-fry for 1-2 minutes, then turn, continue to deep-fry, remove and drain on paper towels.
- Decorate cooled donuts as desired. They taste best fresh but also freeze well.
Notes
- To put the raw dough pieces into the fat without them losing their shape, here's a trick: let each donut rise on a small cut piece of baking paper. Put the paper into the hot fat, then pull the paper out with a pair of tongs.
- For glazing, use e.g. lemon powdered sugar icing (made of 250g sifted powdered sugar and some juice or milk), which you can color well, as well as melted light and dark chocolate coating. For decorating, use e.g. colorful sugar sprinkles, chopped nuts, coconut flakes, crumbled cookies, or similar.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
Well, how about it - isn't the carnival season the perfect occasion to try yeast donuts? They are an excellent addition to my funfetti cake. As well as, of course, the healthy alternative without sugar, eggs, butter or frying.
About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
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