The Greatest Homemade Doughnut Recipes You'll Ever Find (2024)

FAQs

What makes a good donut? ›

Much like my favorite pizza dough, the cold rise of any yeasted dough lends characteristic flavor and texture to the doughnut, which a “warm place rise” simply cannot replicate. Why? A cold rise slows down the process of yeast growth, allowing the yeast to develop a deeper flavor as they grow and multiply.

Old-Fashioned Doughnuts are basically cake doughnuts that have been fried. This gives them a slightly crunchy outer shell, that's usually lacquered with glaze or dusted with sugar. The inside tends to be less dense than the cake of your typical powdered doughnut and less airy than a Krispy Kreme-style glazed.

In 15th century Germany, where sugar was hard to come by, they were often cooked savory with fillings like meat or mushroom. The Pilgrims and Dutch settlers brought doughnuts to America.

The history of the doughnut itself is generally traced to Dutch immigrants in 17th- and 18th-century New York, then New Netherland, who prepared fried dough balls called olie koeken or olykoeks, which means “oil cakes.” They were similar to modern doughnuts, although they did not yet have the iconic ring shape.

Use real cake flour – not DIY cake flour!

DIY substitutions don't really cut it, and AP flour will not create doughnuts with that same soft texture. Also, bleached cake flour will work best. Unbleached (like King Arthur Baking) won't absorb as much moisture, and you may end up with doughnuts that crumble while frying.

Fried just tastes better, and when it comes to doughnuts, the only way to achieve that light-as-air interior and ever-so-slightly crispy crust is by dunking the dough in piping hot oil.

If you're eating a jelly- or a cream-filled doughnut, you are eating a yeast doughnut. Of course, the pinnacle of the yeast doughnut variety is the Original Glazed made by Krispy Kreme (more below). Cake doughnuts, on the other hand, are denser—dare we say, cakier—and better for dunking in your coffee.

Jelly Doughnut

Jelly doughnuts are traditionally a yeast doughnut without a hole in the middle, as the fruit-filling gets piped into the center.

Forbidden Doughnuts

(aka Iced Pumpkin Cake Donuts, inspired by King Arthur Flour) Makes 12 to 18, depending on the size of your donut pans. 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree. 1 cup sugar. 3 eggs.

donut hole (plural donut holes) The empty space in the center of a donut. (US, Canada) A small ball-shaped pastry, made in the same manner as a donut, roughly the size of the hole in a donut.

Is Bavarian cream the same as Boston cream? ›

Bavarian cream involves milk, eggs, sugar, and often vanilla extract, the same as Boston cream. But then the two ingredient lists diverge: Bavarian cream includes heavy cream and gelatin, while Boston cream involves cornstarch.

The priciest doughnut on the planet is filled with champagne and topped with 24-karat gold. It's called the Golden Cristal Ube, and a dozen will set you back $1,200.

Don't let its reputation for kale salads and acai bowls fool you—Los Angeles is the hole-ly grail for donut devotees. Almost 1,500 independent donut shops dish out these deep-fried delights, which means there are more opportunities for a sugar high here than anywhere else in the country.

A doughnut or donut (/ˈdoʊnət/) is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty vendors.

Flavorful Dough: The dough should be light, fluffy, and slightly sweet. It should have a delicate balance of flavors with a hint of vanilla or a touch of nutmeg. The texture should be soft, airy, and slightly chewy.

At their most basic, doughnuts are made from a dough that is typically a mixture of flour, water, sugar, eggs, and a leavening agent, which is usually yeast or baking powder. The dough is then shaped into circles or other shapes, fried in hot oil until golden brown, and then coated in sugar, glaze, or other toppings.

To make light and fluffy donuts, make sure that your dough is properly risen by allowing it to rest in a warm place until it doubles in size. Also, avoid overmixing the dough as it can lead to a denser texture. Handling the dough gently and not overworking it will help maintain the desired fluffiness.