These BAKED Yeast Donuts are so unbelievably super soft, yet considerably low-fat!!! No Egg, No Butter + just 2% milk!
Last Friday was National Doughnut Day here in the US and social media was being particularly cruel with the endless array of donut pictures! Ugh! So I set out to make me some donuts during the weekend, but it’s been so long since I made some. I think the last time I made donuts, I made Peach Jelly ‘cake’ donuts using a donut pan, and while it was good, it wasn’t as good as traditional yeast risen donuts.
So I spent all day Saturday elbow deep in flour and yeast, trying to figure out the prefect donut recipe that tastes and feels the same whether it’s deep-fried or BAKED! That’s right! You guys know the love-hate (mostly hate) relationship I have with deep-frying inside my carpeted apartment, right!!??
So after what feels like a billion donuts, I think I have the perfect, PERFECT BAKED Yeast Donuts, that are just nothing short of absolute perfection. And I think it’s safe to say, my donut obsession has been sated for a while.
And please don’t judge me my donut shaping skills, which could use a little more practice. It’s a really soft dough, harder to handle than it looks!
I tried deep-frying AND Baking these yeast donuts, and yes, they turn the same golden-brown, the same softness (pillow-pillow-pillow) and the same great taste.
Once it’s baked (or fried, however you wish to enjoy these), don’t forget to douse them in a glaze or fill them with jam/jelly or at least dust them with powdered sugar.
Here are a few Toppings and Glaze ideas to get you started:
1.Chocolate – duh!
100 grams dark/bittersweet chocolate (I use Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips)
Heat the chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir, continue heating in 10 sec increments until completely melted. Dip the donuts into the chocolate. Sprinkle with nuts, cacao nibs, sprinkles, or just about anything else you fancy. Let it set on a wire rack.
2. Sugar Glaze
1 cup icing sugar + 1/4 c milk.
Run the icing sugar through a sieve to remove lumps. Stir in the milk, adding a little at a time till you get a pale paste-looking glaze. Dip the donuts into the glaze, lift, let excess drip off, and let dry on a wire rack.
3. Powdered
1 cup of icing sugar.
Sieve the icing sugar to remove lumps. Brush the tops with a little melted butter and dunk the donuts into the icing sugar.
4. Cinnamon sugar
2 tbsp sugar + 1.5 tsp cinnamon powder.
Combine the cinnamon and sugar. Brush the donut tops with melted butter. Dunk the donuts into the cinnamon sugar and press until covered.
5. Jelly
1 cup of your favorite jelly/jam
Break up the jam/jelly with a fork and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a icing tip. Make a hole in the side of the donut and squeeze. You may need to make a hole on the other side of the donut and pipe more jelly to get all around.
Your Baked Yeast Donuts should be fine stored at room temperature for 3 days, but personally, I think you should just eat them better. The glaze, particularly gets a bit soggy with storage.
When you make these (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!
BAKED Yeast Donuts
- Prep Time:10m
- Cook Time:10m
- Total Time:2h
- Serves: 4
- Yield: About 12 donuts
Ingredients
- 170 g all-purpose flour + more for dusting
- 3 g salt
- 20 g sugar
- 4 g instant yeast
- 135 mL milk + more for brushing (vegans substitute with almond milk)
- 10 mL water
- 25 mL olive oil
Instructions
Make the dough
- Combine the flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a heat-proof bowl, combine the milk, water and oil. Microwave until lukewarm (not hot).
- Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the lukewarm liquid. Combine and knead until you get a soft non-sticky dough.
First rise
- Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place in a warm location for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Shape the donut
- Transfer the risen dough to a work surface lightly dusted with flour and roll into a circle about 1/2" thick.
- Using a donut cutter (or a sharp-edged glass and a small bottle cap - get creative), cut donuts about 2.5" wide. Gather up remaining dough, roll out and cut. Repeat until you have no more dough left to cut.
- Place cut dough onto a large baking tray lined with parchment paper. I needed a large + small baking tray. Loosely cover with cling-film/kitchen towel.
Second rise
- Let rise for 30-45 minutes until significantly doubled in size. Brush the tops generously with milk.
- Run the icing sugar through a sieve to remove lumps. Stir in the milk, adding a little at a time till you get a pale paste-looking glaze.
Bake!
- Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Bake the donuts for 10 minutes, until golden brown on top. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Or Fry!
- In a small pan, heat about 1" oil on medium heat. Drop a small piece of dough (I used the donut hole for testing) in the hot oil. It should rise immediately, and turn golden brown in a minute.
- Drop one risen donut, and deep fry on both sides, turning over when it's golden brown. Drain on paper towels, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining donuts.
Glaze
- Glaze or fill according to preference and enjoy! Keeps well at room temperature in an air-tight container for 3 days.
Alessandra says
Can I change the olive olí for coconut oil?
Tina Dawson says
I think you can, Alessandra. I haven’t done it before, but I don’t see why not.
Alessandra says
Thank you, I’m gonna make them today, I’ll let you know how it goes 😉
Alessandra says
Hello again!
I try to make them today, but it was kinda mess, because I never achieve a non-sticky dough. I still let it rest and rise, but in the moment I touch it to put it in a clean surface, it gets sticky again and looses the rising. I change the oil and use fresh Yeast, could that be the why?
Kisses
Tina Dawson says
Ooo fresh yeast – that’s a tricky substitution. Since you have to use a lot more fresh yeast to substitute for the dried, it’s probably affecting the moisture content of the recipe. That could be why the dough is extra sticky. I’ve never used fresh yeast before, so I’m afraid it’s something I won’t be able to help you with. But don’t throw away the dough – you can still deep-fry tiny blobs to make beignets or roll out and make flatbreads.
Alessandra says
Thank you so much anyway 🙂
I throw it out, but I definitely learn something with this, and that’s great!
Xoxo
Cindy says
I am in the middle of making these! I also had a bit of trouble changing g to cups and mls to cups but many many easy web pages for that! Crossing my fingers these work!!!
Tova says
Hi, I’m wondering how much of the ingredients to use in a cup and teaspoon format? I don’t have a scale. Thanks in advance!
Tina Dawson says
I’m sorry Tova, I’ve never made these with cup measurements (I find metric more accurate for baking), but if I do, I will be sure to update the post. Until then, you can use Google to search up alternate measurements for grams in cups.
Gretchen says
There are plenty of conversion tools online. They’re very easy to use. Try this one:https://www.metric-conversions.org/volume/milliliters-to-us-tablespoons.htm?val=135
Sean says
These look super amazing
Aubrey says
Almost equal parts dry and wet? I’m excited to see how these turn out but I did end up adding a lot more flour to make a kneadable dough.
Tina Dawson says
It is quite a sticky dough, hence the olive oil. The oil should help with the stickiness. I hope your donuts turn out great!
Voula says
Could I use butter instead of olive oil ? No reason other than I think it would be richer tasting … thoughts on this? Thx !
Tina Dawson says
I bet you can!
Srilakshmi says
Hey thanks for the lovely recipe… I have a question … What if I’m using dried yeast???
Tina Dawson says
Hey Srilakshmi, by dried yeast, are you referring to active dry yeast? If so, yes you can use the same quantity of active dried yeast as in the recipe, but you’ll have to wait longer for the bread to rise.
Raksha Kamat says
The first picture looks awesome. That glaze looks beautiful.
I never tried donuts, I think it is high time for me to try some.
Tina Dawson says
Oh yes you absolutely must!
Lizzie says
Baked doughnuts are such a great idea. I love baking, it can be so much easier than frying. And that cinnamon glaze looks divine!
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Lizzie!
Joyce says
Yipee! I love yeast donuts and I had no idea you could bake them and they’d turn out just as good! Healthy yummies are so awesome and hard to find. I love how you give a few suggestions for glazes too!! 🙂 Looks amazing.
Tina Dawson says
Trust me, these turn out just as lovely as the deep-fried ones!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
These look amazing…I’ve made baked doughnuts in my pan for years, but they really taste like little muffins, not true doughnuts, I can’t wait to try your method, they look doughnut shop perfect!!
Tina Dawson says
I agree! Cake donuts aren’t really donuts! 🙂
Patty says
These donuts look so delicious, love them!
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Patty!