I’m a little donut obsessed. Ever since last summer, enjoying hot fresh donuts from Duck Donuts changed me from enjoying donuts to LOVING donuts. Last summer I made raised, fried donuts and used that recipe for some filled donuts (S’mores and Maple Bacon). BUT sometimes I want something less heavy, baked instead of fried, BUT not cake donuts either. SO here they are, yeast based BAKED donuts! You can use this recipe for the filled donuts as well!
After baking these you can roll them in cinnamon and sugar or cover them in glaze, just like fried donuts. They are totally versatile and everyone loves them. I think my kids loved them even MORE than they liked the fried version! Personally there is a time and a place for both… I still love fried anything…
baked yeast donut recipe
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 C whole milk warmed
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 C butter
- 1/2 C granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 C all-purpose flour
Instructions
- proof the yeast in the milk with the 1 tsp sugar
- Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add the egg and mix.
- Add the milk/yeast, the salt and vanilla and mix.
- Switch to a dough hook and add 2 cups of the flour and mix, then add 1/4 C of flour at a
- time until the dough gathers around the hook and cleans the side of the bowl. don't add
- too much flour
- Turn out and knead, place in an oiled bowl and let rise 1 hour
- Roll out about 1/2 inch thick and cut into 3 inch rounds with 1 inch holes, place on
- baking sheet and let rise 20 mins, about doubled in size
- Preheat the oven to 400
- Bake 5-8 mins and turn out into cinnamon and sugar or add glaze
The dough is easy peasy. I couldn’t find my donut cutter so I used what I had, which was a fluted round cutter set, hey whatever works, right? BUT I highly suggest getting a good donut cutter.
Don’t forget… the double in size part is more important than the time (and my tip for how to keep track of the dough size).
And there you have it! Deliciousness that everyone loves! We made these for my 14 yo birthday breakfast (HOW do I already have a 14 yo? CRAZY), she was in love and has been begging to make them again!
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Michele
HI! I’m excited to try this recipe. Would it work in a doughnut pan?
Ashlee
I’d use a cake donut for dounut pans – yeast donuts are cut, not piped or poured into a pan
Simi Xiamara
I would use a biscuit cutter instead & who knows pipe in some custard cream or lemon curd for filled donuts
Ashlee
I totally do that for filled donuts – so good!
Joanne
Should the dough ball double in size? If not, should you leave it for a bit longer?
How many donuts does this make?
Ashlee
a dozen – and yes I’d let it sit longer if your worried about it, but not too long, it doesn’t need to double completely in that stage.
Joanne
One more question, should these go on a greased pan to bake?
Ashlee
I bake them on a silpat mat, or parchment paper – I wouldn’t grease the pan as it could start to smell as it bakes
Faiha
Hi can you tell me approximately how many doughnuts does one recipe make?
Faiha
Can we store the batter too?
Su Yen Green
What’s the yield?
mary lee kleist
I could not pull the recipe up to view it . The baked raised donuts. I am not an expert on electrical devices. I just have an old apple I-Pad.
Ashlee
on tablets and mobile phones only a snipet of the post pulls up at first – you simply need to click “read more” for the full post to load
Courtney
Hi Ashlee! What exactly is a dough hook? I know I don’t have one of those so I plan to just use my hands, unless you can suggest another method for mixing. Thanks!
Ashlee
stand mixers come with a whisk and a dough hook, made specifically for kneading dough – obviously if you don’t have a stand mixer then that leaves you with hands!
michelle
Can I use my bread machine? I can’t knead due to wrist problems.
Ashlee
I think a stand mixer would be better than a bread machine – they have a specific speed/knead vs being able to controlling it with a mixer – it MIGHT work, but I haven’t tried it.
Sharon
When you say that you can use this recipe for filled donuts as well, have you tried baking jelly donuts?
Ashlee
like this? jelly filled powdered donuts – you can glaze it instead of course but you don’t bake them with the jelly in them, you add it later
Diane
I was just drifting around looking for a baked, yeast donut recipe and it just so happens that I slipped up on a pat of Land O’Lakes butter and fell face first on to your site. I’m glad I did or I would have never tried this recipe. I gotta tell you–this is wonderful. In all of my yeasty experiments have I found only one other recipe that flattered me with the outcome. I played with this dough and it also makes a delightfully moist roll and cinnamon roll that I plan to make a fresh apple filling to put on top of. Thank you so very much!!
Ashlee
you are so funny – if your gonna slip on butter Land O’lakes is a good one!
Ben
Ashlee, What type of flour do you use for this recipe?
Ashlee
just all purpose – always assume all purpose unless it states something – I’ll try to be better at writing it down though
Suzanne in Colorado
Great Recipe! I added 2Tbsp of Buttermilk Powder to the milk for a super soft and silky dough. I live at 8100ft, and the dough didn’t rise much until I actually put it into the oven. Had to refrigerate the dough after making because I ran out of time to bake. Over the course of the next 5 days, I sliced off some dough and made a few doughnuts each day (so that I wouldn’t over-indulge). I made a chocolate ganache frosting with semi-sweet chocolate chips and half-and-half. Next time, I think I will add an additional egg for a more brioche taste. Thanks for the recipe, I have a new hobbie!
Wendiline
How long can I store these donuts for? Can I freeze it to prolong the shelf life?
Ashlee Marie
yes you can freeze them, like any donut they are best fresh
Marianne
I ended up using 6 c of flour– I hope the doughnuts still turn out sweet. The dough smells delicious as it rises.
Ashlee Marie
be careful not to add too much flour, knead until it’s not stick, adding more flour will result in dense not fluffy donuts
Kim
These were wonderful! I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of frying (not to mention the calories), and I don’t have a donut pan, so these were perfect. I was nervous because my donuts took over an hour to rise the second time and I wasn’t quite sure if they had doubled or not but I ran with it and they came out great! The dough is so light and fluffy. Wonderful!
Holly
Thank you for sharing the recipe. If i’m using instant yeast, do I still need to let it rise before cutting out? I’ve seen other baked donut recipes that state to skip that rise and just cut out to let rise. ?? Any thoughts? Thanks!
Ashlee Marie
I don’t recommend instant yeast, it changes the flavor and the end result and is more sensitive. but yes it will make both rises go much faster
Nadia
The recipe sounds really easy 💖Plz tell how to fill them….and what filling would b best…..thanks☺
Ashlee
that’s hard to answer, Fill them with anything and everything! either before baking or after! Smores, candied bacon, apple pie filling
Mommy B
Glad to have found this recipe! I would to try this yeast based but not fried donuts!
That donut really looks lighter than the fried ones! 😉
Got to pin this now 😀
Ashlee
let me know what you think when you make them!
Kellye
I’ve made these twice now and everybody LOVES them! I eat a plant based diet so I substituted a flax egg, soy milk, and red palm shortening for the traditional ingredients. I also added just a bit of fresh grated nutmeg. They turned out fluffy and yeasty! I’ll be making these often for the fall! Thanks!
Ashlee
so glad you were able to personalize them to work for you and your diet! glad they were a hit
Daniel
Can the dough be held over night in the fridge?
Ashlee Marie
remember freezers stop the rising and refrigerators just slow down the rising. so yes, but don’t let them over rise
Sandi
Can you make the dough chocolate?
Ashlee Marie
I guess you could but just doing a chocolate glaze is the most classic
Melissa
These were a good sweet bread/roll, but not donut-like. My kids still devoured them, but didn’t quite quench the donut-craving for me. Thanks for posting it though!
Ashlee Marie
I like the fried version better, more donut, baking just isn’t the same but my kids still like them
Pears
So happy to have found this recipe. Can the milk be substituted with buttermilk?
Ashlee Marie
it would of course change the flavor but yes!
Laura Fassbender
Can almond milk be used instead of whole milk?
Ashlee Marie
it would change the flavor but yes!
Donna
How long do these stay fresh once they are baked?
Ashlee Marie
like any donut not long.
William
I assume if one uses a donut cutter in this recipe they’ll end up with donut holes. Does one bake the donut holes for the same amount of time that they bake the full size donuts? Other recipes for baked donuts say that the donut holes have a shorter bake time than the full size ring donuts.
Ashlee Marie
yes, I just add the donut holes to the same baking pan as the donuts.