These Amish donuts are a traditional sweet treat with an ultra soft texture on the inside, and an outside that is fried to golden brown perfection. These homemade donuts are sure to be one of your new favorite breakfast treats!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Easy
You might think making sourdough donuts sounds overwhelming, but these donuts are actually very simple to make. After combining all of the ingredients, knead it for a few minutes and let it ferment at room temperature for a about five hours. Next, place it in the refrigerator over night. The next day, roll it out, form into donut shapes, and fry them up. Now you’re ready to add your favorite glaze and enjoy!
Healthier
To make these donuts healthy, make sure to avoid processed oils and stick to old fashioned lard for deep frying! The dough in in this recipe is long fermented, making it easier to digest. For the healthiest donuts, use pasture raised eggs, lard, and milk, ancient grain flour, and a natural sweetener in the dough.
Delicious
When I first tried these Amish style donuts, I was in awe at the texture and flavor! Just a small amount of mashed potato in the dough makes all the difference in the end result, giving the donuts an amazingly moist and fluffy texture, and a rich, well rounded taste.
Ingredients That Make This Recipe Amazing
Flour: Feel free to use whole grain or all purpose flour for this recipe, keeping in mind that while whole grain flour is healthier, it will give these donuts a more dense texture. I prefer to avoid modern white wheat for health reasons, and use an all purpose spelt flour in this recipe.
Mashed Potato: the potato dough is the main difference in these Amish style donuts as compared to a standard donut recipe. Just a small amount of mashed potato has a huge impact on the texture and flavor of the donuts! For the best results, use leftover mashed potatoes that have a little butter and milk.
Butter: butter adds a rich and creamy flavor to the dough in this recipe. Make sure to use pasture raised butter for healthier donuts.
Natural Sugar: sugar is important for adding sweetness to the donut, I like to use coconut sugar or panela (unrefined cane sugar).
Sourdough Starter: as a long fermented sourdough recipe, the sourdough starter is a natural, traditional replacement for active dry yeast!
Milk: milk adds depth of flavor to this recipe. Use pasture raised, non-homogenized and/or raw milk for healthier donuts.
What Kind of Topping is Best on Amish Donuts?
You can make a variety of different flavored Amish donuts! My favorites are:
- Chocolate Glaze
- Vanilla Glaze
- Powdered Sugar Coating
- Cinnamon Sugar Coating
See the recipe below to learn how to make these delicious toppings!
How to Shape Donuts Without a Doughnut Cutter
You don’t need a doughnut cutter to make amazing donuts! I like to use a jar lid to shape the outer donut, and small cap to cut the center out.
How to Store Amish Style Donuts
A fresh glazed donut is best enjoyed within an hour or two after frying, as the texture and flavor will be the most delicious. While the donuts won’t be quite as good, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
I like to make a big batch of dough and store it in smaller portions in the freezer so I can make the perfect amount of fresh donuts at a time! Simply freeze dough in zip-lock bags and remove from the freezer the night before you are going to fry the donuts.
How to Make Amish Style Donuts
Add milk, sugar, and butter to a small saucepan and heat on medium-low until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
In a small bowl combine eggs, mashed potato, and sourdough starter and combine well.
In a large bowl add flour and salt and combine well.
Add warmed milk mixture to flour and combine well.
Ensure the dough is not too hot so it doesn’t kill the sourdough starter bacteria (you may need to wait a few minutes), then add the sourdough starter, potato and egg mixture to the rest of the dough. Combine well.
Wet hands and knead the dough in the bowl for about 5 minutes until a smooth, wet dough is formed.
Cover bowl with a lid or plate and let ferment at room temperature for about 5 hours.
After 5 hours at room temperature, transfer the dough to the refrigerator. Place a wet cloth on top of the bowl, or cover with plastic wrap to ensure the dough doesn’t dry out.
Allow to long ferment in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or over night.
Cut cold dough in half, then roll out onto a piece of wax paper until 1/2 inch thick.
Using a doughnut cutter or jar lid and small cap, cut donut shapes into flattened dough.
Re-use remaining donut scraps by adding them back into the dough and re-rolling out to a flat 1/2 inch thick round.
Repeat with the second half of the dough.
Heat a stainless steal pan with lard filled to about 1 inch high once melted. To check if the lard is preheated, carefully splash a small amount of water. It will sizzle when it’s ready. You don’t want the lard to be too cool or the donuts won’t poof up enough.
Carefully place the number of donuts that fit in the pan and cook on one side for about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, then flip to the other side with a fork.
Cook on the other side for about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the second side.
Place on a plate and let cool for about 5 minutes before glazing.
Dip into a bowl of glaze or topping of choice and place back on the plate to continue cooling for another 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
How to Make Glaze
Combine ingredients of desired glaze in a small bowl (one large enough to fit a donut for dipping) and whisk until a smooth glaze is formed.
How to Make Cinnamon Sugar Coating
Combine ingredients of desired coating in a small bowl (one large enough to fit a donut for dipping) and mix until well combined.
Amish Style Glazed Donuts (Sourdough Donut Recipe)
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 small bowl
- 1 medium sized frying pan
- 1 Plate or lid to cover bowl
- 1 wet cloth or plastic wrap
- wax paper
- 1 large jar lid and small cap or doughnut cutter
Ingredients
Amish Donut Dough
- 4 1/2 – 5 cup all purpose flour (I use spelt flour)
- 1/4 cup mashed potato (can be leftover mashed potatoes)
- 1/4 cup active sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup natural sugar (I use coconut sugar or panela)
- 1/2 cup (+ more as needed) pasture raised lard for frying
Vanilla Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter (melted)
- 1-2 tablespoons milk (warmed)
- 1 pinch salt
Chocolate Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 or 3 tablespoons milk (warmed)
- 1 teaspoon melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Cinammon Sugar Coating
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or natural sugar like panela)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
Powdered Sugar Coating
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
How to Make Amish Donuts
- Add milk, sugar, and butter to a small saucepan and heat on medium-low until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
- In a small bowl combine eggs, mashed potato, and sourdough starter and combine well.
- In a large bowl add flour and salt and combine well.
- Add warmed milk mixture to flour and combine well.
- Ensure the dough is not too hot so it doesn’t kill the sourdough starter bacteria (you may need to wait a few minutes), then add the sourdough starter, potato and egg mixture to the rest of the dough. Combine well.
- Wet hands and knead the dough in the bowl for about 5 minutes until a smooth, wet dough is formed.
- Cover bowl with a lid or plate and let ferment at room temperature for about 5 hours.
- After 5 hours at room temperature, transfer the dough to the refrigerator. Place a wet cloth on top of the bowl, or cover with plastic wrap to ensure the dough doesn’t dry out.
- Allow to long ferment in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or over night.
- Cut cold dough in half, then roll out onto a piece of wax paper until 1/2 inch thick.
- Using a doughnut cutter or jar lid and small cap, cut donut shapes into flattened dough.
- Re-use remaining donut scraps by adding them back into the dough and re-rolling out to a flat 1/2 inch thick round.
- Repeat with the second half of the dough.
- Heat a stainless steal pan with lard filled about 1 inch high once melted. To check if the lard is preheated, carefully splash a small amount of water. It will sizzle when it’s ready. You don’t want the lard to be too cool or the donuts won’t poof up enough.
- Carefully place the number of donuts that fit in the pan and cook on one side for about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, then flip to the other side with a fork.
- Cook on the other side for about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the second side.
- Place on a plate and let cool for about 5 minutes before glazing.
- Dip into a bowl of glaze or topping of choice and place back on the plate to continue cooling for another 5 minutes.
- Enjoy!
How to Make Glaze
- Combine ingredients of desired glaze in a small bowl (one large enough to fit a donut for dipping) and whisk until a smooth glaze is formed.
How to Make Donut Coating (Cinnamon Sugar or Powdered Sugar)
- Combine ingredients of desired coating in a small bowl (one large enough to fit a donut for dipping) and mix until well combined.
