I’ve always loved a good cinnamon & sugar donut, and these Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts are the best!

Originally Published 04/02/2022

These Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts are extremely quick and easy to whip up, and a great place to donate some of your discard too!

April 1st is not only April Fool’s Day but also National Sourdough Day.

Which, in my opinion, is 1000x better than April Fools.

I’ve been wanting to make a sourdough discard donut for some time now. Yesterday ended up being the perfect reason.

It only takes about 15 minutes to make the donut batter and 10 to bake, so in less than 30 minutes you’ll be enjoying one of these warm beauties with a cup of coffee!

Let’s get to it –

This is a small-batch recipe for Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts.

My donut pan only makes six, and I didn’t feel like waiting around for two batches to bake. However, this recipe for Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts could easily be doubled if you need a dozen!

Start by preheating the oven to 350° and lightly grease your donut pan. 

I like to mix my dry ingredients together first to make sure the spices and baking powder are evenly distributed.

The sourdough discard isn’t helping raise the donuts at all, it’s just lending its acidity and flavor! It is the baking powder and eggs that will create the springy texture of these sourdough donuts!

So now that you’ve got those preliminary steps done,

add the 1/3 cup sugar, egg, and tbsp of butter to your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Begin by whipping all of that together until it turns a pale yellow and becomes fluffier. This will also help the donuts to rise better!

Next, add in the 1/4 cup of sourdough discard, 2 tbsp of sour cream, 1/2 tsp of vanilla, and 1/4 tsp salt. 

The sourdough discard I used had been sitting out for about a day. It was pretty sour and had the consistency of a pourable pancake batter.

If your sourdough discard is thicker, the batter for your sourdough donuts may turn out thicker as well. 

Once all of those ingredients have been thoroughly mixed in, pour in the dry and watch as the batter for the sourdough donuts quickly comes easily together!

I used a quart-size Ziplock bag to pipe the Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts into the pan.

If you don’t want to do that extra step, you can 100% glop it in there and smooth it around.

As long as the tins are pretty evenly filled you’ll be good to go!

Secret time – remember how I said earlier I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to wait for two batches to bake? 

I filled these donut tins too full lol. You can see in the pictures the sourdough donuts have a love handle around them. While they were baking they rose up nice and high and looked more like muffins than donuts.

Once they were cool enough to handle, I simply used a small pairing knife and cut out the donut hole. Problem solved.

Aesthetics really – I think they’re cute and they taste amazing!

If that bothers you though and you’ve got time, fill the donut molds only halfway full. 

It will take more time, but you’ll have a better-shaped donut and more of them ☺️.

Next, bake the Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts

at 350° for 8-10 minutes.

Because I filled the donut molds so full, mine took the full 10 minutes. They should be risen, golden brown, and not have any wet shiny spots anywhere when they’re done. Remove them from the oven and let them cool slightly in the donut tin.

Once these sourdough donuts are cool enough to handle, brush the tops of them with some melted butter, and then roll them around in a bowl of cinnamon and sugar! I just think they’re so cute! I love how the texture of the cinnamon and sugar photographs.

I also love how it crunches when you get a bite!

And that’s it for these Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts!

Told ya these were quick and easy!

All that’s left to do is make that cup of coffee that pairs so perfectly with them and getcha a bite!

I know sourdough discard can seem so wasteful, but it doesn’t have to be!

There is always a great recipe out there, like this one, where it can go from discard to delicious!

Let me know if you try this recipe out. I’d love to read any comments below about what you thought!?

As always, thanks for reading!!❤️❤️❤️

Print Recipe

Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts

These delicious Old Fashioned Sourdough Donuts are brushed with warm butter and then rolled in cinnamon & sugar. Quick and easy to make, they are the perfect way to use up your sourdough discard!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked donut, breakfast, cinnamon sugar donut, dessert, easy recipe, old fashioned donut, sourdough discard recipe, sourdough donut, sourdough recipe

Servings: 6 donuts

Equipment

• Kitchenaid Mixer
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Medium-size bowl
• Rubber Spatula
• Donut Pan for 6 Donuts
• 2 Small bowls
• Pastry Brush
• Ziplock Bag

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

• 1/3 cup Sugar 75 grams
• 1 Egg room temperature
• 1 tbsp Salted Butter melted
• 1/4 Cup Sourdough Discard 80 grams
• 2 tbsp Sour Cream 30 grams
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp Salt

Dry Ingredients

• 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour 125 grams
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture

• 1/8 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tbsp Salted Butter melted (not mixed in with cinnamon and sugar)

Instructions

Sourdough Discard Donut Batter

• Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly spray your donut pan with oil. In a medium-size bowl mix together 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, and set to the side.
• In your Kitchenaid mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 room temperature egg, and 1 tbsp of melted butter. Mix on high until pale yellow.
• Next, add in the 1/4 cup sourdough discard, 2 tbsp of sour cream, 1/2 tsp of vanilla, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Mix until thoroughly combined.
• Once combined, add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until everything comes together. You may need to scrape the sides and the bottom to make sure the dough is thoroughly combined and evenly mixed.
• Scoop the sourdough discard donut batter into a quart-size ziplock with one corner cut off and use it as a pastry bag to evenly fill all 6 donut tins with the batter.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until risen, golden brown, and set in the middle
• While the donuts are baking, melt 1 tbsp of butter in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl stir together the 1/8 cup of sugar with the 1/4 tsp of cinnamon.
• Once the donuts are finished baking, remove them from the oven and let them cool until you can handle them. Use a small knife to cut out the center to create the donut hole. Brush each donut top with butter and then place them each individually into the cinnamon-sugar mixture until they are covered.
• Serve immediately with a cup of coffee and enjoy!

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