Sourdough Discard Donuts

5 from 4 votes

Fried sourdough discard donuts with a vanilla glaze. Crispy outside, soft tangy interior, 40 minutes start to finish. Uses a cup of starter discard.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: donuts

Calories: 315kcal

4 ounces unsalted butter softened to room temperature
4 ounces granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
8 ounces sourdough starter discard
2 ounces buttermilk room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
13 ounces All-Purpose flour
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
32 ounces lard (or vegetable oil, canola oil, peanut oil or shortening) for frying

Before you begin: All refrigerated ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, butter) need to be at room temperature so they combine properly. Set them out an hour ahead, or warm the eggs in warm tap water for 5 minutes and microwave the butter in 10-second bursts until soft.

After you feed your sourdough starter, save the discard in a separate bowl. You should have about 1 cup. A little more or less is fine, you can make up the difference with buttermilk.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time on medium speed until combined. Make sure they are room temp or even a little warm so they incorporate properly.
Add the sourdough discard, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and nutmeg. Mix on low until just combined.
Sprinkle in the flour and combine on low until the dough comes together. It will be sticky, that's normal.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Press it down with your hand to about 1 inch tall. Fold over onto itself 3 to 4 times until smoother. Don't overwork it.
Press the dough to about ½ inch thick and dust with a bit of flour. Let it rest 5 to 10 minutes. Start heating your oil to 360 to 375º F.
Use a 4 inch donut cutter or metal ring cutter to cut out the donuts. Set the centers aside to fry as donut holes. Press leftover scraps together and continue cutting. You should get 10 to 12 donuts.
Lower the donuts into the hot oil with a slotted spatula. Fry 2 to 3 at a time maximum (more drops the oil temperature). Fry 2 minutes on one side, flip, fry 1 minute on the second side.
Transfer to a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Fry the donut holes at the end for about 1 minute, stirring with your spoon until golden brown.

Whisk the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth. Add more milk for a thinner glaze, more powdered sugar for thicker. Dunk the top of each warm (not hot) donut into the glaze, or drizzle on top.
Let the glaze set for 5 minutes before serving.

Ingredient notes:

If you don't have buttermilk, make a buttermilk substitute with 1 Tablespoon of vinegar in 1 cup of milk, sat 5 minutes.
Lard is my preferred frying fat for the crisp outer layer. Vegetable oil and peanut oil work as alternatives.
Sourdough discard can be a little more or a little less than 1 cup. Make up the difference with extra buttermilk.

Frying tips:

Oil temperature is the single most important variable. 360 to 375º F is the sweet spot.
Fry 2 to 3 donuts at a time MAX. Crowding drops the oil temperature and makes greasy donuts.
Use a thermometer. Check before every batch. Wait for the temperature to recover between rounds.

Make-ahead and storage:

Cooked donuts in a paper bag or vented plastic at room temperature, up to 3 days.
Cooked unglazed donuts in the freezer, up to 2 months. Thaw, refresh in a 300º F oven for 3 minutes, then glaze.
Sourdough discard in the fridge, up to 1 week before using.

Variations:

Mini donuts: use a 2 inch cutter, fry 1 minute per side, yields about 24.
Active starter swap: 1:1 with discard, slightly more rise and milder tang.
Cinnamon-sugar coated: skip the glaze, toss warm donuts in 1 cup sugar + 2 teaspoons cinnamon.
Filled donuts: cut rounds (no holes), fry, cool, inject pastry cream or jam.

Critical do-nots:

Don't bake this dough. Tested it, came out dry and hard. Use my classic baked donut recipe instead.
Don't drop donuts into hot oil. Lower with a slotted spatula. Splashed oil burns.
Don't fry more than 2 or 3 donuts at once. Drops the oil temp and ruins the texture.
Don't glaze hot donuts. The glaze melts off. Wait until warm but not hot.