How To Make Donuts At Home

There’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh donuts coming out of the kitchen. That warm, sugary aroma that fills your home? That’s pure happiness. If you’ve ever wanted to make donuts at home instead of buying them from a bakery, you’re in for a treat. I’ve been making donuts for years, and I can tell you, it’s easier than you think. The best part is that you don’t need any fancy equipment to get started. Just some basic kitchen items and a willingness to have a little fun.

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In this guide, I’m going to walk you through everything you need to know about making donuts. Whether you want the classic fried donuts, a quicker version with biscuits, or even an air fryer option, I’ve got you covered. Let’s get started on this delicious journey together.

How To Make Donuts At Home: The Traditional Method

Making donuts at home is something almost anyone can do, and it’s definitely worth the effort. The traditional way involves yeast, which helps the dough rise and become nice and fluffy.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• 1 cup whole milk (warm)
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• Mix your wet ingredients: Pour the warm milk into a large bowl. Add your yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Stir gently and let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes. You should see bubbles forming on top, which means the yeast is alive and ready to work.
• Combine everything: Add the remaining sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, and nutmeg to your yeast mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon or mixer.
• Add the flour: Slowly add your flour and salt to the bowl. Mix until everything comes together into a soft dough. Don’t overmix or your donuts will be tough.
• Let it rise: Place your dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a towel, and put it in a warm spot. Let it rise for about 90 minutes until it doubles in size.
• Roll and cut: After it rises, place your dough on a floured surface and roll it out to about half an inch thick. Use a donut cutter or a round cookie cutter (about 3 inches) to cut out your donut shapes.
• Fry time: Heat your oil to 350°F. Carefully place your donuts in the hot oil for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side until they’re golden brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan.
• Finish up: Remove your donuts and let them cool on a paper towel. Then coat them with sugar, glaze, or your favorite topping while they’re still warm.

How To Make Donuts From Scratch: The Complete Experience

Making donuts completely from scratch is a rewarding experience. It teaches you how all the pieces fit together and why each step matters.

What You Need:

• 1 cup whole milk (warmed to about 100°F)
• 2.5 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3.25 cups bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2.5 teaspoons kosher salt
• Oil for frying

How to Make Them:

• Proof the yeast: In a small bowl, mix your warm milk with yeast and a tiny bit of sugar. Wait 5 minutes for it to get bubbly.
• Mix the dough: In a larger bowl, add your proofed yeast, shortening, sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix everything together.
• Add dry ingredients: Carefully measure and add your bread flour. Then add your baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the dough comes together.
• Knead: Work the dough for about 5 minutes until it’s smooth and stretchy. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour, just a bit at a time.
• First rise: Let the dough sit in a warm place, covered, for about an hour and a half.
• Shape: Divide your dough into 12 to 14 pieces and shape them into balls or donut rings.
• Second rise: Let them rise again for about 30 minutes.
• Fry: Fry each donut for about 1 minute on each side until golden and puffy.

The Easiest Way To Make Donuts: Cut Your Time in Half

If you’re short on time but still want homemade donuts, here’s the quickest method that still tastes amazing.

What You’ll Use:

• 1 can refrigerated biscuits
• Oil for frying
• Sugar for coating
• Optional: cinnamon, glaze, or chocolate

Quick Steps:

• Pop open the biscuits: Get your canned biscuits ready. Don’t skip this shortcut; it’s completely okay.
• Heat the oil: Warm your oil to about 350°F in a deep pan or pot.
• Poke holes: Use a wooden stick or skewer to poke a hole through the center of each biscuit, creating a donut shape.
• Fry: Drop each one into the hot oil for about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side until they puff up and turn golden.
• Coat: While still warm, roll them in sugar, cinnamon sugar, or dip them in glaze.

This method takes about 15 minutes from start to finish, and honestly, they taste really good.

How To Make Donuts For Kids: Make It Fun!

Making donuts with kids is one of the best kitchen experiences ever. They get excited, learn something, and you end up with treats.

Kid-Friendly Method:

• Use the biscuit method: Start with canned biscuits because kids can handle the cutting and shaping easily. Let them poke holes in the middle with their fingers or a popsicle stick.
• Let them decorate: After frying (you do this part for safety), let the kids roll the warm donuts in sugar or sprinkles. They’ll love getting their hands involved.
• Make it educational: Talk about how yeast works or why oil gets hot. Kids learn better when they understand the why behind things.
• Safety first: Keep kids away from the hot oil. They can help with mixing, measuring, and decorating, but the frying is an adult job.

This is a memory maker, not just a cooking project.

How To Make Donuts With Biscuits: The Simple Route

We already touched on this, but let’s dive deeper because it’s such a game changer.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 cans of refrigerated biscuits
• 1-2 quarts vegetable oil
• Toppings of your choice (sugar, glaze, chocolate, sprinkles)

Full Instructions:

• Open and separate: Open your biscuit can and separate each biscuit.
• Create the donut shape: Use a small round object like a bottle cap or your thumb to create a hole in the center of each biscuit. Make sure it goes all the way through but isn’t so big that it falls apart.
• Heat your oil: Get your oil nice and hot, around 350°F. You can test it by dropping a tiny piece of biscuit in. If it sizzles and floats, you’re ready.
• Fry carefully: Place one or two biscuits in the oil at a time. They fry fast, so watch them. About 30 seconds to 1 minute per side is usually perfect.
• Drain well: Use tongs to remove them and place them on paper towels to drain.
• Add toppings: While still warm, add your favorite coatings. Warm donuts soak up glaze and sugar so much better than cold ones.

How To Make Donuts With Bread: An Unexpected Option

You can actually use bread dough to make donuts, which is a neat little hack.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 loaf of bread dough (homemade or from the store)
• Oil for frying
• Sugar and cinnamon, or glaze
• Butter for coating

Steps:

• Prepare your dough: If using frozen bread dough, let it thaw and rise according to package directions.
• Shape it: Roll out your dough and cut it into donut shapes using a donut cutter or two different sized round cutters.
• Let it rise: Place your cut donuts on parchment paper and let them rise for about 30 minutes. Bread dough needs this second rise to get puffy.
• Fry: Heat oil to 350°F and fry your donuts for about 1 to 2 minutes per side.
• Finish: Coat with sugar, glaze, or brush with melted butter and cinnamon.

These have a slightly different texture than yeast donuts, but they’re really delicious.

How To Make Donuts Without Yeast: The Baking Powder Method

If you don’t have yeast or don’t want to wait for rising times, this is your answer.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Oil for frying

Steps:

• Mix dry stuff: In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
• Mix wet stuff: In another bowl, beat your egg, then add milk and vanilla.
• Combine: Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you have a thick batter. It should be thicker than pancake batter but not as stiff as bread dough.
• Get equipment ready: Heat your oil to 350°F. You can use a donut maker or just carefully pipe the batter into the oil using a piping bag.
• Fry: Fry for about 1 minute per side until golden.

These fry up super fast and don’t need any rising time at all.

How To Make Donuts In An Air Fryer: The Healthier Option

Air fryers are amazing for making donuts with less oil. Here’s how.

What You Need:

• Homemade donut dough (any of the recipes above)
• Cooking spray
• Toppings

Air Fryer Steps:

• Prepare your donuts: Use any dough recipe, but make sure they’re cut into donut shapes.
• Prep the basket: Spray your air fryer basket lightly with cooking spray.
• Arrange carefully: Place your donuts in the basket without crowding. They need space to puff up.
• Set the temperature: Heat to 350°F and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes. They won’t be as golden as fried donuts, but they’ll be delicious and less oily.
• Check halfway: Shake the basket halfway through cooking to help them cook evenly.
• Add toppings: Let them cool just slightly, then add your favorite coatings.

Air fryer donuts are fluffier than you might expect and use way less oil.

How To Make Donuts Step By Step: The Complete Timeline

Here’s the total process from start to finish for traditional donuts.

The Full Timeline:

• Minutes 0 to 5: Activate your yeast with warm milk and a little sugar.
• Minutes 5 to 10: Mix all your other ingredients.
• Minutes 10 to 15: Knead your dough until smooth.
• Minutes 15 to 105: First rise in a warm place.
• Minutes 105 to 120: Shape your donuts.
• Minutes 120 to 150: Second rise.
• Minutes 150 to 160: Fry your donuts in batches.
• Minutes 160 to 165: Add toppings and let cool slightly.

From start to eating your first donut, you’re looking at about 2.5 to 3 hours with regular yeast donuts. Biscuit donuts? About 15 minutes total.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make donut dough ahead of time?

Yes! You can prepare the dough, let it rise once, then punch it down and store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Just bring it back to room temperature before cutting and frying.

Why are my donuts tough?

You probably overworked the dough or the oil wasn’t hot enough. Mix gently and test your oil temperature with a thermometer.

Can I bake donuts instead of frying them?

You can try baking them at 350°F for about 10 to 12 minutes, but they won’t have the same texture as fried donuts. They’ll be more like cake.

What’s the best topping?

Honestly, that’s personal preference. Classic sugar is timeless, but glaze, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate all work wonderfully.

How long do homemade donuts last?

Eat them fresh. They’re best the same day but will stay good for a day or two in an airtight container.

Conclusion

Making donuts at home is one of those skills that sounds harder than it actually is. Whether you go the traditional yeast route, use biscuits for speed, try the air fryer for fewer calories, or pick any of the other methods, you’re going to end up with something special. There’s something magical about pulling warm, homemade donuts out of oil and coating them with sugar while they’re still hot. Your kitchen will smell amazing, your family will be impressed, and you’ll have created something delicious with your own two hands.

Start with whichever method sounds easiest to you, and don’t worry about perfection on your first try. Each time you make them, you’ll get better and faster. Before you know it, you’ll be the person everyone asks to make donuts for special occasions. And honestly, that’s a pretty cool position to be in. Now go make some donuts and enjoy every bite.