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This article is all about how to make homemade donuts.
There’s something really nostalgic about making donuts from scratch. The smell of butter and sugar, the way the dough feels when you roll it out, and of course—dipping warm donuts into glaze. It’s one of those cozy kitchen projects that’s worth every step.
I started making these donuts on a slow weekend when I had time to let the dough rest overnight. The recipe is simple, and the donuts come out soft, fluffy, and perfectly golden. You don’t need a deep fryer or anything fancy—just a bit of patience and a love for comfort food.
If you’ve never made donuts at home before, this is a great recipe to start with.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Dough:
- 3 tbsp unsalted melted butter
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup 2% milk (room temperature)
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 2 cups all-purpose flour + extra for rolling
For the Icing:
- 5 tbsp unsalted melted butter
- 3 tbsp 2% milk (lukewarm)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups icing sugar
How to Make Homemade Donuts
1. Start by activating the yeast.
In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, salt, egg, milk, and yeast. Cover and let it sit for 10–20 minutes. The mixture should look a little foamy once the yeast is activated.
2. Add the flour and mix.
Stir in the flour until the dough comes together and no dry patches remain. Cover and let it rest at room temperature for about 2 hours.
3. Shape and chill the dough.
Grease a large bowl. Lightly flour your hands, shape the dough into a ball, and place it into the bowl. Cover and let it rest overnight in the fridge. This helps develop the flavour and makes the dough easier to work with.
4. Roll and cut your donuts.
Flour your surface and roll out the cold dough to about ½ inch thick. Use a donut cutter, or get creative—I use a wide coffee mug for the donut shape and a bottle cap for the hole in the center. Don’t toss the holes; fry those too!
5. Let the donuts rise.
Place the cut donuts on a floured surface, cover them lightly, and let them rise for about 1½ hours until puffy.
6. Fry until golden.
Heat neutral oil in a large pot to 350°F (you can test with a thermometer or a small piece of dough—it should bubble and rise quickly). Fry the donuts for 1–2 minutes per side until golden. Transfer to a rack or paper towel to cool.
7. Make the icing and glaze.
While the donuts cool slightly, whisk together the icing ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Dip each donut into the glaze, then place it back on the rack to set.
Once they’re cool and the icing is set, dig in. They’re best enjoyed fresh, but I won’t judge if you have more than one in a sitting. These donuts are that good.
Let me know if you try them!
Ingredients
Method
- In a small bowl add Butter, white sugar, inch of salt, one large egg, milk and the yeast cover bowl and wait 10 to 20 minutes for yeast to activate.
- Add in flour mix until no visible flour can be seen then cover and leave for two hours.
- In a large bowl grease it then take the dough and shape it into a ball and place in bowl cover and let rest in a fridge overnight.
- Take all out flour your surface roll out the dough while it’s still cold and form donuts use a donut cutter or a large round coffee mug next take a smaller cutting tool and cut the holes. You can save the holes and cook those as well.
- Next, leave them on the surface covered and Let rest for an hour and a half next heat up your oil and fry donuts until golden brown on both sides shouldn’t take more than one to two minutes.
- Place on rack and Let cool for a few minutes while they’re cooling make the icing combine butter, vanilla, milk, and icing sugar next dip each donuts into icing and sat back on the rack.
- Once the donuts are cool and dry, they’re ready to eat enjoy!
