Laura’s Gluten-Free Donuts
By • March 3, 2022 0 2609
I was never truly a donut fan when I was growing up (which looking back on it now seems like such a waste!) My grandmother apparently made legendary homemade donuts. I grew up in the land of Tim Hortons coffee and donuts, and I remember when Krispy Kreme donuts moved into town (my mom went nuts). Gluten-free donuts (or gluten-free “doughnuts,” however you wish to spell it!) are actually really easy to make at home. They are baked donuts which means you skip the fuss, it also means that these are not gluten-free yeast donuts because you do not typically add yeast to baked donuts (just to deep-fried donuts). Let’s get into everything we need to know about this gluten-free donut recipe and get you to make your own homemade donuts.
Is This a Gluten-Free Donut Recipe Without Yeast?
Yes! Yeast is typically added to donut recipes that will require deep frying. If you were looking to make a jelly donut or cake donuts then it would likely be optimal for you to use yeast. However, with baked donuts, there really is no point. The donut batter itself will rise naturally when you bake it and you do not need to worry about them puffing up. This is not to say that you cannot have baked cake donuts, it’s just they’re usually fried donuts!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can you Make These Donuts Dairy-Free?
I specialize in gluten-free recipes, but, I understand that many people with gluten intolerances and or issues with gluten (or simply a preference of not eating gluten) also eat dairy-free. I personally have not tried making this recipe dairy-free, but, the ingredients in this recipe that contain dairy are the milk, yogurt, and butter. So, if you want to make dairy-free donuts, let’s look at how this could be possible:
For your glaze, I would just substitute a dairy-free butter. Other options: you could try omitting the butter and using coconut oil (note that if you do use coconut oil that your chocolate donuts may have a bit of coconut flavor. If this doesn’t bother you, then go ahead, and use coconut oil!) I would not suggest using vegetable oil. The milk could potentially be substituted with almond milk, oat milk, or your dairy-free milk of choice (I would personally not use coconut milk as I do not think it is the best consistency). For the yogurt, look at finding a dairy-free yogurt and voila, your gluten-free donuts could be dairy free donuts!
What Gluten-Free Flours Are Best for Making Homemade Gluten-Free Donuts?
If you’re wanting to make your own gluten-free flour blend then that’s totally fine, however, I personally find that the pre-made gluten-free flour blends are best for making homemade gluten-free donuts. I know a lot of homemade blends tend to have things like brown rice flour, tapioca flour, etc. The thing that is nice about the blends is that you do not need to measure gluten-free flour and become a scientist in your kitchen! Gluten-free baking can be overwhelming when you’re new to it. But, if you want to acclimatize yourself to gluten-free baking faster, I suggest using the store-bought mixes. It’s important to note that not all gluten-free flours are equal, and in this recipe, I used King Arthur Measuring gluten-free flour blend.
What Can I Do If I Do Not Have a Donut Pan?
Typically when you make gluten-free baked donuts you will want to have a donut pan. Most gluten-free donut recipes will call for them, however, I understand that not everyone owns a donut pan. So, how can we get around this? To get that donut shape, you could try taking a muffin pan and using aluminum foil to create little cones to place in the middle of what you pipe in order to get the look of donut holes in the middle.
Are There Other Toppings I Can Use?
Yes! If you wanted to make vanilla donuts then you would obviously not make a chocolate glaze but rather a vanilla glaze. You could also do a cinnamon sugar mixture instead if you wanted. If you like the cinnamon sugar mixture idea then you should definitely check out my gluten free apple cider donuts recipe! For a vanilla glaze, you would take 1 cup powdered sugar and mix with 1 tablespoon of milk. Add one at a time until you get the consistency that you’d like, and dip the donuts into the glaze. As stated above, if you don’t drink cows’ milk you can substitute almond milk, oat milk, or another dairy free alternative (also see my note on coconut milk above).
Other toppings would include toasted coconut (goes deliciously with chocolate glaze) and gluten-free sprinkles! You can play around with your gf donuts!
What Do You Need to Make This Gluten-Free Donut Recipe?
Gluten-free donuts luckily don’t require a crazy amount to make them! So, let’s get to it.
- 2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour blend, make sure your flour blend has xanthan gum in it (I used King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour blend)
- 1 cup white granulated sugar, you can substitute coconut palm sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, if you cannot find pure vanilla extract synthetic is fine
- 1/2 cup milk, I used 2% milk but this is your choice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter, I used unsalted butter, this is for the chocolate glaze
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, this is for the chocolate glaze
- 2 tsp light corn syrup, this is for the chocolate glaze
What tools do you need for this recipe?
A donut pan, wire rack
Optional* a mini muffin pan, mini doughnut pan
For full instructions, go to https://siftrva.com/gluten-free-donut-recipe/.
