Vegan Donut Recipe: How to Make Glazed Vegan Donuts
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Nov 4, 2021 • 3 min read
You don’t need a fancy fryer to learn how to make homemade vegan donuts: All it takes is a little patience, a steady hand, and an eye for timing.
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What Ingredients Are in a Vegan Donut?
Like many vegan recipes, vegan donuts are similar to their non-vegan counterparts in flavor and structure but rely on dairy-free and non-animal product ingredients. Like traditional donuts, vegan donuts typically include flour, sugar, and salt. Instead of eggs, milk, and butter, vegan donut recipes call for ingredients like plant-based milk, vegan butter, coconut oil, and egg replacements like hydrated flaxseed meal.
6 Tips for Making Vegan Donuts
Homemade vegan donuts might seem daunting, but all they require is a good deep-frying thermometer and some patience.
- 1. Use bread flour. Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour, which means more gluten. The more gluten produced during the bulk fermentation of the donut dough, the more stretch and chew the finished product will have.
- 2. Deep-fry in batches. It may be tempting to save time by cramming as many pieces of dough into the hot oil as you can while deep-frying, but this will lower the overall temperature and result in soggy, oil-soaked donuts that never achieve a crispy exterior. Fry two or three at a time, depending on your fryer size. Monitor the temperature, which should hover around 350–360 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 3. Fry the donut holes. While you have the oil hot, fry the remaining donut holes for an extra treat.
- 4. Try baked vegan donuts. Instead of fried donuts, skip the frying for healthier baked vegan donuts baked in a donut pan. Instead of yeast, use baking powder as a rising agent.
- 5. Make gluten-free vegan donuts. Similar to non-vegan donuts, you can substitute gluten-free flour to make this a gluten-free vegan dessert. Almond flour does not provide enough structure to the dough, which can yield a denser donut, so stick with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend instead.
- 6. Experiment with different toppings. You can stick with the classic vanilla confectioners’ sugar glaze, or mix it up with vegan chocolate ganache, sprinkles, or a dusting of cinnamon sugar.
Glazed Vegan Donut Recipe
makes
10-12 donutsprep time
10 mintotal time
1 hr 10 mincook time
1 hrIngredients
For the donuts:
For the vanilla glaze:
- 1
In a medium bowl, combine the flaxseed meal and water. Set aside to thicken and form a vegan “egg,” at least 5 minutes. Whisk in melted coconut oil and vanilla extract.
- 2
Warm the almond milk in a small saucepan over low heat. When steam appears on the surface of the milk, remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl.
- 3
Add the yeast to the milk and let stand for at least 5 minutes, until foamy.
- 4
Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl.
- 5
Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients, followed by the flaxseed meal mixture. Mix together with a wooden spoon to form a thick, shaggy dough.
- 6
Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment (alternatively, you can also do any kneading by hand), and knead until the dough is elastic and glossy and clings to the hook, about 7–8 minutes.
- 7
Place the dough in a lightly greased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm spot on the counter or in the refrigerator until it doubles in size.
- 8
Preheat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- 9
Lightly coat a clean working surface with flour.
- 10
Roll out the dough to about ½ –1 inch thick. Using either a cookie cutter, a donut cutter, or a paring knife, punch out rings or rounds from the dough.
- 11
Add the donuts to the hot oil, no more than 2 at a time (adding too many at once will lower the temperature of the oil, and result in soggy donuts) and fry until golden brown, about 3–4 minutes per side.
- 12
Remove the donuts with a slotted spoon and transfer to a cooling rack, or a baking sheet lined with paper towels, and repeat with remaining donuts.
- 13
To make the glaze, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, almond milk, salt, and vanilla until completely smooth in a medium bowl. Thin with more almond milk as needed for a runny glaze.
- 14
Dip donuts in glaze on both sides then set on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet to dry.
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