Julie Clark
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Amish Donuts
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Fresh glazed Amish donuts that taste like they came out of an Amish kitchen! Whip up a batch of these warm, soft, sweet homemade doughnuts for your family to enjoy today.
Everyone loves a fresh glazed donut. After all, when the Krispy Kreme “hot now” sign is on, customers gather in line! Me though? I grew up near Amish country and the locals know the Amish bakeries are THE place to go for the best donuts.
This Amish Donuts recipe came from my much loved Amish cookbook I got over 26 years ago for my wedding shower. They give you the soft, fluffy yeast donuts that you know and love, in the quietness of your own home.
These Amish doughnuts rival any fancy bakery!
About this Amish Donut recipe:
If you’ve spent any amount of time here with us at Tastes of Lizzy T, you’ll know we are famous for our cinnamon rolls recipe. We turned that rich dough into homemade donuts during the lockdown of 2020. I mean how else would we spend our time?!
So how is this recipe different? The cinnamon roll dough is rich and similar to brioche, but this donut dough is soft and fluffy. The main difference is going to be in the texture of the donut. This recipe will be so much more light and fluffy. But both are undeniably delicious.
What you’ll need:
One of the great things about making Amish glazed donuts at home is that the ingredients are pantry staples. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Whole milk & butter
- Sugar & flour
- Salt
- Warm water
- Dry active yeast. Read all about baking with yeast here.
- Eggs
- Vegetable oil for frying
The glaze is easy also. It’s simply a mix of powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract, plus a touch of corn syrup. The corn syrup adds a touch of shine to the glaze and helps it have a smooth consistency.
How long does it take to make donuts?
- Mix Time. Mixing up the dough will be quick and it can usually be done in well under 15 minutes.
- Rise Time. You’ll need at least 30 minutes, but possibly up to 60 minutes (depending on the temperature of the room), to allow the dough to rise. Then after you cut the donuts, you’ll allow the donuts to rise for another 30 minutes.
- Fry Time. Plan about 20 minutes. Frying the donuts will take a little bit of time because you will fry the donuts in very small batches for a about 2 minutes per batch. The exact time will depend on the size pan you are using. It’s all worth it once you taste the amazing fresh donuts.
Your actual hands-on time in the kitchen between mixing up the dough, cutting out donuts, and frying the donuts? It might only take about an hour of your time. But total will be up to 2 hours.
How to Make Amish Donuts
We find it easiest to mix our dough in a stand mixer. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead by hand. Even easier? If you have a bread machine, put in the ingredients in the order the machine suggests and use the dough setting. Easy peasy!
- Activate the yeast. Pour the warm milk and water in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop. This is instant yeast so there is no need to let it proof. If you use active dry yeast, allow it to sit for 5 minutes or so until it looks frothy.
- Mix in the other ingredients. Add the egg, butter, salt, sugar and 4 ½ cups of flour (save the other ½ cup and add only if you need it) Mix using the beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids.
- Knead the dough. Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook. Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to ½ cup more flour if needed to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth.
- Let the dough rise. Now that your dough is made, you’ll place it in a greased large bowl and set it aside to rise until almost doubled. This could take up to 1 hours, but we find ours is usually ready in about 30 minutes.
- Cut the donuts. Roll the dough out and cut out the donuts with a doughnut cutter. Place your donuts on cookie sheets to rise the second time while the oil is heating. They don’t need a long rise. 15-30 minutes is fine. They’ll rise while they fry!
- Heat the oil. Add vegetable oil to a large pot, Dutch oven, or deep fryer, about 2-inches depth. Heat the oil to 350º Fahrenheit. Use a cooking thermometer to manage the heat of the oil. If the oil is too cool it the donuts will absorb too much oil. If it is too hot and the donuts will cook too fast on the outside before the inside. You want it to stay around 350º F so adjust the stove temperature as needed.
- Fry the donuts. Use a metal spatula or frying “spider” to gently lower a donut into the hot oil. Add donuts to the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd them. We do 4-5 donuts at a time. Fry donuts on the first side for about 45 seconds or until golden brown. Then flip and fry on the other side for no longer than 1 minute. Remove from the oil and cool on a wire rack with a baking sheet or paper towels underneath to catch dripping oil.
- Make the glaze. In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, corn syrup, vanilla extract (or maple 😋), and ½ cup of whole milk. Dip the warm donuts into the glaze and return to the cooling rack for the glaze to set.
What do I serve with the glazed donuts?
While an Amish donut by itself is never a bad thing, you’ll probably want to serve them with a little something more. Here are some perfect food and drink ideas to pair with your Amish glazed donuts:
- Coffee
- Cold milk
- Hot chocolate
- Fresh berries
- Scrambled egg and bacon or sausage
- Warmed raspberry jam or chocolate sauce for dipping donuts
You may also love our mashed potato bread and Amish pretzels. Looking for baked donuts? Try red velvet donuts or chocolate chip donuts.
Amish Donuts
Fresh Amish donuts, right from your own kitchen! Whip up a batch of these hot, soft, sweet yeast-raised donuts for your family to enjoy today.
Servings 15
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Rise Time 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm whole milk (about 115º Fahrenheit) 8 ounces
- 3/4 cup warm water (about 115º Fahrenheit) 6 ounces
- 1 packages Red Star Platinum instant yeast (.25 ounces) 7 grams
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1/4 cup salted butter (very soft) 2 ounces
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar 50 grams
- 4 1/2-5 cups bread flour (plus additional for kneading) 585-650 grams
For frying:
- vegetable oil for frying
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar 130 grams
- 1/2 tablespoon corn syrup 8 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 grams
- 1/4 cup whole milk 2 ounces
Instructions
- Pour the warm milk and water in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop. This is instant yeast so there is no need to let it proof. If you use active dry yeast, allow it to sit for 5 minutes or so until it looks frothy. 1 cup warm whole milk, ¾ cup warm water, 1 packages Red Star Platinum instant yeast
- Add the egg, butter, salt and sugar. 1 large egg, ¼ cup salted butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Add in 4 ½ cups (save the other ½ cup and add only if you need it) of flour and mix using the beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids. 4 1/2-5 cups bread flour
- Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.
- Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to ½ cup more flour if needed to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl. That's ok! Don't be tempted to add more flour at this point. We generally add almost 5 cups, but start with 4 ½ cups.
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel or wax paper.
- Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until nearly double. I like to turn on the oven to the lowest setting for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place the dough to rise in there. It normally takes about 30-45 minutes for the dough to rise to double. It could take up to an hour, but don't let it over rise.
- Sprinkle a pastry mat lightly with flour. Turn out the dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle that is 1/2" thick. If you roll it thicker, your donuts will be thicker and take longer to cook in the oil.
- Use a donut cutter to cut donuts. Use the scraps to roll out again to cut more donuts. You'll get about 12-15 donuts with this recipe. You can fry the donut holes or roll them back into the dough. The holes are fun though!
- Place the cut out donuts onto large cookie sheets and set aside to rise for an additional 20 minutes while the oil is heating.
- Add vegetable oil to a large pot, Dutch oven, or deep fryer, about 2-inches depth. Heat the oil to 350º Fahrenheit. vegetable oil for frying
- TIP: Use a cooking thermometer to manage the heat of the oil. If the oil is too cool it will not cook the donuts well and donuts will take in a lot of oil, or too hot and the donuts will cook too fast on the outside before the inside. You want it to stay around 350º F so adjust the stove temperature as needed.
- Use a metal spatula or frying “spider” to gently lower a donut into the hot oil. Add donuts to the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd them. We do 4-5 donuts at a time. Fry donuts on the first side for about 45 seconds or until golden brown. Then flip and fry on the other side for no longer than 1 minute. Remove from the oil and cool on a wire rack with a baking sheet or paper towels underneath to catch dripping oil. *If the donuts are really large they may take more time to cook in the oil.*
- Safety Tip: Be extremely cautious when frying! Research deep frying safety tips and be very gentle when adding donuts to the oil and flipping them.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, corn syrup, vanilla extract, and ½ cup of whole milk. Dip the warm donuts into the glaze and return to the cooling rack for the glaze to set. 1 cup powdered sugar, ½ tablespoon corn syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup whole milk
- These donuts are best served warm while they’re fresh. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes
Storage: Glazed donuts just taste the absolute best when fresh. However, if there are any donuts leftover, you can certainly keep them for later. Store the donuts in an airtight container for up to two days at room temperature.
To reheat donuts: You can reheat the donuts in the microwave one at a time in 10 second increments. Be careful; they do get hot fast!
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 12 donuts plus 12 donut holes. 1 serving is 1 regular donut or about 4 donut holes. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 141IU | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 2mg
Have you froze the dough? How would I rise after freezing
Do you know if these could be air fried?
I found I could make this in a bread machine on dough setting by reducing the yield to 8 donuts, 8 donut holes. The ingredients:
2/3 c. whole milk
½ c. water
1 medium egg
2 T. plus 2 tsp. butter
Pinch salt
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 pkg yeast
2 T. plus 2 tsp. sugar
The follow from Step 6 of instructions.
Can these be baked
Can you save the oil the donuts were fried in for the next time you make donuts? If do, what should I store the oil in?