Well, the fact that you’re here (hi! 🙋🏽♀️) means that you’ve probably been googling “plain donuts” in search of a perfect recipe. So I’m sure I don’t need to convince you—plain donuts are just the absolute best! Whether you’re into dunking, tearing off bites one piece at a time, or devouring a donut in a few big chomps with a big cup of coffee to wash it down, this recipe has you covered. Donuts made with this recipe are not-too-sweet, they’re crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and they have a tiny hint of nutmeg. If you’ve ever had a plain old fashioned donut and noticed a subtly warm flavor that you couldn’t quite pin-point, you were probably picking up on a little hint of nutmeg.
To paraphrase Julia child: You should never bake something that causes someone to exclaim “Oh! Nutmeg!” But adding a faint whisper goes a long way in recreating the classic plain old fashioned donut you’re probably familiar with.
reasons I love this recipe:
1. They feature ingredients you probably already have at home.
Old fashioned donuts are traditionally made with sour cream or buttermilk. But this recipe uses plain yogurt. Buttermilk is one of my all-time favorite ingredients, but nothing beats yogurt’s convenience (it’s in my fridge, and I’m guessing yours).
Tip: If you only have Greek yogurt, you can thin it out with some milk and then measure it for the recipe.
2. You can make them without a donut pan!
Deep fried donuts are wonderful for a couple reasons. First, it means you don’t need to own a donut pan! I can’t stand having specialty equipment around, so that makes me very happy. All you need is two differently sized cookie cutters.
Or if you don’t have pastry cutters, you can even use a thin-rimmed glass for the larger stamp, and for the smaller pastry cutter, you can use the back of a pastry tip or a screw-on bottle cap. Anyone with a container of canola oil and a heavy pan can deep fry, and I love that minimalist spirit.
3. They have a very authentic donut shop flavor.
But deep frying isn’t just great because of its ease. Fried donuts also taste absolutely incredible (and it’s not like any donut is going to win an award for healthiest snack—even the baked variety). Nothing else gets you that authentic donut shop flavor.
4. They’re not too sweet.
These donuts are just sweet enough, but not so sweet that your coffee will taste like you added a spoonful of sugar after dunking. If you’ve got a bit more of a sweet-coffee tooth, you can absolutely sprinkle on some powdered sugar if you’d like to. I, however, will go for one of the un-sprinkled ones at the bottom of the pile. But it’s entirely a matter of preference, and they’re truly wonderful either way.
By the way, this is my last donut post in my donut series! Tomorrow, I’ll be posting a roundup of all 6, with a few ideas of making your own variation (in case you want to branch out a bit—though honestly, I’ll probably stick with this plain donut recipe 90% of the time). In the meantime, put the kettle on, and enjoy this recipe:
PrintPlain old fashioned donuts (no pan, no yeast)
- Yield: about 8 to 10 donuts
Ingredients
- Neutral high smoke point oil, for deep frying (e.g., canola)
- 250g all purpose flour (2 cups), plus more for dusting
- 1g (½ teaspoon) ground nutmeg
- 4g salt (¾ teaspoon)
- 9g baking powder (2 teaspoons)
- 45g melted butter (3 tablespoons), cooled slightly
- 100g sugar (½ cup)
- 50g egg (1 large) at room temperature
- 120g plain unstrained yogurt (½ cup) at room temperature
- Powdered sugar (100% optional)
Instructions
- Set up a safe fry station on your stove or a dedicated deep-fryer. Make sure it cannot be knocked over. Set over medium-low heat so it can heat gradually while you prep the donuts, and set up a deep fry thermometer. Keep a close eye on it, and aim for it to reach 350°F [180°C] by the time you’re ready to fry. If it heats too quickly, reduce the heat to low or turn off for a few moments until you’re ready.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder. Whisk or sift together until completely lump free.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, egg, and yogurt. Whisk together until completely smooth.
- Scrape the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then mix together just until combined (do not overmix).
- Dust a clean counter with more flour, then scrape the dough onto the dusted counter. Sprinkle on a little more flour, then gently pat it into an oval.* Take care to make sure it’s well dusted both underneath and on top. Roll it out to ½-inch thick, redusting above and below to keep it from sticking as you work.
- Stamp out as many donuts as you can using a donut stamp or set of pastry rings. Collect the scraps**, re-roll, and stamp out more donuts.
- Once the oil has heated, fry the donuts. They should take about 2 minutes per side at 350°F [180°C], and should be deeply brown (but not burnt) and cooked through. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate or cooling-rack-lined sheet pan to cool.
Notes
* Do not knead the dough or incorporate the flour into it, or it will turn out dry—just pat it into shape.
** To get a really good re-roll out of the scraps, try not to let any flour touch the freshly stamped edges, and compress them together so the bare edges mush together with other bare edges. Try not to introduce a lot of new flour. Feel free to fry the donut holes, or re-roll them with the scraps (if you fry them, they will take about 30 seconds less per side).
So I just made these, and I doubled the recipe. Weighed in grams and I find that they lack salt.. did you use salted butter ? Because I used unsalted. I will make again but definitely will be adjusting salt.
Hi Lisa, I’m sorry they weren’t quite seasoned enough for you! I used unsalted butter too when I developed these and the seasoning tasted just right to me (and I tested the recipe in grams, so that doesn’t account for the difference either). I think I’m gonna chalk this one up to a difference in taste/preference. It’s hard with baked goods, since you can’t really taste them as you go. But sounds like maybe you should bump it up to like 1 tsp or maybe even 1 1/2 next time. I even find that sometimes when I exercised a ton earlier that day, I experience things as less salty, and other more sedentary days I experience things as more salty. Salt preference is a tricky one!
Quick and easy recipe, didn’t have yogurt so used two thirds sour cream and one third milk, turned out great!
I’m so glad! 😀
If I want to use buttermilk, would I use the same amount as the yogurt?
I haven’t tested it that way so I can’t say for sure, but my guess is that you can substitute buttermilk, but that you’d likely need to use a bit less of it. Sorry I don’t have a more definitive answer!
I have to say: I was skeptical on this one. I thought they would be cakey, but they really do taste like old-fashioned donuts! I have a sweet tooth, so I drowned them in glaze 🙂 will definitely make them again!
Yay I’m so glad they turned out well!
If I brush coat these in a bit of oil can I bake them instead of deep frying them?
It’s possible it might turn out, but this recipe is really developed for deep frying rather than baking or air frying. It would be better to find a recipe specifically formulated for baking (likely using a donut pan) for the best results.
First time making them my partner loves them so I hope my six kids do as well … well see easy recipe I enjoy baking while kids are at school
Hope you enjoyed!
oh my god. they were so delicious. I needed a quick delicious homey recipe it was just that and more. so easy to make and a quicky. every one loved it.
I’m so glad to hear that!!
My kids went crazy for them, they literally didn’t have time to cool and they were gone. Thank you!
That makes me so happy to hear! (And totally on the same page as you and your kids——donuts are extra-good while they’re still warm!)
I followed the recipe, was careful not to overwork the dough and kept the oil between 365 and 370 the best I could. I substituted diluted greek yogurt using a guide (of the total volume needed, 2/3 yogurt, 1/3 water).
My little guys didn’t float, they didn’t puff up. This recipe is so close to one I’ve made before.
Any thoughts on what might have gone awry today?
One thing… I used the temp on my Gram’s recipe, not 350. But is that enough to have the result I did?
It’s definitely possible that using a different temperature got that result. A different temperature might work well for a recipe with different ingredient ratios and a different method. Other possible issues might be old baking powder (try testing some by adding a drop of water and see if it bubbles up) or over-mixed dough (you say you didn’t overwork it, but just mentioning that in case it was overworked earlier during mixing). If you try again, I hope that troubleshooting helps, and I’m sorry I couldn’t help more!
This recipe sounds like what i have been looking for.
Thanks can’t wait to make for our breakfast.
I love these donuts! Perfect for coffee dunking
The only way to enjoy them, as far as I’m concerned!
Can I use buttermilk instead of yogurt
I haven’t tested it that way so I can’t say for sure, but my guess is that you can substitute buttermilk, but that you’d likely need to use a bit less of it. Sorry I don’t have a more definitive answer!