Erin’s Recipe Rundown
The recipe I’ve been waiting YEARS to share is finally ready!
In our family of 6, half of us eat gluten-free (2 of my kids and I). We all agree that REAL-DEAL, fried, yeast-raised donuts are one of the things we miss most!
I’ve tried for years to master gluten-free donuts and after many failed attempts could never get the texture just right. After doing a little research, I learned that Krispy Kreme uses potato starch in their donuts and decided to give it a try. I tried combining the potato starch with King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour and it worked PERFECTLY!
This is the gluten-free donut recipe of your dreams. I can’t wait for you to try it!
Why you’ll love it: This recipe makes gluten-free donuts that are so soft and pillowy you won’t believe they’re gluten-free! I love topping them with a simple vanilla glaze, but any glaze you like will work.
Top Tip: The magic is in the combination of potato starch and King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour ! No other flour will produce the same results. I recommend this easy, countertop deep fryer to make frying the donuts easier.
If you love donuts, you also might like these recipes for gluten-free baked donuts, gluten-free pumpkin donuts and gluten-free apple cider donuts. Also be sure to check out my gluten-free cinnamon rolls!
xoxo erin
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these gluten-free yeasted donuts. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements
- Gluten-free bread flour: This is a must for this recipe! I highly recommend King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour to get the perfect rise and texture!
- Potato starch: Make sure you use potato starch not potato flour! It lightens the gluten-free bread flour and works with it to create the perfect structure.
- Milk powder: The whole milk powder adds flavor and helps the donuts bake up golden brown without adding extra unneeded liquid.
How to Make Gluten-Free Yeasted Donuts
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
I highly recommend using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment for ease! Mix the dry ingredients, then slowly add the wet ingredients before kicking it up to medium speed. You want it to look like thick cookie dough!
Scrape the sides of the bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, then set aside to rise in a warm place. After that, chill the dough for exactly 20 minutes so that it’s easier to roll out.
Lightly flour a flat surface and roll out the dough to 1/2″ thick. I recommend using a donut cutter! Cut out donuts, then re-roll out the extra dough and repeat until it’s all used up.
To make frying less scary I use this fryer! It works well frying 2 donuts at a time. You can also fill a large heavy-bottomed pot with oil and place over medium heat until it reaches 335°F.
Prep your baking sheet with paper towels and a wire rack. This let’s them drain without making a big mess. Cook, flip, and cook until golden brown. Repeat with all donuts.
Once they’re cooled to just warm, dip them in the glaze and place them back on the wire rack so the excess can drip onto the paper towels in the pan below. Enjoy!
More Recipes Using Gluten-Free Bread Flour
- Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Gluten-Free Apple Fritters
- Gluten-Free Monkey Bread
- Gluten-Free Orange Rolls
- Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns
- Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls
- Gluten-Free Naan
- Gluten-Free Crescent Rolls
Gluten-Free Donut Recipe (Fried & Fluffy Yeast-Raised!)
Ingredients
Donut Dough
- 2½ cups (375g) King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour
- 1 cup (196g) potato starch
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (32g) dry whole milk powder
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼ cups (240ml) water, warm
- 4 tablespoons (56g) butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
Vanilla Glaze
- 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar
- ½ cup milk of choice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the gluten-free bread flour, potato starch, granulated sugar, milk powder, instant yeast, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the water, melted butter and eggs. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes. The dough will resemble thick cookie dough, this is normal.
- Using an oiled rubber spatula, scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.
- After the dough has risen, refrigerate it for 20 minutes. (Refrigerating the dough makes it easier to roll out.)
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and. Sprinkle with a little gluten-free flour, then roll the dough out until it is ½-inch thick.
- Using a donut cutter, cut out the donuts. Re-roll the dough and cut more donuts as needed.
- Fill a large heavy-bottomed pot with oil, about 3-4 inches deep. Place over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 335°F.
- Line a large baking sheet with paper towels. Place a wire rack on top.
- When the oil is ready, drop a few donuts into the hot oil, being careful to not overcrowd. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn over and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Remove the donuts from the oil and let them drain on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining donuts.
For the vanilla glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. The glaze should be fluid but not runny. It should coat the back of a spoon and drizzle in a slow, steady stream when lifted. Add a few tablespoons of milk if needed to reach the desired consistency.
- Let the donuts cool until just warm to the touch before dipping fully in the glaze. Place the glazed donuts on the wire rack so the excess glaze can drip on the sheet pan below.
I can’t wait to try these! I only have a stainless steel pot, however. Would that work for frying?
Hi Jessica, ideally you want something wide enough for several donuts to fry without running into each other, but deep enough to avoid splashing. If it’s a small pot, you might need to work in smaller batches. But you should be able to pull it off!
hi
I know you said no other flour works but all I have the GF King Arthur flour, not bread flour though. will that make a difference? do you know what makes the KA GF Bread flour different from the KA GF flour ?
Hi Ana, yes, it’s important to use the King Arthur Gluten-Free bread flour for these donuts to turn out! It’s specifically designed for yeast dough and has unique ingredients to help with structure and rise. We recommend waiting until you’re able to get the bread flour so you can enjoy these to the fullest!
These were delicious! I used powdered coconut milk, country crock plant butter (olive oil) sticks and fried them on the stove in canola oil. The taste and smell like real donuts, best eaten the day you make them.
Hi Julie, thanks so much for your comment! So glad those substitutions worked out well for you. Sounds amazing!
Instead of frying could I bake these in donut pan?
Hi Eileen, this recipe was designed to be fried. We’d recommend this gluten-free baked donut recipe, if wanted to go the baking route. We hope you enjoy whichever donut recipe you try!
If my gluten free flour (compliments brand) has potato starch, do I omit/just add 1 cup extra of my flour or still add a cup extra of potato starch??
Hello! This recipe was specifically designed with the KA GF Bread Flour. We don’t recommend using other gluten-free flours as they won’t produce the same results unfortunately.
Has anyone tried making these in the air fryer instead of deep frying? Just wondering if that would work since I don’t have a deep fryer
Hi Alice, we haven’t tried this recipe in an air fryer. Other than a deep fryer, we would recommend frying in a large heavy-bottomed pot on the stove. We hope you enjoy the donuts!
I tried making these following the recipe closely and using all the same ingredients and the donuts just didn’t puff up very much and are flatish, pretty heavy, and a little dense. What could I have done wrong? Is it a rest time issue? Appreciate you!
Hi Elina, we’re sorry you had this experience! Did you use King Arthur GF Bread Flour? No other flour will work properly in this one. Other than that, yes most likely the dough did not rise long enough (this can happen in cooler room temperatures). Other factors can include using old/weak yeast or the oil being too cold/dropping while frying. We hope these ideas help and your next batch turns out much better!
Would Caputo Fioreglut work in place of the KAF bread flour? Thanks!
Hi Natasha, thank you for your question! Caputo Fioreglut has different properties than the King Arthur GF Bread Flour and won’t produce the same results unfortunately.
How can you make it dairy free?
Hi Ann, for dairy-free use coconut milk powder or soy milk powder in place of the milk powder plus dairy-free butter instead of butter. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
we made this today and it was DELICIOUS. do you think that this dough would work for making apple fritters? i would love to use this yeasted, fried dough for other donut varieties.
Hi Colleen, we’re so happy to hear you loved the donut recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. We actually have a gluten-free apple fritter recipe coming out soon!
I can’t have yeast what do you recommend using?
Hi Angela, unfortunately yeast is necessary in these donuts. We do have a gluten-free baked donut recipe that doesn’t require yeast. Thank you for your question!
Can I use non fat milk powder for this recipe?
Hi Lia, we recommend the whole milk powder since its fat content helps create a softer crumb. With the nonfat milk powder, the donuts could be a little less tender and then dry out faster. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
What type of oil should be used for frying the donuts?
Hi Sarah, good question! We typically use vegetable oil, but coconut oil will work too. We hope you enjoy the new recipe!
THANK YOU! Can’t wait to try these. I made your cinnamon rolls last night (even as DF too, they’re still amazing) and am looking forward to trying these GF and DF with your suggestions.
Hi Melissa, thank you for the kind feedback about the cinnamon rolls! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe. We hope you enjoy these donuts just as much (or more)!
Can’t wait to make these! Which oil did you use for frying?
Hi Ema, we usually use vegetable oil, but coconut oil will work too! We hope you enjoy the new recipe!
Sorry! I see this answered twice already… I’m just curious with all the information about seed oils…I understand canola oil because of the ratio is the least problematic. And of course I’ll try to do an 80/20 approach to food because we can only afford to do so much! Obviously, this would be a treat so it could fall under the 20. However, the seed oils are something.I try to avoid altogether. As i’m baking i’ve been trying to use avocado oil when I can. Have you or has anyone here in the comments tried avocado oil, although it’s expensive! And I would love to hear Anyone else.Thoughts on the seed oils on occasion like for donuts…because i’m always wanting to learn!
Hi Tami, we typically use vegetable oil, but for non-seed oil options, coconut or avocado oil will work too. Avocado oil has a high smoke point so it will work great, it’s just pricier. Coconut oil is stable at the temperatures needed for this recipe, but it will add a little coconut flavor. We hope you enjoy the donuts!