Sourdough discard cinnamon sugar cake donuts (2024)

Home » Breakfast » Sourdough discard cinnamon sugar cake donuts

Don’t throw out that sourdough starter! Use a cup’s worth and make the softest, most delicate cinnamon sugar cake donuts this side of the Mississippi.

Waste not, want not.

That’s what old people say. And in this case it’s waste not, want dough-nots. See what I did there?

With a heaping cup of sourdough discard on hand you can make a giant batch of these donuts which are by no other fitting description completely melt in your mouth devine.

[feast_advanced_jump_to]

The scoop on sourdough starter discard

If you stumbled in to this post you may not be sure what I mean by sourdough discard. For those of us who are embracing the movement back to healthy bread–real bread–that means making wild yeast leavened sourdough (<–that’s a link to my class where I teach sourdough baking) which is made with a starter.

Each day you take out half and feed your starter to keep it alive and active so it can make bread.

But throwing away that half of the starter feels wasteful, so a lot of people use it to add a tangy flavor to other baked goods–like these cake donuts.

Do these donuts taste like sourdough?

That’s a big negative. In fact, they just tasted like cake donuts to me but you have to keep in mind we aren’t using the starter to rise these donuts: Baking powder does the heavy lifting.

What’s the difference between a cake donut and a regular one?

Cake donuts are made from flour, eggs, sugar and a leavening agent like baking powder which gives them a cake-like crumbly texture.

“Regular” donuts like you would buy in most bakeries slathered in chocolate or glazed to the heavens are made with yeast and required to rise a couple of times before they are fried.

Can these donuts be baked instead of fried?

I didn’t test them baked because I am a donut purist. I use refined coconut oil and not vegetable oil for frying and never look back.

If you wanted to bake them, they would likely work okay. May have a tad of a flat side, but if you don’t mind that then that’s fine with me. I’d probably bake them around 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes but that’s just a guess.

What if I don’t have any sourdough starter? Can I make these anyway?

Yes! I would recommend adding something to make up the difference in moisture. Maybe a cup of sour cream or whole milk plain yogurt would be a good swap.

Sourdough cake donuts steps in pictures

• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add eggs, starter, vanilla and milk.
• Add dry ingredients.
• Allow dough to sit and “firm” slightly.
• Roll out to 3/4″ thick then cut circles.
• Fry 1 to 2 minutes per side, toss in cinnamon sugar.

Looking for a regular yeasted donut? Try this version or bake your next batch of apple cider donuts.

The Recipe