Air Fryer Sourdough Donuts

I’ve been really enjoying baking with my sourdough starter lately. After sharing my overnight sourdough bagels, these air fryer sourdough donuts are the next favorite to make it onto the blog. I’m already thinking about sourdough cinnamon rolls or cookies and cream rolls for next time! What’s great about recipes like these is that, although they take time, the labor is minimal. You just mix, then wait, and during most of that wait, you’re just sleeping. Cool, right?

Difference between sourdough starter and sourdough discard:

The Starter: This is the “active” bubbly stuff you’ve just fed. For these donuts, we use active starter to get that light, airy rise. For this recipe, I fed my starter 5 hours prior using it.

The Discard: This is the portion you remove before a feeding. It’s less “powerful,” but it’s amazing for recipes like my Sourdough Discard Lemon Poppy Seeds Pancakes where you want the tangy flavor but don’t necessarily need the dough to double in size.

Ingredients to make sourdough starter donuts:

• All-Purpose Flour: I stick with all-purpose because it’s what I always have in the pantry. It makes the donuts soft and pillowy without being too “bready” or tough.
• Starter: Make sure she’s active and bubbly! Since we aren’t using commercial yeast, your starter is doing all the heavy lifting to make these donuts rise.
• Sugar: Just regular white sugar to give the dough that classic donut sweetness.
• Butter: I use softened unsalted butter.
• Milk: Using milk instead of water makes the dough much richer and softer. I usually just use whatever is in the fridge at room temperature.
• Eggs: These help with the structure and give the donuts a beautiful golden color once they hit the air fryer.
• Vanilla Extract: A splash of this makes the whole dough smell like a bakery.
• Nutmeg & Cinnamon (Optional): I highly recommend adding a pinch of these! Nutmeg is the “secret ingredient” in old-fashioned donuts that gives them that nostalgic, cozy flavor.
• Salt: Just a pinch of sea salt to balance out all the sweetness.

❊ You will also need some powdered sugar, water, and a bit more vanilla extract to make the glaze. I also use a bit of olive oil to brush the donuts before they hit the air fryer.

[Measurements are posted in the recipe card below the instructions.]

1. Make the dough: Start by mixing all your wet ingredients together, but keep the butter away for now. Once the wets are combined, add in your dry ingredients. Mix everything until it looks “shaggy”, meaning the flour is mostly incorporated but it still looks a bit messy.

2. Grab your mixer: Place the dough in the mixer and run it on low speed for a few minutes. You want to make sure no dry flour is visible anywhere, not even on the sides of the bowl.

3. Add the butter: Now, add your butter, keep mixing on low. Once it’s incorporated, increase the speed to medium and let the machine work for a good 7 minutes. By the end, the dough should be soft and smooth, but not sticky to the touch.

4. Bulk fermentation: Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature. The timing depends on how warm your house is; if it’s between 22°C and 24°C, it should take about 4 hours. You don’t need to touch the dough or do any folds during this time, just let it do its thing!

When the dough looks ready and has doubled in size, place it exactly as it is into the fridge overnight. This makes the dough so much easier to handle the next day.

5. Shape and rest: The next morning, move the dough to the counter. Roll it out and cut your donuts (and the holes!). This recipe usually makes about 14 medium donuts. Place them on parchment paper, cover them with a towel, and yes, you guessed it, let them rest for another 2 to 3 hours.

6. Prep and air fry: Before they go in, brush them with a little oil. I prefer olive oil to keep things on the healthier side. If you have one of those spray bottles, that’s even better for getting an even coat!

Set your air fryer to 175°C. They’ll need between 7 and 10 minutes, and you’ll want to flip them halfway through. I noticed the first batch took the full 10 minutes to get that beautiful golden color, but the later batches were done in about 7 minutes since the air fryer was already hot.

7. The finish: Remove the donuts and place them on a cooling rack. While they cool, make your glaze, it is super easy! Just mix your granulated sugar, water, and vanilla together until smooth.

Once the donuts are cool, it’s time for the glaze. I just drop the donut in, flip it over to get both sides, and give it a little shake to get the extra off. Then, put them back on the cooling rack to dry.

👉🏻 If you like a thicker coating, you can absolutely do a double dip! Just make sure you let the first layer of glaze set completely before you go in for the second round.