Perfect Vegan Doughnuts Made with Yeast (Vegan Donut Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What does yeast do to donuts? ›

Yeasted doughnuts, on the other hand, are an enriched bread dough. That means they are leavened with yeast and kneaded to develop gluten. They puff dramatically in the hot oil because they've got the structure to support it. Gluten makes yeasted doughnuts feel light and airy.

Yes, you can. “Cake” doughnuts are made from a dough that uses baking powder or baking soda - like a scone or biscuit dough does. I've made sourdough donuts that did not have added active dry yeast in them, but did have baking soda as an additional leavening agent with the sourdough starter itself. They were delicious!

The texture of yeast doughnuts is lighter and fluffier. And that's all due to the yeast-risen dough. Flour gives strength to the dough, sugar adds a touch of sweetness and eggs, milk and melted butter give the doughnuts structure, moisture and flavor.

You can use active dry yeast in place of instant yeast and vice versa, substituting them 1:1. Active dry yeast is slower to rise than instant yeast, but if your recipe calls for a long rise time (two to three hours), the outcome will be the same.

Yeast Donuts make up our glazed rings, iced rings, filled shells and fancies (Coffee Rolls, Bismarks, Bow Ties) which is about 65% of our donut mix. It is a three-hour process from start to finish and worth every minute!

A batch of original glazed starts with Krispy Kreme doughnut mix, water and yeast, the same single-cell fungi used to make bread rise. The yeast is what makes the original glazed so light -- it puffs the dough up with air, so it's not dense like a cake doughnut (more on this later).

Salted Caramel, Caramel Iced Ring, Strawberry Iced Ring, Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Chocolate Custard doughnuts make up the new Krispy Kreme vegan range along with the fan favourite, Original Glazed.

All-purpose flour works well for doughnuts since it has a moderate amount of gluten–the binding protein commonly used in baking. This gluten content helps create a dough that is strong enough to trap air, which helps create the fluffy doughnut texture we all love.

When you combine baking powder or baking soda with yeast, the sodium bicarbonate will fizzle out while the yeast is just getting started. It is possible to mix them, however. In my savory sourdough discard quick bread recipe, I use a combination of baking powder and sourdough starter (which has a lot of wild yeast).

What's the difference between vegan donuts and regular donuts? ›

It does not have animal by-products

Traditional donuts use eggs, milk, butter, and lard. Vegan donuts use sustainable ingredients as alternatives to replace these ingredients.

While many prefer the light and crispy texture of a fried donut, leaving the deep fryer in the cabinet and baking your cake donuts instead makes for healthier, less oily donuts. It's also safer and easier to clean up, given that you don't have to deal with lots of hot oil.

Primary ingredients in an old-fashioned doughnut include flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream or buttermilk, and leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda. Additional ingredients may include milk, butter, vanilla extract and salt. Some recipes use vegetable shortening.

The Functions of Yeast

Yeast has two primary functions in fermentation: To convert sugar into carbon dioxide gas, which lifts and aerates the dough. To mellow and condition the gluten of the dough so that it will absorb the increasing gases evenly and hold them at the same time.

How Is Yeast Used in Baking? When combined with liquid and sugar, yeast makes dough rise. Yeast, while also providing flavor, creates carbon dioxide in the dough. This stretches and expands it.

The carbon dioxide is what bakers primarily employ yeast to make: As the gas fills the pores in a dough (which are initially created during mixing and kneading), the dough rises, so when it's baked it is delectably light and airy.