Amish Donuts Recipe

Amish Country Donuts

Homemade Amish donuts, covered in a smooth glaze, make up one of our favorite breakfast treats. And the fact is they are irresistibly delicious, making it hard to turn them down even though we know that they aren't healthy.

There's nothing quite like a fresh homemade warm Amish yeast donut. They're soft and airy, and they practically melt in your mouth.

So if you ever get to visit Amish country, make sure to visit one of their bakeries and get yourself a fresh donut. The locals all know that Amish bakeries sell the best donuts.

But the good news is that you don't have to wait till you get to Amish country for a taste of homemade donuts. You can follow this donut recipe and make some at home.

Amish Yeast Donut Recipe

Amish donuts are easy to make, although truthfully, they take some time. It's a project for one of those days when you're at home most of the day, and not feeling too rushed.

My kids love to help, and maybe you could turn it into a fun family project. (Although I do not recommend having kids help with the frying part - it's too dangerous!)

Baking is one of my hobbies, and I love working with dough and creating beautiful and delicious baked goods for my family. It's therapeutic for me and, of course, my family is happy to indulge in the results of my work.

But this recipe is truly a labor of love and one that's usually saved for special occasions.

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What Do I Need to Make Amish Glazed Donuts?

Of course, you will need the ingredients to make the dough and the glaze, which are mostly basic pantry ingredients.

But there are also a few other items that you'll need to make donuts:

• Cooking thermometer to measure the temperature

• A Frying strainer is nice, although you can use a slotted spoon if you don't have a strainer

• Paper towel-lined plate to transfer the donuts onto after frying

• Large cooking pot, dutch oven, or deep fryer

• Donut cutter

• Cooling rack or something to hang your donuts on to dry after glazing (I cooled some of mine on elevated skewers over parchment paper.)

How to Make Donuts from Scratch

The first thing you'll want to do is scald the milk. This simply means to heat the milk until almost boiling. A skin will form on the top, but you can easily remove it.

After scalding the milk, add the stick of butter and set it aside to cool. The milk needs to be lukewarm before adding it to the yeast mixture. (Hot milk will kill the yeast.)

In a mixing bowl, dissolve the active dry yeast in the warm water. Add the sugar, potatoes, warm milk (not hot) and butter, and bread flour. Mix and let it sit for 20 minutes.

Add the egg, salt, and 5 cups of flour and mix until the dough comes together. Allow the dough to knead for a couple of minutes and slowly continue adding flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Add a bit of oil to grease the sides of the bowl and let the dough rest to rise for at least an hour.

Sprinkle your countertop with flour and roll out the dough to about a half-inch thick.

Cut circles with a donut cutter (some donut cutters have a hole cutter in the center, but if you don't have one of those, you can use a smaller cutter to cut the hole) and move the donuts onto greased parchment paper to rise again.

Cut out all the donuts you can, gather up the remaining pieces, and roll out the dough again to cut more. It's up to you if you want to fry the donut holes or turn them all into donuts.

Frying Homemade Amish Donuts

I like to use my dutch oven to fry donuts because it holds the temperature better than a regular pot. But you can use any large pot or a deep fryer (if you have one that you like to use).

Pour cooking oil (peanut, vegetable, or canola oil) into the pot to at least 2 inches deep. Bring the oil to 350 degrees and try to keep it steady at that temperature (you may have to adjust the heat occasionally).

Carefully drop a few donuts at a time into the hot oil. Allow them a minute or two to brown on one side then flip them to the other side and fry them until light golden brown.

It only takes a couple of minutes to fry them. (A few of mine got darker than I wanted them because I was trying to do too many things at once. They're still good though, so don't worry if they don't turn out perfect.)

Remove the donuts with a strainer or slotted spoon onto a thick layer of paper towels to drain for a couple of minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.

Tips for Making the Best Amish Donuts

TIP 1: 

A stand mixer is best for this whole process. If you do not have a stand mixer, begin by mixing the dough with an electric mixer, then switch to mixing by hand when the dough becomes too heavy for the hand-held electric mixer.

TIP 2: 

Use a cooking thermometer to manage the heat of the oil. If the oil is too cool it will not cook the donuts well and they will take in a lot of oil. If it's too hot the donuts will cook too fast on the outside before the inside.

Safety Tip:

Be extremely cautious when frying! The oil is very hot and it will burn if you get splattered. If this is your first-time deep-frying, please educate yourself before you begin.

Can I Reuse My Frying Oil?

We all know that it takes a lot of oil for deep-frying. And what do you do with the oil once you're finished frying a batch of donuts?

Thankfully, you can reuse the oil several times.

When finished frying, let the oil cool down to room temperature. Then pour it through a strainer or cheesecloth and return it to its original container. Store it in a cool, dark place. (I refrigerate mine.)

To extend its life, add a small amount of fresh oil each time you cook. But if it starts to look thick or brown, then it’s gone bad.

And, of course, you don't want to use oil to fry Amish donuts that you've used to fry chicken or fish. So, I always label my container with what it was used for. Then only use that oil for similar items.

More Amish Fried Food Recipes

Homemade Amish Apple Fritters

Amish Fry Pies Recipe

PA Dutch Chicken Croquettes Recipe