Gluten Free Donuts – Buttermilk – Deep Fried

Did you grow up with Sunday morning donuts from a bakery? Perhaps you enjoyed snacking on mini donuts. These donuts will satisfy either craving. Recipe testers rated these as being far better than store-bought gluten donuts. Try eating just one.

If you’ve been wondering how to make gluten free donuts, it isn’t any different than making gluten filled ones besides the flour you use. I used my gluten free all-purpose flour blend recipe. The blend calls for superfine white rice flour. If you use it often, you may already have a batch made, making this recipe a breeze. Or you may wish to give this a try with your favorite gluten-free all-purpose baking mix. I like using superfine flour because it provides the closest texture to gluten all-purpose flour. Because superfine flour is more condensed, you may need to use additional flour if substituting it with a different type of gluten free flour. A suggestion would be rice or sorghum blends. Just remember to check if your mix contains xanthan or other type of gum. If you use rice flour it most likely will not turn out gritty, as the dough sits for a couple of hours before frying. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy these donuts. If you prefer healthier, baked gluten free donuts, see the recipe links at the bottom of this page.

To make dairy-free and more, see the Substitution Page.

Gluten Free Donuts – Deep Fried

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Yield: Makes 10 donuts plus holes

Gluten Free Donuts – Deep Fried

Amazing gluten free donuts made with buttermilk or a rice milk and vinegar. Your gluten-eating friends will never know they're gluten free!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups Carla's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend recipe, plus more for dusting
  • 1/2 + 1/8 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter*, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk*
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Oil, for deep-frying
  • Sugar, cinnamon-sugar, or confectioners’ sugar, for rolling (optional)

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
  2. In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 4 minutes on high speed.
  3. Add the egg and mix until smooth. Slowly pour in the buttermilk, beating on medium-low speed. Stop the mixer and add the flour mixture all at once. Beat on low speed, increase to medium and mix until thoroughly combined.
  4. Place plastic wrap directly over the dough and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.
  5. Once the dough is almost chilled, preheat oil in a deep-fryer, electric skillet, or deep skillet with a thermometer to 375°F.
  6. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Dust the dough with flour and pat it out to 1/2-inch thick. Dip a 2-1/2-inch donut cutter into a container of flour. Cut several circles out of the dough. Using a paper towel, clean off any dough that sticks to the cutter and flour again, as needed.
  7. With a slotted metal spatula, transfer as many donuts that will comfortably fit in the fryer and cook for 2 minutes. Turn them over once, frying until golden brown on all sides. Lift each donut out of the oil, allowing excess oil to drain off. Transfer them to a plate lined with a few paper towels.
  8. While still warm, add them to a paper bag with sugar or cinnamon-sugar and shake to coat. You may also dust cooled donuts with confectioners’ sugar or eat them plain. Repeat with remaining dough.

Tips

If you do not have a donut cutter, use a similar-size biscuit cutter and a 1-1/8-inch cutter to create a hole. If you have neither, you can create 3/4-inch wide ropes of dough and pinch together to form 2-1/2-inch wide circles. To make cinnamon sugar, combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Sifting the flour creates lighter donuts. If you desire a traditional cake donut, do not not sift the dry ingredients, just whisk them.

See the substitutions page for dairy free and more:

You may also be interested in: Baked Sugar-Free Gluten-Free Chocolate Donuts or Baked Gluten Free Donuts.

7 Replies to “Gluten Free Donuts – Buttermilk – Deep Fried”

  1. Thanks for this recipe! So far as I can see, the instructions never mention putting in the vanilla that’s in the ingredients? (I presume it goes in before the flour)

    1. Justina,

      When using coconut sugar, try melting the sugar in the hot melted butter for about 5 minutes before adding it. This will help melt the course granules so they don’t appear so large in the donut’s texture. I hope this helps you.

      Carla

  2. I am trying these donuts for the 1st time. I mixed all the ingredients but there is no note on how the dough texture should be. I was wondering should it be creamy? mines is more of a cake texture, maybe a little thicker but not much.

    Thanks!

  3. Question from reader,

    “I did the donut deep fry , and they didn’t raise why?”

    Carla’s Answer:

    “I am assuming that are referring to this recipe: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-donuts-deep-fried/.

    The recipe for Deep-Fried Gluten Free Donuts does not contain yeast and should not rise. However, they should like the ones in the photo. They do puff up a bit when you fry them, though.

    Because this recipe calls for my recipe for all-purpose gluten-free flour, which contains “superfine” rice flour, I can only assume you used a different flour. Superfine rice flour bakes up similar to gluten flour, but cannot be substituted cup for cup with regular rice flour. Superfine rice flour is very condensed and fine.

    If this is not the case, and you did use superfine rice flour, please let me know, and I can further help you figure out what went wrong.”

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