Gingerbread Sourdough Donuts

4.85 from 19 votes

Gingerbread Sourdough Donuts

These gingerbread sourdough donuts are glazed with the most delicious salted caramel, making them the ultimate holiday treat. I can guarantee these will make your whole house smell like Christmas!

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Proofing Time1 6 30

Total Time1 8

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Donuts, Doughnuts, Gingerbread, Holiday recipe, Sourdough

Servings: doughnuts

Calories: 442kcal

Author: Elise

Equipment

Digital scale
Stand mixer
Brød & Taylor proofer box (optional, but recommended)
Parchment paper cut into 5in/12cm squares
3 cm cookie cutter
Dutch oven or Heavy-bottomed pot
Metal slotted spoon
Candy/oil thermometer

Ingredients

Stiff Levain

38 g active sourdough starter white, 100% hydration
38 g water
76 g bread flour

Main Dough

390 g bread flour or 50/50 bread flour/all purpose
75 grams sugar
7 grams salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
⅛ tsp ground cloves
110-140 g whole milk cold
100 g eggs Approx. 2 eggs
152 g stiff levain
75 grams unsalted butter room temperature, cubed

Caramel Glaze

200 g sugar
75 g water
100 g unsalted butter room temperature, cubed
200 g whipping cream room temperature
1 tsp sea salt

Other

2 litre frying oil
crushed gingerbread cookies optional

Instructions

Stiff Levain

Mix sourdough starter, water, and flour in a bowl. Cover the bowl and proof at around 78°F/26°C for 8-10 hours, until at least doubled in size.
38 g active sourdough starter, 38 g water, 76 g bread flour

Main Dough

Add all the ingredients except butter to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead into a shaggy dough (this should only take 1-2 minutes.) Cover, and rest/autolyse for 30 minutes.
390 g bread flour, 75 grams sugar, 7 grams salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, ⅛ tsp ground cloves, 110-140 g whole milk, 100 g eggs, 152 g stiff levain
After the autolyse, continue mixing for 5-10 minutes until the dough starts to let go of the sides of the bowl.
After 5-10 minutes, you can slowly start to add cubed, softened butter. When all the butter is added, scrape down the sides of your bowl and continue mixing at medium speed for 10-25 minutes. Do the window-pane test to check if your dough is ready. Mixing time may vary depending on your mixer.
75 grams unsalted butter
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover, and proof in a warm spot (75-78°F/24-26°C) for 6 hours. If you don't own a dough proofer, you can keep the dough in the oven with the light turned on and the oven door slightly open.
After 6 hours, place the dough in the fridge and cold-proof for 6-8 hours.

Shape

Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces (60g each) and roll into seamless rounds. Place the shaped donuts on baking trays lined with floured parchment paper cut into 5in/12cm squares. The parchment paper pieces are for easier transfer into the hot frying oil later on. Loosely cover the trays with plastic wrap.
Place the baking trays in the oven with the light turned on and the door slightly open. You want the temperature to be around 78°F/26°C. You can also use a proofer box if you own one. Proof the donuts for about 10-14 hours or until they've doubled in size.

Caramel Glaze

To make the caramel glaze, add sugar and water to a stainless steel pot. Bring it to a boil over medium heat. Avoid stirring at this step, or the sugar may crystallize, which will turn the caramel a little grainy.
200 g sugar, 75 g water
Let the sugar and water mixture boil over medium heat, without stirring, until the mixture turns light golden (like honey.) If you want to, you can gently swirl the pan, and use a wet heatproof pastry brush to wash down the sides of the pot to prevent the sugar crystals from burning on the sides. For me, this step took 6 minutes. Keep an eye on the caramel at all times.
When the mixture is lightly golden, turn down the heat to a minimum and add the cubed butter. Now you can stir, so grab a silicone spatula or whisk and combine.
100 g unsalted butter
Add whipping cream a little at a time, and stir between additions. When you have added all the cream, allow the caramel to boil for approximately 1 minute.
200 g whipping cream
Next, take the pot off the heat and stir in salt. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool (at room temperature.)
1 tsp sea salt

Fry The Donuts

Once the donuts have doubled in size, use a floured 1.2 inch/3 cm cookie cutter or the back of a large piping tip to remove the centers of each donut (see pictures above for reference.) You can fry the donut holes as well and fill them with leftover caramel.
Pour oil into a Dutch Oven or heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat. Heat the oil to 180°C-185°C/355°F-365°F. Use a thermometer to manage the temperature.
2 litre frying oil
Carefully lower the doughnuts into the hot oil and fry them for about 1.5 minutes on each side. You want the top side of the dough pieces to hit the oil first.
Remove from oil with a metal slotted spoon and transfer to a cooling rack lined with paper towels.
Repeat on all remaining donuts and donut holes.

Assembly

Dip each donut into the caramel glaze and top with optional crushed gingerbread cookies.

Notes

Nutritional analysis per serving (15 servings) Disclosure: The nutrition facts are automatically calculated. I can not guarantee the accuracy of the data. Please don’t consider it a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Nutrition