How to Make Super Soft and Fluffy Sugar Glazed Doughnuts | Fried or Baked

There’s only one way to make doughnuts even softer and fluffier and that is by scalding some of the flour. Scalding is a technique used to not only make bread softer, but also to make it stay soft for longer. You can use it for pretty much any recipe you like.

I’ve posted doughnut recipes before but this one takes it to the next level. It is the softest yet while being the easiest to make since it does not require any kneading. We’re also filling these doughnuts with lemon curd and glazing them with sugar. Throwing all the tricks at this one!

You can of course customize your doughnuts and fill them with your favourite fillings and choose to glaze them or not or coat them in sugar or leave them naked. You can even choose whether to fry or bake them as I will show you both ways. Spoiler: the fried ones are way softer and lighter than the baked ones.

This recipe makes 12 doughnuts. To make more simply multiply all the ingredients.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the scald –

60g (2.1oz) white bread flour

30g (1oz) butter

5g (0.17oz) salt

30g (1oz) sugar

6g (0.21oz) vanilla paste

145g (5.1oz) boiling water

For the main dough –

240g (8.45oz) white bread flour

1 egg (50g; 1.75oz)

3g (0.1oz) instant dry yeast or 3.6g (0.12oz) active dry yeast or 9g (0.31oz) fresh yeast

Neutral oil for frying

For the lemon curd –

100g (3.5oz) lemon juice

4 eggs (200g; 7oz)

100g (3.5oz) cold butter cut into cubes

100g (3.5oz) sugar

20g (0.7oz) corn starch

For the sugar glaze –

250g (8.8oz) icing sugar

1g (0.03oz) salt

5g (0.17oz) vanilla paste

80g (2.8oz) milk

The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration. 

If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.

If you are curious about why the dough contains butter, egg, and sugar, click the links to learn more about the effects those ingredients have on bread dough.

Method

1. Make the curd. Combine the sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, and eggs in a pan and set on medium-high heat. Cook whisking constantly until the mix becomes thick. It will take around 5 – 7 minutes. Take it off the heat and whisk in the butter in two batches. Cover and leave to cool down in the fridge.
2. Make the scald. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, butter, vanilla paste, and boiling water. Whisk until smooth. Leave to cool down. We are aiming for a final dough temperature of 24C – 25C (75F – 77F), so let the scald cool to that temperature. It will take a couple of hours depending on the temperature of the room. I left mine overnight and it was a bit cooler, so my dough temperature ended up being lower.
3. Make the dough. Add the yeast and egg to the scald. Whisk until smooth. Add the flour and mix to a dough.
4. Cover and ferment for 30 minutes.
5. Fold #1.
6. Ferment for 30 minutes.
7. Fold #2.
8. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Pre-shape lightly and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
9. Final shape and place on greased trays to prevent the dough from sticking.
10. Final proof 1.5 hours.
11. Fry the doughnuts at 160C (320F) for 5 minutes in total. Or bake the doughnuts at 160C (320F) with the fan on for 20 minutes.
12. Leave to cool down completely.
13. Poke a hole in each doughnut and fill with the lemon curd.
14. Make the sugar glaze by mixing all ingredients until smooth. Coat each doughnut in the sugar glaze and leave to set on a rack.

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.