Donut tell me these gluten free donut holes look too good to be true. See what I did there? Sorry I had to. For years I have been making “baked” gluten free donuts, but these my friends are the real deal. Finally a gluten free donut hole we can all eat and love.
Don’t get me wrong, the baked donuts are good. You can actually find my 2 recipes here and here. But they can lend themselves to be more cake-like, than donut-like. And if you want to make an easy “fried” donut hole and do almost now work at all, you can find that recipe here.
But with another year of school upon us and birthday celebrations beginning, I felt I needed to up my donut game. I think I have mentioned before that since my son was very young, I have always tried to match the birthday treats at school so that he can feel as included as possible. Don’t feel like you have to do this. It’s something that I have found works for me and can be somewhat rewarding. I have really been able to master and get comfortable with my gluten free baking and it allow my creative juices to flow.
So with the first birthday celebration treat being donut holes, I knew I wanted to do something more than a glazed cake ball.
I researched this so much because if you remember, due to my son’s other allergies he cannot have dairy, corn, tree nuts or raw eggs.
I really wrestled with the idea of using eggs since he can tolerate some baked eggs, but I worried that if these donut holes did not cook well in the middle we would have a problem and possibly an allergic reaction.
In this type of recipe, flax eggs or egg replacer just didn’t seem to be the right substitution. Believe me, I tried it. So I thought and thought and literally in the middle of the night it came to me. I would use Aquafaba!
Even though this concept has been around for years I have really only used Aquafaba to make my royal icing. I usually don’t bake with it. But I thought it would give me the perfect egg-like consistency to make this gluten free donut hole recipe perfection.
I am amazed with the results and you will be too. I haven’t had a real donut in years!! If I could only figure out a way to make chocolate long john frosting, I’ll be all set!
Pin it here–>
My Ingredients
I am also happy to report that you will not need to mix your own flour. This time I even tried something new. Since I have been having success with the King Arthur all purpose gluten free flour, I decided to try the King Arthur gluten free baking mix. This mix already contains xanthan gum (the all purpose does not) so it took some of the guess work out. I found this very helpful.
There are also many ways to make Aquafaba since it literally is just bean juice or “brine”. You can use chickpeas, lentil beans or white northern beans. I have found that the white northern bean brine has the least amount of flavor and smell, so those are my preferred beans. Once you separate the brine from the beans measure it, and in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, mix it alone for about 5-7 minutes on high. It will become frothy and seem like an egg-white gel.
If you would like to use eggs in this recipe, you will need 2. I can’t guarantee that your results will be the same since all measurements have been adjusted accordingly.
I also used “quick rise” Red Star yeast. Once you mix it with warm water, make sure you let it sit to foam for at least 10 minutes. all the other ingredients are pretty self explanatory.
My method
A few months ago I began to use a scale to measure my ingredients. I cannot tell you how much this has helped me in my baking. In addition, when I go back to make a recipe again, the results come out exactly the same because the measurement is exact. I own so many measuring spoons and I can honestly say without a doubt that they all measure slightly different and lend themselves to different results each time. Maybe I shouldn’t have so many? I don’t know, but the scale has become my preferred way to measure. Im fact, I will be updating some of my favorite recipes with measurements soon. Your results are going to be even better than before.
There are 2 things you can do with this dough. Making the recipe as is will result in a dough that can be molded into shapes, like an actual round donut. The donut holes however, might crack a little. For a perfectly smooth donut hole, add an additional 1/4 cup coconut milk to the batter. This dough will be stickier.
I debated about using my fryer to fry these donuts. But knowing that chicken tenders were on the menu this week made it seem so daunting to change the oil that I had just changed one time before. I was planning to use just a regular pan until I came across the copper chef square fry pan. You must get yourself one of these pans! It was amazing to use and so easy to clean. If you do not own any copper pans, you need to try them! This is the second one I own, I seriously love them both.
I also used a cooking thermometer to make sure my oil temperature was just right. I highly recommend this as well. It is so important to make sure your oil is the right temperature.
Be sure and measure the powder sugar before you sift it for the glaze. This will insure that you get the smoothest finish possible for your donut holes eliminating any white clumps. Also be sure and remove the glaze from heat immediately after mixing so that your glaze does not become too thick and you have enough to glaze all the donuts.
And after all of this, for the first time ever I have successfully made a real “fried” gluten free donut hole. And you will too!
Take a look over my shoulder to see how to make these step by step
I cannot wait for you to try this recipe and post your pictures and results in my Stay Gluten Free Community (it’s FREE to join, click here now). I absolutely love how we inspire each other to try new things. Join us, it’s so fun!
These donuts also freeze well. Simply put the extras already glazed in a freeze proof container wrapped in a ziplock freezer bag and thaw before eating.
You can also feel free to email me with questions or leave me a comment below. I love building relationships with you and hearing your stories.
Until next time, happy baking!
The post Gluten Free Donut Holes appeared first on Stayglutenfree.com
Gluten Free "Fried" Donut Holes
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1/2 cup Warm water
- 2 packages Quick rise yeast (I use Red Star and it equals 4 1/2 tsps)
- 680 g (5 1/2 cups) King Arthur's Gluten Free Baking Mix (this is approx one box)
- 6 tbsp Aquafaba (Bean brine from organic white northern beans)
- 90 g (1/2 cup) Organic cane sugar
- 110 g (1/2 cup) Spectrum Palm Shortening
- 1 cup Coconut Milk (room temperature)
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cups Canola or oil of choice for frying
Glaze
- 5 tbsp Earth Balance butter sticks
- 2 1/2 cups Organic Powdered Sugar measure before sifting
- 1/4 cup Coconut Milk I use So Delicious Original
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Donuts
- Add water and yeast together in small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. A foam should begin to form at the top.
- In stand mixer bowl with whisk attachment, whisk the aquafaba (bean brine) for about 5 minutes on high and a froth will form.
- Add the milk, sugar, salt, yeast mix, shortening and 1/2 of the flour.
- Turn the stand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Next add the rest of the flour and mix until combined. Remove bowl from stand mixer and continue to form the dough with your hands.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a couple of dish towels to keep the dough warm. Let the dough rest at least for one hour.
- When you are ready to fry your donuts. Preheat the oil in pan to 300-325 degrees. I use a cooking thermometer for this and I highly suggest it.
- Begin rolling dough into small balls and gently dropping them into the oil.
- Fry for about 2 minutes or until golden in color. The frying time is subjective because of your pan and how quickly the donuts will turn golden.
- Place them on a paper towel covered plate to drain excess oil.
- Allow them to cool completely before adding the glaze.
Glaze
- First melt the butter in a small sauce pan.
- Measure then sift the powdered sugar to remove any balls or clumps. It is important to measure the powdered sugar first.
- Add the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to the butter. Stir until smooth then remove from heat immediately.
- Dip and roll donut holes until completely covered.
- Place them on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet to dry. After they have quick dried, gently scoot them over onto a dry piece of parchment paper to continue drying the bottom.
- Once glaze has set, enjoy these amazing donut holes.
Notes
