Baked Donuts filled with jelly are incredibly soft, airy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Just like our donut holes, this homemade donut recipe is easy and always gets rave reviews!
Donuts are the ultimate comfort food. The aroma from the oven and the little hint of jelly peeking out of the side make these irresistible. I am a sucker for classic home-baked treats like blueberry muffins or chocolate chip banana bread and these baked donuts do not disappoint!
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Baked Donut Recipe:
Baked donuts are cotton-candy soft and fluffy. I remember my Mother making apple piroshki (Russian fried doughnuts) after school and it is one of the food memories I will always treasure. Baked yeast donuts are even easier and is a tradition I’m continuing with my own family.
I’ll take one of these over a Krispy Kreme any day because they are way more satisfying – the perfect balance of fluffy center to sugar coated surface without the greasy mouth feel and my belly is always happier eating a homemade baked donut!
Is it Donuts or Doughnuts?
Which is the correct spelling? This is heated debate because donuts… mmm doughnuts! There’s even a National Donut Day and it’s the first Friday of June. It is the ultimate comfort food. The real question is – when were doughnuts invented? ‘Doughnut’ is the original old-school spelling but ‘donuts’ took off when Dunkin’ Donuts launched in 1950.
Most people will search for “donuts” online and it is the clear winner in popularity. The dictionary now recognizes ‘donut’ as a variant of doughnut so the word doughnut came first but both terms are technically correct.
Here’s our argument – old school doughnuts are deep fried, but these are new school baked donuts so we called them so.
Are Baked Donuts Healthy?
To put it delicately, baked donuts are the healthier option compared to traditional deep-fried donuts. They don’t leave you feeling as guilty about your choices. You only need 1 Tbsp of melted butter to coat all 12 donuts! Are donuts good for you? In the end, they are still sugar covered carbs… glorious carbs! Eat responsibly.
What is the Best Filling for Donuts?
We enjoy changing up the type of jelly in these baked donuts; strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, huckleberry,.. you name it! Whether you are using jam, preserves or jelly, pick one that is:
- Thick – a thick jelly won’t run out of the donut as easily
- Fairly Smooth – so the piping tip doesn’t get clogged
- Your favorite flavor – these are, after all, for you!
How to Make Cream Filled Donuts:
For a cream filling, you will need a stable, thick cream that won’t ooze out. The pastry cream from our eclairs is easy and excellent. Let the cream cool then fill the pastry bag fitted with a sharp tip and generously pipe into each donut.
For Cinnamon Sugar Donuts:
If you choose to omit the jam inside, you can add more flavor with a cinnamon sugar coating. In a small bowl, stir together and roll hot buttered donuts in this mixture:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Love Glazed Donuts?
We enjoy these without glaze but if you desire glazed donuts, you can skip brushing with butter and rolling in sugar. Once donuts are cool enough to handle, dip into this glaze mixture then place on racks until glaze hardens:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk or water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
More Classic Home-Baked Treats:
- Baklava – once you try homemade, there’s no going back
- Chocolate Chip Cookies – soft, moist and perfect
- Snowball Cookies are melt-in-your-mouth good
- Russian Tea Cookies – buttery and studded with walnuts
- Italian Cookies a chocolate filled sandwich cookie
How to Ensure Super Fluffy Donuts?
The correct balance of wet to dry ingredients is critical in any dough recipe. Be sure to measure the ingredients correctly. Stir your flour with a spoon then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup. Pushing a measuring cup into a flour bin can result in 25% more flour than is called for which will result in dense donuts.
Also, be sure to allow your dough to proof in a warm room (never more than 110˚F) or you will deactivate the yeast and the donuts will not rise properly.
Baked Donut Video Tutorial:
Watch Natasha make this easy and super fluffy baked donut recipe. P.S. There’s a guest star in this episode!
I hope this becomes your go-to baked donut recipe! They are irresistibly soft and there is nothing like warm homemade donuts.
Baked Donuts Filled with Jelly
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting*
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast, quick acting, (1 packet = 7 grams)
- 2/3 cup warm milk, 110˚F - microwave 35 sec.
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup jelly or jam, (no large fruit pieces)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar , to roll donuts
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant yeast and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Add warm milk, 3 Tbsp melted butter, 2 egg yolks and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and whisk vigorously to combine well.
- Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature 10 minutes, until some bubbles form on the surface.
- Add remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, adding just enough until dough holds together and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl (Add the last 2 Tbsp of flour only if needed) and knead in the bowl 5 minutes. If dough is really sticking to your hands, dust lightly with flour then continue kneading with clean dry hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 45 min or at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 375˚F with rack in the center of the oven.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll the dough out to just under 1/2” thick. Cut circles using a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. Re-roll scraps if needed to make 12 donuts total. Place donuts on prepared baking sheet, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 20 min or at room temperature 45 min, or until puffed. Bake uncovered in the center of a preheated oven at 375˚F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on top.
- Right out of the oven, brush a hot bun all over with remaining 1 Tbsp melted butter and roll in a bowl of sugar to coat lightly with sugar. Cut a deep slit in the side of each donut and pipe jam with a pastry bag into each one.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Enjoy your home-baked donuts and “Do-nut Worry, be Happy!” I couldn’t resist! 😉
Natasha, I would like to try these tomorrow. But can I omit the jelly? Maybe put in some more vanilla extract for the taste?
FYI, your recipes are allways so yummie. Thank you for sharing!
Greetings from Belgium
You sure can! I hope you love this recipe!
The only problem I allways have is the conversion to grams. I notice that this is why my cookies do not allways turn out just the way I like it.
The converter link on the page unfortunatly is not working so I have to use a calculator every time 😀
Hello Natacha, most of our new recipes can be converted to grams just click “Add to recipe” and click “Metrics” to covert it. Hope that helps!
Oh thanks for the tip. They were delicious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I tried this recipe today and it turned out wonderful!
However, I didn’t read the instructions properly resulting in me putting all the flour in at once at the start which is a result of not reading the ingredients properly!…
I just let the mixture rise for 45 minutes then I kneaded it in the bowl and then put it out onto a floured surface and went from there. Would these work if I put a hole in the middle for ring donuts?
Will definitely be trying these again!
Thanks!
That may work! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Have you ever made the recipe with letting the first rise in the fridge overnight? I’m trying to figure out how to make them for breakfast without getting up before the 🌞
Hi Lauren, I haven’t tried that, but if I did, I would refrigerate before the last rise then bring them back to room temperature and let them make that last rise on the counter before baking.
These turned out great! I used the glaze, but would probably do the melted butter/sugar option next time. Will definitely make again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
I love seeing your videos Natasha, I am from Ukraine living oil NY, all recipes look so good and easy. But few that I tried including donuts did not come out good. I followed this recipe exactly to the letter and was excited that dough looked so good. But donuts did not taste good and wasn’t fluffy as promised. I’m so upset I wasted time and did not impress my kids. I will not try anymore, too disappointed.
Hi Inna, I’m sorry to hear they didn’t work out for you. I’ll do my best to troubleshoot: If all else was the same (no substitutions and using all-purpose flour), the most likely culprit was in how the flour was measured. Stir your flour with a spoon then spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level off the top. Often if you push your measuring cup into the flour bin, you can get 25% too much flour. Also, make sure you are using a dry ingredient measuring cup that you can level off the top. Also, overheating the dough while rising could deactivate the yeast. Make sure the liquids and rising temperature never go above 110˚F maximum. I hope that helps to troubleshoot!
Followed recipe to the T. Added extra yeast as per other comments suggested due to the type I used and they turned out horrible yeasty and dry. Measured flour correctly as followed by the extra comments provided. Don’t get why they didn’t turn out. I am very disappointed and wont be using this recipe again
Hi Kay, I would highly recommend trying the recipe as written before making modifications. Modifications are often the culprit.
Hi, Natasha,
I made the donuts today and they are delicious! I used a whole egg instead of 2 yolks because I hate wasting the whites, and used 1 envelope of active yeast. The dough performed perfectly. I rolled in nonmelt powdered sugar instead of granular…like eating a cloud! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you for sharing that with me Linda! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi Natasha. My kids love donuts for breakfast so I was wondering if the dough could be made the night before?
Hi Sabrina, I haven’t tested them as make-ahead donuts but being a yeast dough, that should technically work. If I were to experiment making them as overnight donuts, I would place the rounds onto a prepared baking sheet, cover them and refrigerate before the last rise. Let them puff/rise the next day at room temperature before baking.
I only have active years and for you poof the yeast in the warm milk first it throw it all in
Hi Natasha,
Need your help here. Can we use active yeast in the packets? I don’t have the quick yeast like you call for .
Thanks
Hi CJ, I haven’t tested these with active dry yeast, but typically, when substituting with active dry, you would use 25% more active dry yeast and you would need to let it prove first in the warm 105˚F milk for 7 minutes or so. Mix the other dry ingredients together in step 1 (except for the yeast). Add warm milk to a bowl and sprinkle the top with yeast and let that sit for 7 minutes then add remaining wet ingredients and whisk together per the recipe. Here is an article that helps with understanding the various types of yeast and how to substitute.
Hey I was wondering can we fry these too instead of baking?
Hi Sara, we have only baked these particular donuts, but I suspect it would work well. If you test it out, please let me know how it goes
Hi so I fried 6 and baked 6. The fried ones were okay but they were a bit hard and too doughy (I have a feeling it’s because of the flour)
The baked ones didn’t come out right either. They didn’t rise properly and were dense not airy. What could be the reason behind this?
Hi Sara, it sounds like maybe they needed more time to rise. It could also mean that the yeast could have been either expired or gotten deactivated by overheating during the rising stage. Also, consider if there could have been too much flour added – make sure you measure like we suggest in the post. I hope that helps to troubleshoot.
Hi, I haven’t tried the recipe but these look delicious! All I have is active dry yeast. Would I be able to use that and add it to the liquid?
Thank you for posting your delicious recipes!!
Hi Melissa, I have always made these with instant yeast, but typically, when substituting with active dry, you would use 25% more active dry yeast and you would need to let it proof first in the warm milk for 7 minutes or so. Mix the other dry ingredients together in step 1 (except for the yeast). Add warm milk to a bowl and sprinkle the top with yeast and let that sit for 7 minutes then add remaining wet ingredients and whisk together per the recipe. Here is an article that helps with understanding the various types of yeast and how to substitute.
good day Natashia I would like to try tese dounuts. BUT with the cevents across the country and world it seems everyone is baking Having trouble finding yeast…… I have active yeast can you tell me exactly how much active yeast I need YOUR recipe calls for one pkg of yeast do I need 2 THankyou for your recipe and your help I follow your recipe WE enjoy them and your instruction thankyou again
Hi Darlene, I haven’t tested these with active dry yeast, but typically, when substituting with active dry, you would use 25% more active dry yeast and you would need to let it prove first in the warm 105˚F milk for 7 minutes or so. Mix the other dry ingredients together in step 1 (except for the yeast). Add warm milk to a bowl and sprinkle the top with yeast and let that sit for 7 minutes then add remaining wet ingredients and whisk together per the recipe. Here is an article that helps with understanding the various types of yeast and how to substitute.
How I do it with oat flour (no flour) for diabetics? Please
Hi, I honestly haven’t experimented with a different type of flour that is diabetic friendly so I can’t advise.
Also looking for gluten free adjustment. Did it work with oat flour??
Hiya ,
Due to the issue now I want to try this. Can I use plain flour instead of all purpose flour?
Thanks
Hi Mae, I’m not sure what you mean by plain flour. Typically it specifies all-purpose flour or bread flour. Most likely what you have is an all-purpose flour.
Thanks Natasha… 🙂
Here in Australia we got load type of flour. Recently My husband bought me plain flour. Tomorrow I am going to make this with my little one . I can’t wait!
Btw thanks alot for replying’) it’s feels like winning a lotto lol I am a big fans of you. Just love watching your videos .🙏🙏🥰
Hi! I made this once and loved it! But since i felt a tiny taste of yeast i was wondering if i could let it rise overnight. Usually it gives a depth of flavor and helps in this matter.
Thank you for now!
Thanks for the amazing recipe. Just have a question, is baking powder and yeast the same?
Hi Victoria, baking powder and yeast work very differently in recipes and most of the time can’t be substituted without other modifications. I haven’t tested this through with baking powder so I won’t be able to give recommendations for that.
What, if any, adjustments would be necessary to use this recipe in order to make jelly-filled donut holes using a cake-pop baking pan? Is it just a question of timing? Would it work at all? I know you have another recipe for Ponchiki, but I’m looking to stay with something more like a regular yeast donut, but without having to fry them. Thanks!
Hi, I honestly haven’t tested that, so I can’t make a timing recommendation. If you experiment, let me know how it goes. That sounds like a good idea!
Experiment:
1) Made the recipe using metric weights instead of imperial volumes.
2) Used a 1 1/8″ (approx 1 3/4 tsp) disher to place some of the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.
3) Used the same disher to place some of the dough into cake-pop molds.
Results:
1) The free-form donut holes on the sheet pan took about 6 minutes to cook at 375F.
2) The donut holes made in the cake-pop molds took about 12 minutes to cook (since the mold is covered) and were more uniformly shaped and colored.
3) I didn’t want to do the final brushing and rolling, so maybe that made some difference, but the final product, although delicious, tasted like dinner yeast rolls instead of donuts.
Thank you for sharing!
Update: Tried the brushing and rolling with one and it did taste a little more like a donut, but not what I was hoping for, in this case.
I tried and Followed the Recipe exactly using metric and measuring everything to the nearest grams. It Turned out exactly as yours. It is summer here in Mauritius, thus the dough rose nicely within the time mentioned. The doughnuts were tasty and perfect consistency, not dry at all. I would recommend this recipe.
Thank you for your great feedback! I am so glad that it turned out perfect and I’m sure this recipe is going to be one of your favorites.
Made the donuts today. I had no idea they would turn out so so good. My son declared i am the best chef in the world after eating this. Thankyou Natasha
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles.
Made the jelly donuts today,Awesome! I’d definitely will make them again. Super easy too!
Thanks for sharing that with you, Jeri!
Hi Natasha, I made these donuts but they unfortunately were super dry 😞 they puffed up and everything but I felt like I was eating those biscuits that you get from KFC 😝 I used the fleischmanns fast acting yeast, could that be why? I also figured it was going to be dry when I was kneading the dough. I used the measuring cups that you can level out and followed the recipe exactly. Was I supposed to use a regular measuring cup with a handle? HELP!
Hi, using a different type of yeast would definitely be the culprit since active dry yeast needs to be proofed in the warm liquid ingredients to activate it before adding the dry ingredients. Also, with baking, I suggest using a dry ingredient measuring cup and leveling off the top. If you push a measuring cup into a flour container or use a liquid measuring cup, you can get an inaccurate measurement of flour since it can be compacted. Here is more info on how we measure for baking.
Good afternoon.
Can I use active dry yeast? Would I follow the recipe as directed or should I add to the warm milk to activate?
Thanks!
Hi Kevin, I have always made these with instant yeast, but typically, when substituting with active dry, you would use 25% more active dry yeast and you would need to let it proof first in the warm milk for 7 minutes or so. Mix the other dry ingredients together in step 1 (except for the yeast). Add warm milk to a bowl and sprinkle the top with yeast and let that sit for 7 minutes then add remaining wet ingredients and whisk together per the recipe. Here is an article that helps with understanding the various types of yeast and how to substitute.
Excellent! Thank you so much! With the recent events, my grocery store is out of instant yeast. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Best, Kevin
Hi I’m curious to know if your substitute worked Kevin! I’m in the same boat, yeast is hard to come by and I only have dry active. Thanks!
@NatashasKitchen… I just made my these and they are AMAZING! Thank you!
@Kevin, @AshleighScott… I did not have any instant yeast, only active dry. I followed the Cook’s Illustrated substitution method:
To substitute active dry for instant (or rapid rise) yeast: Use 25 percent more active dry. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of instant yeast, use 1 1/4 teaspoons of active dry.
I had no issues using this method. NOTE: With this recipe it’s not necessary to dissolve the active dry in milk before use. Just replace the IY with ADY plus an extra 25%.
@Kevin… One more thing, I had the same issue, my oven will not go below 170º. A Baker friend gave me a great workaround that worked for me:
• Turn on your oven and start the preheating process for 3 MINUTES ONLY.
• Turn off the oven and turn on your oven light.
• Place your covered bowl in the oven to rise for 45 mins as per the recipe.
I’ll be damned, it worked like a charm. Give it a try!
Thank you so much for sharing that with us Jules!
Thank you so much Natasha! These were so good. I’m glad I read through the comments. I used active dry yeast and changed the amount to just under 3 tsp, let the yeast proof in the warm milk for 10 minutes then mixed everything together. I put the dough in the microwave to rise, it gets nice and warm in there with the door shut. It rose well. My only problem was MY impatience lol…I actually got 18 donuts out of this recipe…I wanted to try them so badly that I didn’t let the first 6 rise enough after cutting them out. I let them sit on the counter 45 minutes, but they really needed 90 minutes (winter here so the kitchen is a wee bit colder). The last 12, I let rise on the counter 90 minutes, they puffed up and turned out amazing. I’m going to try these with custard and dip them in chocolate like the Boston cream donuts next time. Thanks again for a great recipe and a really fun video! Wish I could attach a photo to show you! 🙂
Thank you so much for your detailed feedback and tips. You really have provided some useful information for others to refer to so I appreciate that. Love your review!
Can I use regular dry active yeast (not instant)?
Hi Cris, I have always made these with instant yeast, but typically, when substituting with active dry, you would use 25% more active dry yeast and you would need to let it proof first in the warm milk for 7 minutes or so. Mix the other dry ingredients together in step 1 (except for the yeast). Add warm milk to a bowl and sprinkle the top with yeast and let that sit for 7 minutes then add remaining wet ingredients and whisk together per the recipe. Here is an article that helps with understanding the various types of yeast and how to substitute.