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Potato Donuts

Potato Donuts (Spudnuts)

230kcal
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Prep 30 minutes
Cook 12 minutes
Total 3 hours 42 minutes
These traditional potato donuts—often fondly called "Spudnuts"—are incredibly light, pillowy, and tender. By replacing a portion of the flour with standard potato flakes, the dough traps significantly more moisture during frying, resulting in a melt-in-your-mouth interior that stays fresh far longer than ordinary yeast donuts.
Servings 12 Large Donuts
Cuisine American

Ingredients

The Potato Yeast Dough Matrix
  • 200 g Whole milk
  • 40 g Unflavored instant potato flakes (Or mashed potato)
  • 6 g Dry instant yeast
  • 2 Large eggs (Room temperature)
  • 450 g Bread flour
  • 60 g Granulated sugar
  • 7 g Salt
  • 60 g Unsalted butter (Softened completely to room temperature)
  • Vegetable or canola oil (Designated strictly for deep frying)
The Simple Vanilla Dip Glaze
  • 2 cups Powdered sugar
  • 4 tbsp Whole milk (Warm)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract

Equipment

Method

Flake Hydration & High-Speed Kneading
  1. 8:00 AM: In your stand mixer bowl, warm the 200g of whole milk until lukewarm. Stir in the 40g of instant potato flakes and let them sit for 3 minutes to hydrate into a thick paste.
  2. Whisk the 6g of dry instant yeast, 60g of sugar, and 2 large eggs directly into the potato paste until completely smooth.
  3. Dump all 450g of bread flour on top of the liquid base. Attach your dough hook and mix on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes until a shaggy, cohesive dough starts to form.
  4. Sprinkle in the 7g of salt and continue mixing for 2 minutes until the dough builds enough strength to form a ball around the hook.
  5. Increase your mixer speed to medium-high and begin adding the 60g of soft butter a tablespoon at a time. Knead intensely for 10 to 12 minutes. The dough will look incredibly sticky at first due to the potato starches, but it will soon pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl, becoming smooth and glossy.
  6. Cover the bowl tightly and let the dough proof for 1.5 hours in a warm, draft-free spot at 78–84°F (26–29°C) until it completely doubles in volume.
Rolling, Stamping, and Shaped Proofing
  1. 7. 9:45 AM: Gently turn your expanded dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
  2. 8. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out evenly from the center until it reaches a thickness of exactly 1/2 inch.
  3. 9. Dust a donut cutter with flour and stamp out your donuts as closely together as possible to minimize scraps. (Gather any remaining dough scraps gently, let them rest for 10 minutes, and roll them out again to stamp the remaining portions).
  4. 10. Arrange the shaped donuts and donut holes neatly onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of space between them. Cover loosely with a clean towel and let them proof a second time for 1 to 1.5 hours until they look beautifully puffy and fragile.
Precision Frying & Glaze Finishing
  1. 11. Pour your frying vegetable oil into a deep fryer or heavy Dutch oven and heat it steadily until it registers exactly 360°F (182°C) on a kitchen thermometer.
  2. 12. The Glaze: While the oil heats, whisk together the 2 cups of powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons of warm milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract in a shallow bowl until a sleek, pourable glaze forms.
  3. 13. Carefully lower 2 or 3 proofed donuts into the hot oil. Fry for exactly 1 minute until the bottom is a beautiful golden brown, flip them over gently using a slotted spoon or chopstick, and fry for another 1 minute on the opposite side.
  4. 14. Lift the donuts out of the oil and drain them immediately on a wire rack set over paper towels.
  5. 15. While the donuts are still warm, dip the top half of each pastry straight into the vanilla glaze, letting the excess drip down cleanly before serving.

Nutrition

Calories230kcalCarbohydrates57gProtein7gFat6gSaturated Fat3gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat2gTrans Fat0.2gCholesterol42mgSodium65mgPotassium132mgFiber1gSugar6gVitamin A202IUVitamin C3mgCalcium40mgIron1mg

Notes

  • The Chemistry of the Spudnut Crumb: Incorporating potato flakes completely transforms the interior structure of traditional fried dough. Because potato starches absorb and hold significantly more water than standard wheat flour, they keep the gluten network from drying out under high heat. This results in an incredibly moist, melt-in-your-mouth interior that resists staling much better than ordinary pastries.
  • Why Temperature Control is Absolute: Frying donuts requires strict heat management. If your oil drops below 350°F (177°C), the enriched dough will absorb the grease like a sponge, leaving you with heavy, oily donuts. If the oil runs hotter than 375°F (190°C), the exterior sugars will scorch quickly, leaving you with a burnt crust and a raw, doughy center.
  • Handling Sticky Potato Dough: Do not get discouraged if the dough looks unmanageably sticky during the first few minutes of adding the butter. Potato starches take slightly longer to fully bind with fats under mechanical friction. Resist the urge to dump in cups of extra flour; simply keep your mixer running on medium-high speed, and the dough will cleanly clear the sides of the bowl by the 10-minute mark.
  • Using Real Leftover Mashed Potatoes: If you don't have instant potato flakes on hand, you can substitute them by using real, leftover mashed potatoes. Simply replace the 40g of dry flakes and 200g of whole milk with 200g of fully cooled, plain mashed potatoes mixed with roughly 80g of milk. Ensure the mashed potatoes are completely smooth and free of any lumps, butter, garlic, or salt seasonings.

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