Homemade Gluten Free Donut Recipe- Vegan and Refined Sugar Free Options

My kids have been asking me to make them donuts, and, though I haven't made them in a while, the other day I finally got around to making them again. The thing is, though, that I needed to find a recipe that would work for us- I had one recipe using chickpea flour which I haven't been using chickpeas since they bother our stomachs, and another one called for sweet potatoes which have been a fortune lately. I was aiming to take my terrific recipe using chickpea flour and tweak it to make it with the types of flours I have available in my house on a regular basis, and the donuts simply were terrific, and I've since made a few more batches.
What I like about this recipe especially is how versatile it is, you can make it with pretty much any sweetener you like (though I haven't tried with stevia), you can make it with or without eggs, etc... and now I discover that yes, you can make it with whatever gluten free all purpose flour mixture you prefer- I made it with a mix of green buckwheat, short grain and brown rices, and potato starch, but you can just as easily make it with store bought gluten free all purpose flour mix or homemade gluten free all purpose flour mix- it'll be great either way!

I thought these donuts were sweet enough on their own, but as an extra treat, we coated some with powdered sugar (put some in a bag, inserted one donut at a time, then shook around to coat) and made them even more delicious.

Homemade Gluten Free Donut Recipe- Vegan and Refined Sugar Free Options

Ingredients:
3/4 cup green buckwheat flour AND
3/4 cup short grain rice flour AND
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown rice flour AND
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon potato starch AND
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
OR 3 cups and 2 tablespoons total gluten free flour mix containing xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup warm water if using a liquid sweetener or 1 1/4 cup warm water if using granulated sugar
3/4 cup oil
1 cup date syrup, maple syrup, jaggery syrup or honey, or 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs or 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds mixed with 5 tablespoons boiling water
Oil for frying

Instructions:
1. Mix all the flours together as well as the xanthan gum, baking powder and salt.

2. Mix your sweetener with your oil and water and yeast and egg or egg substitute. If you're using a hard oil like coconut oil, first mix boiling water with your oil, wait until the oil melts, let the mixture cool down enough, then add everything else.

3. Add in the flour mixture, and mix well, until there are no clumps.

4. Cut a sheet of baking paper into 16 squares.

5. Wet your hands and take small balls of dough and put each onto a baking paper square, flattening it, then using your fingers to form a circle (I just stick my finger in and spread it out, widening the hole). If you want it to look more aesthetic, you can smooth out the dough so it looks prettier.

6. Let the donuts rise for twenty minutes.

7. Heat up your oil in a frying pan- don't skimp on the oil! I prefer to use refined coconut oil that I buy in bulk- it has a high smoke point. You need at least an inch of oil, ideally more, otherwise it won't be hot enough, high enough to cook the inside of the donut. Heat the oil until a hand placed above the oil can feel the heat radiating from the oil. To test its readiness, drop a tiny little ball of dough into the oil- if it immediately rises up, starts to sizzle,  and turns golden quickly, you know it is ready.

8. Drop in your pieces of parchment paper with your donuts on them into the oil, parchment paper down. Yes, I know it sounds funny, no, I'm not kidding, yes it actually really works well! Depending on the size of your pan you may be able to do 3 at a time or more- my large cast iron frying pan can do 6 at a time.

9. Let the donuts cook until they start browning nicely. If you are using a darker sweetener like date syrup, you might even think yours is starting to burn, because nicely browned of an already dark dough may look burnt and black to you, but it isn't burnt, just perfect. When browned, usually after 4 minutes, flip over and cook on the other side for another minute or two, or until the second side is also browned. When they're flipped and parchment paper up, remove the parchment paper- it isn't too hot to touch the parchment paper. If underneath the parchment paper, the donut isn't fully browned, flip it back over once more to cook that side, about a minute more.

10. Remove from the pan and place on a napkin or towel, real or disposable, to absorb excess oil.

11. Let cool fully before eating them.

12. If desired, frost or coat with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!


Are you a fan of donuts? Ever make them, or only buy them? What is your favorite donut variety?
If you're gluten free, ever made gluten free donuts before? What was in them?
Does this look like a recipe you'd try?