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These Maple Glazed Sourdough Discard Donuts are soft, cake-like vanilla donuts topped with a maple glaze and finished with flaky salt. They are baked in a donut pan and are ready in just about 25 minutes, no frying or rise time required!
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After sharing my Baked Sourdough Chocolate Donuts, I had a lot of requests for a vanilla version. It took a few tries to get the glaze just right, but I finally landed on a maple glaze that is so good you could eat it with a spoon!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- No frying – Just like my Sourdough Mini Corn Dogs, these donuts are baked in the oven instead of fried in hot oil. This makes them quicker to make and easier to clean up.
- Ready in 20 minutes – From start to finish, these donuts are ready in 20 minutes, making them a quick, no-wait sourdough recipe.
- No yeast – These donuts are baked in a donut pan and are made with sourdough discard and baking powder. No yeast, kneading, or rising required!
Important ingredients and substitutions
- Sourdough discard – Discard adds moisture and a subtle depth of flavor to the donuts.
- Oil – I recommend using a neutral-flavored oil, such as vegetable, canola, coconut, mild baking olive oil, or avocado for this recipe.
- Maple syrup – For this recipe, you want to use pure maple syrup.
- Milk – I recommend using whole milk for this recipe. For a dairy free alternative, I recommend full-fat coconut milk for best texture although you can use almond or soy milk.
Find the full recipe with measurements in the recipe card.
How to make Maple Glazed Sourdough Discard Donuts
Step 1 – Wet ingredients
Preheat your oven to 375ºF (190°C) and grease your donut pan.
Whisk together the wet ingredients including the milk, sourdough discard, egg, vanilla and oil.
Step 2 – Dry ingredients
Once combined, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
Step 3 – Add batter to piping bag
Transfer the batter to a large Ziploc bag or piping bag, then cut a ½-inch opening from the tip.
Step 4 – Add to donut pan
Pipe the batter into each donut ring, filling each cavity about halfway. Overfilling will cause the batter to rise too high and fill the hole.
Step 5 – Bake
Place the donuts in the oven and bake for about 8 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness.
When the donuts are done, remove them from the donut pan and let them cool on a cooling rack.
Step 6 – Make the glaze
While the donuts are cooling, add the glaze ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. The glaze will be thick but it should be a consistency that is easily dippable. If it’s too thick, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Step 7 – Coat with the glaze
Dip the donuts one at a time in the glaze to coat and place back on the cooling rack to allow the icing to set. Immediately top with flaky salt or other toppings if using.
Step 8 – Enjoy!
Once cooled and the icing is set, the baked sourdough donuts are ready to enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t over-bake the donuts. This will dry them out and you’ll lose the soft, moist texture.
- Be sure the grease the pan well so the donuts don’t stick!
- Don’t overfill the cavities. Overfilling the donut could make the donuts lose their hole or bake too high. To avoid this, don’t fill the cavities more than halfway full.
How to store the baked sourdough donuts
To store the glazed sourdough discard donuts, you can keep them covered or in an airtight container on the counter for 2-3 days.
These sourdough donuts can also be frozen for 2 to 3 months. For best results, freeze them without the glaze. Place the donuts in a single layer on a pan and flash freeze until firm, then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. When you are ready to serve, let them thaw overnight, then add the glaze.
Flavor variations for sourdough discard donuts
If you’d like to try a different glaze, you could swap out the maple glaze for the chocolate icing found in the chocolate sourdough donuts. Or, if you want a vanilla glaze, you can mix together 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 3 tablespoons of water or milk, and a pinch of salt. You could also coat the donuts with a cinnamon and sugar mixture, or powdered sugar instead of adding a glaze.
Recipe FAQ
If your donuts are dry, they are likely overbaked. Use a toothpick to check for doneness and remove from the pan to cool.
If your donuts lost their holes there was likely too much batter in the pans. Don’t fill the cavities in the pan more than about halfway full to ensure they don’t bake too high and fill the hole.
Yes. After mixing the batter, cover and place it in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Just make sure to use double-acting baking powder.
Yes, either active starter or discard will work for these donuts.
More sourdough Desserts
Recipes with Sourdough Discard
The Best Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipes with Sourdough Discard
Baked Chocolate Sourdough Donut Recipe
Sourdough Dessert Recipes
Sourdough Chocolate Cake Recipe
Recipes with Sourdough Discard
Chocolate Chip Sourdough Scones
Tried this Glazed Sourdough Discard Donuts or another recipe from the site? I’d love to hear about it! Drop a star rating and share your thoughts in the comments—can’t wait to see what you’re baking!
Salted Maple Glazed Sourdough Discard Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
- 120 grams milk, ½ cup
- 60 grams sourdough discard, ¼ cup
- 1 large egg, 50 grams
- 30 grams neutral oil, 2 Tablespoons
- 10 grams vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons
- 140 grams all-purpose flour, 1 cup
- 100 grams granulated sugar, ½ cup
- 5 grams baking powder, 1 teaspoon
- 3 grams salt, ½ teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Maple Glaze
- 180 grams powdered sugar, 1½ cups
- 28 grams butter, melted, 2 Tablespoons
- 38 grams maple syrup, 2 Tablespoons
- 10 grams vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons
- 15-30 grams milk, 1-2 Tablespoons – until desired consistency
- ¼-½ teaspoon salt, add to taste
- pinch flaky salt, optional
Instructions
- Wet ingredients: Preheat your oven to 375ºF (190°C) and grease your donut pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.120 grams milk, 60 grams sourdough discard, 1 large egg, 30 grams neutral oil, 10 grams vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients: Once combined, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.140 grams all-purpose flour, 100 grams granulated sugar, 5 grams baking powder,3 grams salt, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Add batter to piping bag: Transfer the batter to a large Ziploc bag or piping bag, then cut a ½-inch opening from the tip.
- Add to donut pan: Pipe the batter into each donut ring, filling each cavity about halfway. Overfilling will cause the batter to rise too high and fill the hole.
- Bake: Place the donuts in the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. When the donuts are done, remove them from the donut pan and let them cool on a cooling rack.
- Make the glaze: While the donuts are cooling, add the glaze ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. The glaze will be thick but it should be a consistency that is easily dippable. If it's too thick, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until you reach the desired consistency.180 grams powdered sugar, 28 grams butter, melted, 38 grams maple syrup, 10 grams vanilla extract, 15-30 grams milk, ¼-½ teaspoon salt
- Coat with the glaze: Dip the donuts one at a time in the glaze to coat and place back on the cooling rack to allow the icing to set. Immediately top with flaky salt or other toppings if using.
- Once cooled and the icing is set, the baked sourdough donuts are ready to enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t over-bake the donuts. This will dry them out and you’ll lose the soft, moist texture.
- Be sure to grease the pan well so the donuts don’t stick!
- Don’t overfill the cavities. Overfilling the donut could make the donuts lose their hole or bake too high. To avoid this, don’t fill the cavities more than halfway full.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These salted maple glazed sourdough donuts are so yummy! They are so quick and easy and make a delicious treat.