Sourdough Discard Apple Cider Donuts
Baked, not fried – a stack of these golden, cinnamon-sugar-crusted donuts is the fastest way to get real fall flavor onto the table without a pot of hot oil in sight. A quick stovetop reduction concentrates the apple cider into something that actually tastes like apple cider, and a cup of sourdough discard folds in a soft tang that plays beautifully against all that cinnamon sugar.
Everything happens in one bowl, one donut pan, and under an hour – no fermentation wait, no planning ahead required. Just a warm, buttery donut that tastes like the fair without leaving the kitchen.
Why You’ll Love It
- Real apple-cider flavor from a quick stovetop reduction, not just cinnamon and hope
- Baked in a donut pan – no hot oil, no frying mess
- A great way to use up sourdough discard that’s a few days old
- Ready start to finish in under an hour, no fermentation wait
- Warm, buttery, cinnamon-sugar coated – tastes like the fair without leaving the kitchen
Ingredients
Volume measurements are included for convenience, but they’re approximate – for the most consistent results, weigh your ingredients on a kitchen scale, especially the flour.
Donut Batter
- Apple cider (240 g / 1 cup): simmered down to concentrate the flavor before it goes in the batter
- All-purpose flour (300 g / 2½ cups)
- Granulated sugar (100 g / ½ cup)
- Baking powder (2 tsp): all the lift here – the discard is for flavor, not leavening
- Ground cinnamon (1 tsp)
- Ground nutmeg (½ tsp)
- Fine sea salt (½ tsp)
- Sourdough discard, unfed (240 g / 1 cup): a few days old is ideal for the best tang
- Large eggs (2)
- Buttermilk (120 g / ½ cup)
- Unsalted butter, melted and cooled (60 g / ¼ cup)
- Vanilla extract (1 tsp)
- Peeled, finely diced apple (150 g / 1 cup): Honeycrisp or Granny Smith hold their shape best
Cinnamon-Sugar Coating
- Unsalted butter, melted (85 g / 6 Tbsp): for brushing
- Granulated sugar (100 g / ½ cup)
- Ground cinnamon (2 tsp)
Equipment
- Donut pan (6-cavity, x2 or bake in batches)
- Small saucepan, for reducing the cider
- Piping bag or a large zip-top bag with a corner snipped off
- Kitchen scale
- Wire cooling rack
- Pastry brush
Sample Schedule (Same Day)
Same Day
- Reduce the cider and let it cool (~15 min)
- Mix batter, pipe into pan, bake (~25 min)
- Cool, butter, and coat in cinnamon sugar (~15 min)
- Serve warm
Sourdough Discard Apple Cider Donuts
Method
- In a small saucepan, simmer the 240 g (1 cup) apple cider over medium heat until reduced to about 90 g (⅓ cup), 10–12 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and generously grease a donut pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the sourdough discard, eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, and the cooled reduced cider until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together just until no streaks of flour remain – the batter will be thick. Fold in the diced apple.
- Spoon the batter into a piping bag (or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off), and pipe it into the donut cavities, filling each about ⅔ full.
- Bake for 11–13 minutes, until the tops spring back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the donuts out onto a wire rack.
- While still warm, brush each donut all over with melted butter.
- Stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow dish, then roll each buttered donut in the mixture until fully coated. Serve warm.
Notes
Save This Recipe
Get it emailed to you now, plus new recipes as they go up.
Your email is safe with me. I’ll send this recipe straight over. No spam, ever—and you can unsubscribe anytime.
How to Make It
1Reduce the cider. In a small saucepan, simmer the 240 g (1 cup) apple cider over medium heat until reduced to about 90 g (⅓ cup), 10-12 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
2Preheat and prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and generously grease a donut pan.
3Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
4Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the sourdough discard, eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, and the cooled reduced cider until smooth.
5Combine and fold in the apple. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together just until no streaks of flour remain – the batter will be thick. Fold in the diced apple.
6Pipe the batter. Spoon the batter into a piping bag (or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off), and pipe it into the donut cavities, filling each about ⅔ full.
7Bake. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the tops spring back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean.
8Cool briefly. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the donuts out onto a wire rack.
9Butter while warm. While still warm, brush each donut all over with melted butter.
10Coat and serve. Stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow dish, then roll each buttered donut in the mixture until fully coated. Serve warm.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- Discard strength: use discard that’s a few days old (not fed same-day) for the best tang.
- Don’t overmix: the batter is thick on purpose – mix just until combined so the donuts stay tender.
- Reduce the cider ahead: it keeps refrigerated a day in advance, which speeds up same-day baking.
- No donut pan: bake in a muffin tin for “donut hole” muffins instead; start checking 2-3 minutes earlier.
- Apple choice matters: firm, tart apples (Honeycrisp, Granny Smith) hold their shape; soft apples turn mushy in the batter.
How to Store
To store: keep in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days – the cinnamon-sugar coating softens as it sits, so they’re best the day they’re made.
To freeze: freeze the un-coated, un-buttered donuts up to 2 months; thaw, then butter and coat fresh before serving.
Nutrition
Per donut, based on 12 per batch. Estimated from the ingredients used – provided for convenience and not a substitute for a precise calculation.
195
Calories
32g
Carbs
4g
Protein
7g
Fat
1g
Fiber
160mg
Sodium
Desi’s Notes
I don’t have an orchard to walk to here in South Florida, so every fall I order a jug of good apple cider and make these instead – reducing it down on the stove is the trick that gets real apple-cider flavor into the batter instead of just cinnamon and hope.
Baking these instead of frying was a deliberate choice. I wanted something I could pull together on a Tuesday without babysitting a pot of hot oil, and a good donut pan gets you most of the way to that fried-donut experience with a fraction of the mess.
The discard doesn’t do any leavening work here – that’s all the baking powder – but it adds a soft tang that plays really well against all that cinnamon sugar.
Before You Bake
Scaling this recipe up or down? Run your numbers through the Sourdough Calculator. And if you want a printable reference for troubleshooting or timing, browse all six Printable Quicksheets.
Knead to Know?
New recipes, baking tips, and sourdough troubleshooting — delivered before your starter even finishes its next rise.
Get the latest insights, no spam — just new recipes and baking tips. Unsubscribe anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Tried this recipe? Leave a star rating below — it takes 10 seconds and helps other bakers decide what to make next.
Baked this recipe your way? Share it in Community Bakes and inspire other readers.