These lightly spiced Sourdough Baked Cranberry Orange Donuts are made with an enriched dough and include about 15% whole grain spelt flour. They are baked, not deep fried, and make a unique treat for the Holidays or any special occasion.
Pat chose Baked Current Doughnuts as the bread of the month for the Bread Baking Babes. I decided to convert mine to sourdough and make them festive by using dried cranberries and grated orange zest instead of currants.
The original (all white flour and yeasted) version of this recipe claimed the donuts tasted best warm from the oven. Mine ended up a little crunchier on the bottom than I had anticipated so I initially thought I had baked them too long and this had negatively affected the consistency.
However, after wrapping them in foil and letting them sit overnight, I reheated a couple (in the microwave) the next day. I enjoyed the taste and texture! It seems, the flavors just needed time to mingle.
I am pleased with the results of this baked donut experiment. The inclusion of sourdough seems to provide good keeping quality which means they can be enjoyed for several days.
Since I rolled my donuts and donut holes in powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar, they remind me of the Sourdough Spelt Stollen I made a few years ago. And like Stollen, these donuts taste even better the next day.
So if you are looking for a festive Holiday treat that isn’t your typical Holiday bread, these donuts just might fit the bill.
Sourdough Baked Cranberry Orange Donuts
- Yield: 12 Donuts and Holes 1x
Description
These lightly spiced Sourdough Baked Cranberry Orange Donuts are made with an enriched dough and make a nice treat for Holidays or any special occasion.
Ingredients
- 100 grams / 1/3 cup + 1 tsp sourdough starter, fed and active
- 155 grams / 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 60 grams / 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 300 grams / 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour (plus add’l 1/4 cup in 1 tablespoon increments during mixing, if needed, and more for sprinkling)
- 70 grams whole grain spelt flour
- 3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2–3 Tbsp grated orange zest (medium to large orange)
- 160 grams / 3/4 cup milk, warmed
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- 114 grams / 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened, plus 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 12 grams / 2 tsp sea salt
- Additional granulated or powdered sugar for rolling
- Oil, for greasing, if desired (I used parchment paper to line the baking sheets)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, cover cranberries with hot water and let stand until softened, 20 minutes.
- In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, combine flours, nutmeg, and cinnamon with 1/4 cup of sugar. Add milk, egg, egg yolk and half of softened butter; beat at low speed for 3 minutes. Mix in sourdough, then add salt. Beat dough at medium speed until soft and silky, about 8 minutes; the dough should pull cleanly away from bowl. Add in additional flour as necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- With machine on, add remaining softened butter to dough in walnut-sized lumps, beating at low speed between additions until incorporated.
- Add the orange zest. Drain cranberries, pressing out any excess water. Add to dough and beat in at low speed. The dough will probably be sticky at this point. Try not to add anymore flour at this point. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Transfer dough to a large bowl. Cover and let for 45 minutes. Stretch and fold the dough, form into a ball, and place back in the bowl. Repeat the 45 minute rest, then stretch and fold 3 more times for a total of 3 hours. Perform the stretch and folds on a lightly floured surface.
- Let the dough rest on the counter at warm room temperature for an additional 2 -3 hours. Then cover tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up to room temperature for 1-2 hours. Grease or line two baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and arrange six balls on each prepared baking sheet, smooth side up. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Using lightly floured hands, press each ball into a flat 4-inch disc. Using a 1 1/4-inch round cutter stamp out center of each disc. Return holes to baking sheets. There will be six donuts and six donut holes on each sheet.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour, until risen slightly.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position racks in upper and lower thirds. Bake donuts and holes for 25 minutes, shifting pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking time. Donuts are done when they are golden and puffy and when the internal temperature at thickest part registers 200 degrees F.
- Spread sugar in a shallow bowl. Brush hot donuts and holes on both sides with melted butter and dredge them in sugar. Transfer to a serving dish and serve at once.
Notes
adapted from a recipe by Robert Jorin, of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, NY
- Category: Baked Donuts
Would you like to make Baked Donuts with us this month? Check out Elle Baker’s information on how to participate in the monthly bake.
And check out the baked donuts the other Bread Baking Babes’ made:
- Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
- Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
- A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
- Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
- My Kitchen in Half Cups – Tanna
- Feeding My Enthusiasms – Pat
- Bread Experience – Cathy
Happy Baking!
Cathy
I actually think the powdered sugar is better looking. Love your cranberry and orange flavors!
Thanks Karen! The cranberry and orange flavors worked really well in these donuts.
Love your flavor combination! I tried both fine sugar and powdered and I liked the powdered best, thanks for putting the idea in my head!
Glad to know that my not paying attention to the instructions paid off. Lol…
Mmmmm, orange and cranberry! What a lovely combination.
You are braver than I. I have been terrified of using sourdough starter with all that butter and sugar. And yet look how beautifully your doughnuts turned out! I really like the powdered sugar on the outside too.
Thanks Elizabeth! This particular recipe was easy to convert to sourdough and it worked really well even with the enriched dough.
That’s good to know, Cathy. Next time, I’ll give it a try with sourdough.
You have genius! These are beauties. The cranberry orange is just a natural and so fitting the season. Powdered sugar is always a winner.
Thank you Tanna! These are a keeper for sure.
I love orange and cranberry together. My favorite Christmas flavors. And the even look festive!
This is one of my favorite flavor combinations as well.