Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts (Baked)

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These delicious baked sourdough apple cider donuts are sure to be your next favorite sweet fall treat! Made from scratch with apple cider reduction for an intense apple flavor, warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of cardamon, and held together with a sourdough starter discard dough, these donuts are easy to make and taste delicious.  

It’s the time of the year when the air shifts yet again. The leaves on the trees begin to turn color and fall, and the cadence of fall routines takes shape again. Years ago when my kids were little, we would throw the wagon in the back of the minivan and drive out of town to a small apple orchard for an afternoon of apple picking. The kids ate their fill in the orchards and I captured pictures of their sun-kissed faces as they frolicked down the lanes, giggling as they went with a half-eaten apple in hand.

While the days of picking apples at the orchard with my little kids are past, we still prioritize gathering apples. However, these days all we have to do is walk out to our backyard with a bucket and a ladder. With so many apples, there’s plenty to enjoy eating fresh and baking apple crisps and breads. In addition, I roll up my sleeves and get to work to preserve jelly, applesauce, apple pie filling, and apple butter for the pantry shelves.

Why You’ll Love These Sourdough Donuts

• Adding sourdough starter discard not only reduces food waste but also makes the best-tasting baked goods with all of the sourdough goodness. 
• Homemade apple cider doughnuts are baked in doughnut pans for a healthier option compared to the deep-fried version.  
• No donut pan? No problem! Bake the donut batter in a mini muffin pan instead for donut holes. 
• The apple cider reduction highlights the apple cider flavor resulting in deliciously sweet donuts. 

​What’s the Difference Between Apple Cider and Apple Juice? 

Both apple juice and apple cider come from apples, however, the main difference between the two is the amount of processing that they both go through.

Apple cider is fresh, unfiltered juice from apples that hasn’t been pasteurized. It has an intense, fresh apple flavor with a short list of ingredients. Because it hasn’t been pasteurized, it’s always found in the refrigerated section in grocery stores.

All apple juice begins with the juice of apples. However, a majority of apple juice producers remove the water content to create a concentrate. The fiber and natural pectin found in apples are also filtered out during this process. Why go through this unnecessary step? Because creating a concentrate makes for a cost-efficient way to store and transport apple juice. Then, when it’s time to make apple juice, water is added back to the concentrate, along with other additives. The apple juice is then pasteurized, resulting in a smooth, shelf-stable product. 

Like all things, there is a spectrum of quality to goods and you’re able to find some apple juice brands that are the real deal and aren’t from concentrate.

How To Make Apple Cider Concentrate

Making apple cider concentrate at home couldn’t be easier! While you can buy it, you can also make it with a bit of foresight and patience. Pour 1 1/2 cups of apple cider into a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat. Reduce apple cider for 10 to 20 minutes or until you have roughly 1/2 cup. The concentrate will be thick and syrupy and utterly delicious.

Pour reduced cider into a mason jar to cool. Use in your favorite recipe or refrigerate in an airtight container for later use.

Homemade Apple Cider Donuts Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• Flour – All-purpose flour gives these donuts just the right amount of texture. Use unbleached and organic flour if you can. 
• Baking soda and baking powder – Provides the needed lift to create a light and fluffy donut.
• Salt – Adds flavor to baked goods.
• Spices: Cardamon, cinnamon, and nutmeg are besties with apples because they complement one another so well.  

Wet Ingredients

• Apple cider concentrate – Cook down apple cider to reduce the water content, leaving behind concentrated sweetness and apple flavor.
• Butter – Melt unsalted butter and allow to cool slightly before combing it with the other wet ingredients. 
• Egg – Use room-temperature eggs for easy mixing. 
• Sugars: The apple cider donuts recipe calls for brown sugar and granulated sugar for the best of both worlds. Brown sugar creates a caramel undertone and white granulated sugar helps the final donut to have that crisp exterior.
• Milk – I suggest using whole milk for the most flavor. 
• Vanilla Extract – Use homemade vanilla extract or store-bought to add beautiful vanilla flavor. 
• Sourdough Starter – No need to wait for an active sourdough starter to rise, these homemade donuts use sourdough discard. 

How to Make Homemade Apple Cider Doughnuts

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease the donut pans with spray oil. 

Mix the Sourdough Doughnut Batter

Combine 28g (2 tbsp)  melted butter, 100 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar, and 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar in a large bowl. Next, add 1 large egg, 60 g (1/4 cup) whole milk, concentrated apple cider, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 125g (1/2 cup) sourdough discard. 

Next, in a separate bowl add 220 g (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and a pinch of cardamon and stir to combine. 

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and fold in until just combined. 

Fill the Donut Pans

Piping the donut batter into the donut pans is easier and neater than spooning it in.

Add the batter to a piping bag or a large plastic storage bag with the end snipped off. Fill the pans halfway full of doughnut batter.

Bake and Coat

Place the donuts into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. 

While the donuts are baking, make the cinnamon sugar mixture. Combine 1 tsp of cinnamon and 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar in a small bowl. 

When the timer has gone off, check to see if the donuts are done by inserting a toothpick into the center of a donut. If it comes out clean, they’re done. Also, the donuts will spring back when lightly poked with your finger.

Remove them from the oven and allow them to sit in the pan to cool for 2 minutes. 

Gently lift the donuts out using the edge of a butter knife or spatula and place them on a wire rack. 

Coat each side of the donuts with cinnamon and sugar while they’re still warm. The moisture from warm donuts will help the sugar mixture stick to the donuts.

Move the coated donuts back to the wire rack to finish cooling.  

Storage

Baked sourdough doughnuts are always best the day they’re baked. If you do have leftovers, wait for them to cool to room temperature and place them in an airtight container. For best results, enjoy them within 2-3 days. 

I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and rate the recipe!