Bake Fresh Homemade Doughnuts Using Simple Recipes

Many of the “national” holidays centered around food don’t have a meaningful history. A lot of them are just pulled out of the air. They’re created from nothing, and marketed really well. The next thing you know, they’re national holidays, right? Whelp, that’s not the case with National Doughnut day! Before you dive into making your own fresh homemade doughnuts with one of November Sunflower’s favorite scratch baking recipes below, let’s explore how National Doughnut Day, or National Donut Day if you prefer, became “a thing”.

A little history before you make your own Fresh Homemade Doughnuts

It all started in Chicago to honor the Donut Lassies from World War I as well as create a fundraiser to help those in need during The Great Depression. Back during the war, thousands of soldiers lined up at field bases where women handed out not just essentials, but also a baked treat…. the doughnut. It might sound trivial to many people all these years later, but if you have served in the military in foreign countries, having a little taste of home gave them a morale boost. Lassies and the donuts they handed out were loved by the soldiers, and to honor these courageous ladies, The Salvation Army chose to create a fundraising program in 1938 and National Doughnut Day was born.

Nowadays, to celebrate the day, many donut places offer free donuts to patrons to celebrate the day. Many don’t even realize the history behind the day, and that’s okay. Free donuts are awesome, and if you are able to snag one, go for it. I’m always down for a coffee and donut from my favorite local bakeries, cafes, and even Dunkin! But, there’s really nothing like a fresh homemade donut made in my own kitchen. Which scratch baking doughnut recipes do I love? Let’s get to it and check out my donut recipe collection!

Scratch Made Fresh Donut Recipe Collection

I love donuts. It’s one of the few baked items I reach for over-and-over. Glazed. Boston Cream. Chocolate. French Cruller. WHAT is not to love? My kids love powdered doughnuts, along with Boston Creams, and chocolate glazed. I’m exploring a ton of different recipes below.

Yeast Dough Recipe

Classic yeast doughnuts are fairly simple to bake at home. What I love about this recipe is the fact that you can top them a few different ways. If you love powdered sugar, chocolate glaze, or cinnamon sugar on your homemade donuts, start with a solid classic yeast dough. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can create any topping, and if you master the baking process, you can start doing fillings with this recipe from Joy the Baker!

Doughnut Dough Recipe

BBC Good Food has a killer doughnut dough recipe, and I love it because it gives you options for swapping certain parts out when you scroll down to the bottom of the recipe. To go with the donut recipe, there’s also a custard filling recipe that’s my go-to! It’s great for your homemade Boston Creams, or Powered Sugar custard-filled donuts. YUM.

Simple Sugar Donuts

I don’t think there’s a more simple donut recipe out there than Let the Baking Begin’s simple sugar donuts.

NO YEAST Homemade Cake Donuts

If you’re more into cake donuts, no worries. I feel you. It’s less sweet, and one of the best breakfast doughnuts! Coffee + cake donut + peace & quiet = best morning ever! If you make your donuts at home, you’ll love both Yummy Tummy’s Easy Glazed Cake Donut recipe, and Bigger Bolder Baking’s No Yeast Homemade Donuts recipe.

Gluten Free Donuts

Recently, I had to cut gluten out of my diet to help repair my gut. It’s hard to find gluten free anything, let alone good donuts! It’s a struggle, so if that’s the case for you, head to The Loopy Whisk’s gluten-free donut recipe. If you’re not down for her take on donuts, head to Seasonal Cravings and check out her gluten free flour donut recipe.

Start with a Good Base and Build onto It

The key to crowd pleasing fresh homemade doughnuts: solid base recipes. Find your favorite yeast-based recipe, as well as a classic cake recipe, and a tasty gluten-free recipe – and build onto them with great fillings, and toppings. All of these can also be used to make the popular donut holes, too! Now go celebrate the donut, and bake your heart out today (and every day).