Yeast doughnut dough calculator
American yeast doughnuts: a milk and egg dough, fried at 175 °C and glazed while still warm.
Total hydration counts the water inside the eggs, milk and butter.
American glazed yeast doughnuts on King Arthur’s formula: a sweet milk-and-egg dough with a whisper of nutmeg, ring-cut and fried at 175 °C, then glazed or sugared as you like. The diner classic, weighed to the gram.
How it works
The dough
Milk 63%, sugar 14%, butter 8%, egg 14%, salt 0.8% and 1.7% instant yeast — plus the source’s quarter-teaspoon of nutmeg, the smell every American doughnut shop shares. A soft dough, kneaded smooth and bulked 1½–2 hours until doubled.
Cut and proof
Roll to about 6 mm (a quarter inch), cut rings (~45 g with their holes), and proof 30–60 minutes until nearly doubled and light to the touch. Underproofed rings fry dense; overproofed ones collapse when lifted — move them on floured parchment squares to be safe.
Fry and glaze
Neutral oil at 175 °C, about a minute per side, flipping once — the pale ring around the middle shows the proof was right. Drain briefly, then finish as you like; the source leaves the topping open, glaze or sugar. A thin glaze goes on while the doughnut is still warm, so it sets into that crackly shell.
Sources & methodology
Every percentage in this calculator traces to the published sources below — nothing is invented. Where respected sources disagree, the default sits inside the documented range.
- King Arthur — Yeast-Raised Doughnuts — The chosen ring: 63% milk, 14% sugar, one egg, fried at 175 °C; the topping is left to the baker.
FAQ
How do Krispy-Kreme-style copycats differ?
The famous light-as-air style (Weissman’s copycat is the reference) runs leaner on butterfat but uses shortening in place of some of it, and slightly less milk, fried a touch hotter. The KA formula here is the butter-and-milk home style with a bit more body.
Can I bake them instead?
They will be buns, not doughnuts — the fry is where the crust, the ring line and half the flavor happen. If frying is off the table, the cinnamon-roll or drożdżówka calculators are a better fit.
What do I do with the holes?
Fry them — they take under a minute and are the cook’s traditional wage.
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