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When you need donuts and you need them now, grab that batch of gluten free biscuits you always have in the refrigerator or freezer (right??), and make gluten free biscuit donuts in minutes!
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Oh. my. goodness. Why hadn't I ever thought of this before? These Easy Gluten Free Biscuit Donuts are so light and flaky that it's, frankly, dangerous. And easy is a bit of an understatement, actually. Usually, when people claim that a recipe is “easy,” they're exaggerating—or work on a television set with a full kitchen staff. I do not work on a television set, and I do not have a kitchen staff of any size or shape. I do, however, have a batch of the perfect recipe for gluten free biscuits.
Did you roll your eyes at me when I said that I have a batch of gluten free biscuit dough in my refrigerator or freezer at all times? I have decided not to take it all personal and such. It's only because you don't know the power of biscuit dough. It's okay. That's why we're having this talk.
Oh, did I not mention that you make the flakiest gluten free donut holes with the cutouts?
There is no gathering and re-rolling of the scraps here, either. Just cut out 8 donut shapes, then roll the cut-outs into rounds, and cut out more small rounds from the remaining dough. The way I make all of my pastry dough (bit chunks of butter, not butter the size of “small peas,” not ever), you can handle the pastry dough like that, and the butter will firm right back up when you chill it after shaping the dough. Trust me.
Here's why I always have gluten free biscuit dough on hand: Not sure what to make for dinner? Make any protein at all into a complete meal by sautéing it with some aromatics (onions, garlic, root vegetables), piling it into a casserole dish, topping it with (frozen) biscuit rounds or squares, and baking it until the biscuits are golden brown. No need to defrost the biscuits (unless you have to shape them—so why not freeze them already shaped?). If it's beef, call it shepherd's pie. If it's chicken, call it chicken pot pie.
Easy Gluten Free Biscuit Donuts
Equipment
- Candy/deep fry thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 recipe gluten free biscuit dough, chilled
- Oil, for frying (I used a combination of equal parts canola oil and Spectrum nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Prepare the biscuit dough according to the recipe instructions.
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 3/4-inch thick. While rolling and folding the biscuit dough, sprinkle with enough additional gluten free flour that you end up with a smooth dough.
- Using a well-floured 2 1/2-inch round donut-cutter (or a combination well-floured 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter and a well-floured 1 1/4-inch cutter for the center), cut out 8 donut shapes from the biscuit dough.
- Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Take the 8 small cut-outs from the center of each donut shape, and roll each into a round between your palms.
- Using a 1 1/4-inch round cutter, cut out more small rounds from the remaining biscuit dough, and roll those each into a round between your palms.
- Place the small rounds on the baking sheet as well, and place the baking sheet in the freezer while you prepare the frying oil.
- In a medium-size, heavy-bottom pot or fryer, place about 3-inches of frying oil.
- Clip a deep-fry/candy thermometer to the side of the pot or fryer, and place the oil over medium-high heat. Bring the oil temperature to 350°F.
- Remove the biscuit dough shapes from the freezer, and fry in small batches until well-puffed and lightly golden brown all over (2 to 3 minutes for the donuts and 1 to 2 minutes for the holes). Do not crowd the oil at all.
- As soon as each batch is removed from the fryer, roll in granulated sugar right away and place on paper towels to drain.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Philippine pili nuts from the Bicol region in the Philippines is a great Filipino or Philippines food orsnack. Pili nuts are very healthy and nutritious indeed, being a source of energy, potassium and iron.They also have protein, dietary fiber / fibre, and calcium as well as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. I know they have no cholesterol, no trans fat, and the unsalted ones have no sodium. What is great about the pili nut snack or treat is that they are so crisp, rich, and delicious.
Wow, these remind me of the famous Cronuts that everyone raves about, but which I haven’t been able to try (and not because of the high demand). I’m excited to give these are try!
Nicole, I recently had to add Dairy free to my repertoire and I had JUST gotten you GFOASBB book. I went and bought the appropriate flours only to realize sadly that your bread flour recipe calls for WHEY protein powder. Do you know what I could substitue in it’s place and still have good results. I finally got GF down and now DF is throwing me! I’ve found decent enough butter subs…dying to try these donuts! Thanks!
Could you use buttermilk powder and plain milk in the biscuit recipe from your blog inside of plain dry milk and buttermilk?
Instead*
I had to go gluten-free for my well being. And I miss fluffy flaky biscuits so bad. I cant wait to try these. They look great!
This may be a silly question, but when you say “There is no gathering and re-rolling of the scraps here, either. Just
cut out 8 donut shapes, then roll the cut-outs into rounds, and cut out
more small rounds from the remaining dough,” do you mean that we should shape the in-betweeny bits of dough into a snake and slice off what amounts to extra donut holes?
Pretty much, Lynn. Cut out rounds with the small cutter where you can, and then either discard the remaining bits, or roll them into balls. As long as you have made the dough as I instruct, with large chunks of butter and the folding “turns,” and chill the dough again before frying, it will be flaky. :)
Nicole, how long can the dough be stored in the refrigerator? I just made a batch of the flaky biscuits yesterday and never thought to put half the dough in the freezer/frig! I love, love, love your book btw! I researched Expandex on your site yesterday and have ordered Ultra-Tex from the Modernist Pantry and am excited to get back in the kitchen with your book when it arrives!
Hi, Deby,
I’m so glad you love the bread book! That means so much to me. To answer your question, you can store the biscuit dough in the refrigerator for as long as you would its most perishable ingredient. That ingredient is usually whatever milk or cream you used. So if you use buttermilk that is close to its expiration, keep that in mind when you refrigerate the dough—or just freeze it and defrost it overnight in the refrigerator before you use it. The good thing about dairy, though, is that when it’s bad it smells bad. So you’ll know. :)
when I saw the title of this post, I went, “Oh my God” – quickly followed by, “SHE IS BRILLANT!” I have biscuit dough in my fridge/freezer at all times too – they are so easy to just pop in at a moments notice and you have a nice treat and my kids love ’em!!! I also just bought my self a fryer (on sale and with a 20% off coupon at Kohl’s). so yahoo for me – I’m having donuts this week. But today, I will focus on my St. Patrick’s day menu (noodles with Pesto, salad with Green Goddess dressing, pistachio pudding parfaits and green Kool-Aid {the one time a year my kids get Kool-Aid!]). Thank you for all you do!
So glad you got yourself a little fryer, Jennifer! Seriously, whenever I fry any other way, I’m sorry I did. Your St. Pat’s Day menu sounds fab. So creative!
Thanks for the potpie topping tip, chicken potpie is on my plan for Thursday (Jennifer S. has created a meal planning monster out of me!). I will whip up the biscuits today for topping my pie later — I love things I can do ahead. Your friend Tim’s birthday is Friday, that means donuts for breakfast! Not these, I don”t think; he is a big fan of chocolate. These do look yummy, might have to give them a whirl soon.
I’m so glad I’ve rubbed off on someone in a positive way!!! :)
Absolutely, Jennifer! It really does make a difference to plan ahead. Which I think I knew, I just didn’t want to admit it!
Happy birthday to my best friend Tim!