Believe it or not you CAN have pillowy-soft, airy crumbed, LOW CARB Yeasted Donuts that will actually satisfy your donut craving WHILE keeping you in ketosis! Too good to be true? these donuts are made low carb with a special blend of vital wheat gluten, lupin flour, and oat FIBER – which together make a dough that yields a soft, very real, bread-like texture. The dough is enriched with almond milk and butter (like brioche), lightly sweetened, and slow-risen overnight to give you the most delicious yeast flavor! They’re sugar-free and can be made dairy-free (see substitution notes!). This recipe was designed so that you can make the dough the night before, shape them, and then leave them to rise in your fridge overnight while you sleep ! Which means you can have FRESHLY fried, no guilt, homemade low carb donuts first thing in the MORNING. Don’t miss the recipe video to help guide you (they’re easier than you might think!).

There are a few different types of donuts- the most popular kinds are cake donuts (which are risen with a leavener like baking powder or soda and have a cake-like texture, and usually batter based & poured into molds to bake) OR there’s yeasted donuts (aka. doughnuts that are made of actual dough, risen with yeast, and can be cut out into various shapes like donut holes, bars or jelly/pastry filled round donuts- ahem boston cream donuts I’m looking at youuuuu) ! Then, theres also other categories, cronuts, crullers, and pastry style donuts. THIS glorious recipe is for the yeast risen kind of donuts (dough-nuts).

Everyone eating low carb has AT SOME POINT, drooled watching someone else (a carb eater!) enjoy one (or two or three) of those delicious looking sugar filled donuts or gazed longingly through those glass cases (maybe more accurately with your face squished against, while licking the window) filled with sugary high carb devilish breakfast treats, and SIGHED, because you WISH you could have one. Or maybe you even let yourself break your low carb diet just for ONE donut (hey, you do YOU boo). BUT NOW, you no longer need to try so hard to convince yourself you that ‘don’t need to eat donuts anymore’, you’re ‘better off without them ANYWAYS’ or you are ‘fine living without them’ ( like… ‘fine – everthing’s fine here’😳🤥), even though deep down inside you were aching for that donut. In fact, you were actually drooling on yourself while you were thinking about biting into one. Now- HALLELUJAH, praise the lard, you can have them – AND stay in ketosis, keep your blood sugar regulated, and fulfill that donut craving all at the same time. These low carb yeasted donuts are nothing short of a miracle.

This low carb yeasted donut recipe is actually a spin off of my low carb brioche buns, because after all – donut dough is actually just brioche dough (enriched with ‘milk, butter, and made sweeter). I ever so slightly increased the fats (via using egg yolks only instead of whole eggs, and slightly more butter) adjusted the water in the recipe appropriately (because egg yolks have a different water content than whole eggs), and added a little more sweetener, which also meant consequentially adding more salt. The resting/relaxing of the dough phase of this dough is a little bit longer duration (to allow for easier shaping since this dough isn’t as extensible as regular dough), and there’ss ever so slightly the tiniest bit more oat fiber. All in all, its very similar though. 🙂 If you’ve made my low carb brioche buns already or my low carb challah bread– this recipe will be a breeze!

I created a recipe video to help guide you through this recipe and get a good picture of what your dough should look like throughout the process and added all the possible tips/tricks/and things you NEED TO KNOW to be successful below.

TIPS TO MAKING THE BEST LOW CARB YEASTED DONUTS :

This low carb yeasted donuts are actually quite simple to make when it comes down to it, especially because we can use a stand mixer to do ALL the heavy kneading for us; however, there’s still some specifics to pay close attention to ensure you create the perfect donuts! If you’re completely new to bread baking altogether, it can be a bit of a learning curve, but I know YOU can TOTALLY DO IT!! The main reason it can be tricky if you’re new to it, is simply because bread baking is fairly technical, and there is a lot of little variables that can change the outcome of your ‘breads’ if you don’t know about them (even the weather affects aspects of your bread)! So, I am going to give you as much as information and tips as I can (without totally overwhelming you) to help make sure your FIRST and future batches will be a success!!! Please, read through all, and watch the recipe video above as a guide.

1.) USE A KITCHEN SCALE TO MEASURE YOUR INGREDIENTS:

Please, please, please use a kitchen scale in ANY bread recipe – because breadmaking is technical. Precision is imperative here. Changes to the ratio of water:flour in any bread recipe (low carb or NOT) can completely change your final bread (even a small 1-2% changes! ). ESPECIALLY in low carb doughs. Because the ingredients we use are VERY absorbent and actually require much more water than regular flour – the tiniest change the flour to water ratio will yield a different result than mine. That means that weighing your dry ‘flour’ ingredients is of the utmost importance to get it exactly right!

Volume measurements just aren’t reliable enough because everyone (and and within every batch even) packs the ingredients a little different into their measuring cups! I have made my low carb flour recipes (both during creation and testing) countless times, and EVERY SINGLE TIME I measure my flours in volume & then ALWAYS verify the correct weight in grams by my scale……AND EVERY. single. time. my ingredients get packed into my measuring cup SLIGHTLY different than the last time (sometimes with up to a 20 gram difference in weight- SERIOUSLY!). SO, USE a kitchen scale to get consistent results and help ensure success with THIS low carb yeasted donut recipe. PLUS, I won’t be able to troubleshoot or help you if you have any issues if we can’t be exactly sure if the ingredients were measured a the same as mine!! 🙂

Here’s a link to an affordable kitchen scale with great reviews from Amazon! It goes up to 11 LBS. If you only have HEAVY glass bowls you measure with, you may want a heavier duty one that can handle that added weight like this Nicewell Kitchen Scale (nicewell is KNOWN for their amazing kitchen scales!). It’s double the price, but rightfully so because its crazy precise and holds double the weight load at up to 22 lbs! Personally, I have a heavier duty scale, but I do LOTS of scaled measuring and baking. 🙂

I know that if you’ve never used a kitchen scale before to weigh your ingredients, it might sound a little intimidating! The first time I ever used a scale in breadmaking I was super annoyed (I was SO used to volume measurements!); however, it only took me once to learn to LOVE baking in grams instead! Not only does it help you get very consistent results in your recipes, but it also makes it SO freaking easy to halve or double a recipe! There’s no need to try to figure out how many darn 1/2 teaspoons are in a tablespoon to halve or how to double the volume of something that is in a weird amount! It’s way more straight forward – just simply dividing or multiplying the total number of grams of each ingredient (easy PEASY math y’all)!!! I will admit that I do STILL today, like to make my measuring on the scale in grams go quicker THOUGH. SO, to do that I always use the volume measurements in cups ( hence why I listed these all on the recipe!) to help me (AND YOU) measure each ingredient in grams via the scale much quicker 🙂

PRO TIP: you don’t have to weigh EACH ingredient separately in a new bowl on your scale OR tally up each additional amount to total weight as you add. You can use ONE mixing bowl and JUST hit the ‘TARE’ Or ‘zero’ button AFTER weighing the bowl & again after each new ingredient addition. This will equalize the current weight of the ingredients on the scale back to Zero, so you’re measuring each additional ingredient individually, but in the same bowl. EVERY kitchen scale has a TARE or ZERO button on it! 🙂

3.) TIME & TEMPERATURES ARE PART OF THE RECIPE (AND EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT AS THE INGREDIENTS!)

Thanks to the amazing teachings of Ken Forkish in his Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast Book and Bonnie Ohara’s Bread Baking For Beginners book, I have finally truly come to understand the full affect of temperature & time in bread making. Time & Temperature are BOTH intertwined, affecting each other as well as affecting your final bread. They affect your bread so much, that both renowned bread baking authors consider time & temperature as PART of the recipe (in the same way the ingredients are). We need to be cognizant and diligent with the temperatures of: the water used, the ingredients used, the room (or environment your bread is fermenting/rising in) and the actual temperature of the DOUGH, and finally the baking temperature! How quickly the yeast makes your dough rise is ALL about the temperatures used. Therefore, Time is important in a similar way – because the COOLER the temperatures, the LONGER the fermentation/rise time will be. And furthermore, the LONGER the fermentation, the MORE developed and DELICIOUS the flavors usually are in your breads! PHEW.

Are you going to need a thermometer for your water? ABSOLUTELY, YES. Because dipping your finger in water to see if its slightly warm or not is likely to be up to 30°F off, which could great affect your low carb yeasted donut dough . Don’t guess– just use a thermometer mmmmkkk? They’re TOTALLY affordable. Here’s a cheapo thermometer from amazon that will do everything you need for this recipe (AND MEAT!) and ANY future bread recipe!

Now, don’t let this overwhelm you, I’ll cover below the main temperatures and times you need to be aware of FOR this recipe (and in regards to how this recipe is WRITTEN) below:

• The temperature of your water should be around 80°F – I have used this specific temperature, which is lower than most recipes for a few reasons. First, because we’re using commercial yeast that will be JUST fine using a lower temperature (it’s actually a MYTH that you need 100+degree F water to activate commercial yeast!). Second, because we are using a stand mixer, there will be ALOT of friction created in the dough, which will naturally WARM the dough up more than with hand kneading , plus its a LENGTHY kneading time to properly develop the gluten strands in this brioche dough (more kneading time also equals warmer dough). And lastly- BECAUSE… FLAVOR!!! Cooler temperatures in your dough, WILL mean a longer rise time – and the LONGER the rise time, the MORE amazing your bread will taste. In general, if you use cooler water, or warmer water – than I’ve suggested, it’s NOT going to completely destroy your bread. Again, if you don’t have a thermometer to check your water temp, then GET ONE – you can get one on amazon here.
• The temperature of your room & recipe ingredients should ideally be 68-72°F – The temperature of your dough (once all mixed and kneaded together) IS important in breadmaking for many reasons. That being said, the temperature of the room + the ingredients + the friction of the mixer + the temperature of the water (which is cooler IN this recipe) all add up to a final dough temperature. This temperature will change the amount of time it takes your bread to rise AND the optimal flavors. 🙂 So, just be aware of your house temp & ingredients temperature. If ONE of those is a little cooler than average room temperature (68-72, then just increase the temperature of your water a little (ie make your water a little warmer if your room or ingredients are cooler, or make your water a little cooler if your house is warmer, like during the summertime!) to equal out the total temperatures that go into your dough . Does that make sense!? There’s actually equations to figure to THE exact temperature your starting water should be but just a slightly adjustment to match the temperature change will certainly help enough:) DON’T worry if your dough ends up a little cooler or a little warmer , it’s not going to DESTROY your bread… ESPECIALLY with this recipe, as I recommend letting it rise overnight in your fridge (so it’s going to cool down during rise time ANYWAYS).
• The temperature where your bread is left to rise WILL directly affect the rise time– For this recipe I recommend letting your shaped low carb brioche buns rise overnight in the refrigerator (as per additional instructions you still CAN let it rise on your counter in a much shorter time frame as well- but it won’t taste quite as ‘yeasty’ and delicious that way). I purposefully used slightly less yeast in this recipe than I have in the past in my breads (or in many regular carby bread recipes), purely because the flavor was dramatically better from slowing the rise time and ALSO is a small enough amount to make for a great for a cold, slow fridge rise overnight as well , without you needing to worry about it overproofing while you’re sleeping 🙂 *****The WARMER your rise, the FASTER your bread will proof remember!!!! But the SLOWER your proofing time (and MUCH SLOWER WITH A COLD FRIDGE RISE), THE BETTER THE YEASTY FLAVOR!***********

4.) I DO NOT RECOMMEND TRYING TO SUBSTITUTE OTHER BRANDS OR SUBSTITUTIONS OTHER THAN THESE:

I know this is all a lot of information, but sticking to the brands I recommend are probably the MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL!!!!!!!!!! I say that because even my mess ups where I adjusted times, shaping methods, etc. were NOT bad when I used this very specific mix of ingredients; however, when I used OTHER brands of these ingredients SOME WERE COMPLETELY inedible!!!!! The brands of these specialty ingredients REALLY truly matters here both for taste and especially for texture. Here’s the ONLY brands I recommend you use here!

Vital Wheat Gluten- *THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED AS OF 2/10/22 asmy former favorite brand of VWG, Hoosier HIll Farms, has been discontinued indefinitely, and I FINALLY found the best replacement as follows. I have tested many brands of Vital Wheat Gluten, and THIS KING ARTHUR BRAND of VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN, is the only one that works PERFECTLY with the ratios in this recipe and has the best taste and texture! As pf right now, it is seriously THE ONLY brand I recommend for Vital Wheat Gluten. All Vital Wheat Gluten’s ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL lol (but seriously!). The thing with other brands is that they all have a very slightly different protein % in them – which GREATLY affects the texture of your bread ( and can result in a RUBBERY texture or an odd aftertaste!). I’ve tested anthony’s brand , bob’s red mill brand, and a few other random brands. I can’t remember and all of them were TERRIBLE. Please don’t try them in this recipe. Try other brands at your own risk, and please note, that all brands have different absorbtion rates, so you if you are using another brand, you may end up having to adjust the liquid in this recipe if it comes out dry or rubbery!! 🙂

Oat Fiber – There are ONLY two brands I recommend you use: THIS LifeSource Brand Oat Fiber (on amazon!) or this Honeyville Brand Oat Fiber direct from their site (which actually is MY first choice, but they are very frequently sold out). Regardless, I frequently use these two brands interchangeably in recipes with very very little difference (not enough that you’ll probably notice in this!). I have tried every other brand out there (that’s available on amazon at least, because that’s MY LIFE), and NuNaturals and Anthony’s brand oat fibers were THE ABSOLUTE WORST – DO NOT TRY THEM. Trust me. They look dark brown, taste terrible and gritty, and make for some really gross low carb bread that will NOT rise the same or be fluffy or even look anything like mine. Enough said !

Lupin Flour – This Lupina Brand Lupin Flour is my #1 and STRONGLY preferred brand. It does not have ANY lingering bitter taste (as many other brands DO!) and is actually lower in calories than other brands (i’m still baffled how THAT even happens when they’re the same weight per serving buttttt I digress). This recipe was actually written for this lupin flour (others can change the texture!). The only other lupin flour that could be used instead of Lupina in this recipe is this miracle flour, BUT I am going to warn you, I noticed a very slight bitter flavor with the miracle brand flour. So…. I would ONLY use it as a last resort, if you CANNOT get Lupina Brand.

Allulose- Allulose is VERY important as the sweetener to use in this recipe. I Don’t recommend substituting. My favorite brand is THIS HOOSIER HILL FARMS ALLULOSE (although I haven’t noticed much difference between brands of it, with the exception of how finely ground the Hoosier hill brand is which is why it’s my favorite) Allulose acts just like real sugar (without spiking your glucose at ALL), doesn’t give you firm crystallized chunks (like erythritol does), or have that telltale ‘cooling effect’ that monkfruit and erythritol both have. It’s VERY keto-friendly and 0 affecting carbs. Most importantly what the allulose does, is giving you a VERY SOFT texture in your donuts. If the recipe isn’t sweet enough for you as is, or you want it sweeter, I don’t recommend adding MORE allulose to the recipe, as that can deter gluten formation; instead, I would recommend supplementing with some stevia extract or monkfruit extract to add further sweetness when you’re making the dough. Personally, i think the dough is sweet enough as is- since we add glaze or frostings that sweeten it up quite a bit 🙂

Instant Yeast – there’s plenty of brands of instant yeast (aka quick rising or bread machine yeast) that will do a decent job, but I whole-heartedly believe that THIS SAF Instant Yeast is the absolute BEST out there on the market. There’s a reason that every professional bread baker using a commercial yeast chooses the SAF Brand; they are unparalleled when it comes to an AMAZING product you won’t ever be disappointed with. Nope, not sponsered or anything, this is speaking from many years of experience using yeasts myself!!! In addition, there are some instant yeasts ( that are marketed as QUICK RISE yeast), that do are not created for a double rise. We aren’t doing a bulk ferment and then another proof after in this dough- BUT we do have to let our dough ‘relax’ before shaping, and you will need yeast powerful enough to stand up to this task.

KOSHER Salt – Using Kosher Salt is SUPER important in bread baking. My favorite Kosher Salt for Bread Baking is Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt . Can you use other salts? Sure- you can DO anything you want to (but , please don’t). Are they going to affect your bread? ACTUALLY, YES. Other salts are going to leave you with a bitter aftertaste or a strange flavor, or literally have NO benefit to your bread at all and then what’s the POINT? Kosher Salt is best because “kosher” means it’s undergone intensive cleaning (doesn’t have all the polution other salts, like sea salts do). You can get larger or smaller granules of Kosher Salt. I recommend LARGER granuled, Kosher Salt because it dissolves slower in your bread which is SO SO MUCH better. If you want to learn more about all the small nuances that come with using other salts in bread READ THIS ARTICLE, FROM THE BREAD GUIDE. Regardless of what salt you choose to use, it’s VERY IMPORTANT to weigh your salt as well, becuase the larger the granules of salt, the more VOLUME of that salt you need). For example, 1 teaspoon of pink himalayan sea salt (finely ground) weighs the SAME as two teaspoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt! So, weigh your salt- whichever kind you choose.

5.) DON’T CHANGE THE KNEADING METHOD (unless you have a bread machine and know how to use it!)

This recipe was designed for a stand mixer with a dough hook. Can you hand knead it? YES, you can, with some SERIOUS muscle and skill in your kneading methods. This is a very strong (stiff) high protein dough, and the kneading process is NOT the same as with regular bread flour! Since this dough is a stiff dough (despite is high hydration %) …you can hand knead, and I certainly have (actually multiple times just for testing purposes!), but I STRONGLY recommend NOT hand kneading, unless you’re an experienced ‘kneader’! Hand kneading will take you about 30 minutes (no joke) to develop the gluten all the way to yield a great donut dough with this recipe. You will have to wait to add the butter until you’ve hand kneaded AND reached a windowpane, and that takes quite a bit of time and muscle (and sticky hands in the beginning of the process).

Can you use a bread machine to do the kneading for you? Yes, you can! I know this because I have seen it done by others 🙂 however, I don’t own a bread machine and I honestly do not know exactly what to recommend on the settings for this dough. I have spoken with some folks on instagram who have made my bread doughs (the challah, the brioche, or this recipe!) in their bread machine by just using the bread machine to do their kneading! I have asked about settings, but every bread machine has multiple cycle options (and some older bread machines only have a few settings), so it’s hard to give you a recommendation here based on their experiences!!!! From what I have gather, it sounds like if you have a “glutenfree bread” setting that is going to be best ( it seem that usually does a 25-30 minute slow knead cycle). AND You want to MAKE SURE to take your dough out BEFORE the rising part of the cycle in the machine (and pick up on rest of instructions at the end of step 4 after standmixer kneading is done and you let your dough rest for only 40 minutes before shaping). But all in all, since I don’t know how to advise exactly on kneading settings in your specific bread machine, I only recommend you try it if you know what you’re doing and are okay with potentially experimenting to figure it out!!!! 🙂

I know the majority of people who are into baking seem to have a stand mixer already though ! So hopefully, you have one already 🙂 If you don’t have one, I HIGHLY recommend a 5 QT KitchenAid Stand Mixer (mine is MY BABY, and I’m completely OBSESSED WITH IT) Grab your stand mixer, a cup of coffee, kick your feet up and let that glorious invention of a machine do all your kneading!

If you don’t have a dough hook for your stand mixer, make sure you get one! It’s a necessity! Here’s a link for a Kitchen Aid DOugh Hoook too 🙂

6.) Do I have To Do An Overnight Rise? Can I Do More or Less Fridge Time?

If you read my above tips regarding the importance of the temperature of your water (and many other temperature factors that go into your final dough) you should already be getting this important detail about yeasted bread (or in this case donut) recipes engrained in your brain ….. time and temperature are directly related when it comes to yeast. Adjusting the temperature is just ONE way to manipulate the timing that it takes for your dough to FULLY RISE.

The cooler the environment where your yeasted dough is left to rise, the LONGER it will take to rise ( the Goal here for rising is when it’s doubled in size). The warmer the temperature (up to a degree, because yet too warm temps will deactivate yeast), the quicker the rise. BUT, remember the LONGER the rise takes- THE BETTER THE TASTE (and WHY I PERSONALLY PREFER THE OVERNIGHT FRIDGE RISE). Cool temperatures do NOT STOP the yeast activity (exception being freezer temps), they just lengthen the time it will take to rise. The Freezer is an exception to this, as temps that cold actually DO stop the yeast activity ( but it won’t kill the yeast – just temporarily ‘halts’ activity while frozen)! You do need to take into account the amount of yeast used too, because if you wanted to do a VERY long cold rise of a dough (for example , I do a 4 day cold ferment of my pizza dough for the BEST real flavors) you need to lessen the amount of yeast you use, otherwise your dough will overproof earlier than you want 🙂 That being said, I used a slightly smaller amount of yeast in this recipe than I would in a straight quicker dough would require, so that it can easily withstand an overnight proofing in your fridge!

SO, my point here, is you can manipulate the TIME that your dough needs to rise by changing the temperature of the environment that it’s rising IN. Slow down the rise with cooler temps, or speed up the rise time by using warmer temps (preferably only room temperature warm). You can leave your shaped donuts on the counter and skip the fridge all together if you want to (the taste isn’t quite as yeasty delicious that way though, but still pretty darn good :)) Technically you can leave This dough 18 hours in the fridge without over-proofing. Or, do something in the middle and adjust the refrigerated time to just 3-4 hours. BUT, the shorter the fridge rising time, the more time they will need on your countertop from the recipe to rise.

In ANY of the cases (a longer fridge rise, a shorter fridge rise, or just a regular room temperature rise) there’s one IMPORTANT thing to know and that is WHEN THEY ARE DONE RISING & READY TO FRY! You know your dough is ready, and fully risen, when it’s DOUBLE in size from when you shaped them. You can also do something called a ‘finger-poke test’. The finger poke test is when you poke your dough and see how quickly or slowly the dough bounces back from the dent your finger leaves. If finger poke bounces right back (leaves no dent) your dough needs MORE rising time. If you finger poke leaves a mark, that ever so slowly bounces back, then your dough is PERFECTLY risen and ready to fry (or bake). If your finger poke leaves a big flabby dent that doesn’t move, then your dough may have risen too long (you’ll have to fry and find out !).

If your dough spends ANY TIME IN THE FRIDGE while rising, you will need to let your dough come to room temperature at minimum, before frying it. If your dough didn’t DOUBLE IN SIZE during its time in the fridge, then you’ll want to leave it on your counter longer to finish rising

You do NOT want to fry (or bake in the case bread) BEFORE the dough has doubled in size because it hasn’t risen enough to get that fluffy soft interior yet! So.. My biggest tip here, is that instead of letting time be your guide to tell you when your dough is ready to fry (since you can manipulate YOUR rising time by adjusting the temperature your dough is rising in) USE THE WAY YOUR DOUGH LOOKS AND FEELS to tell if it has risen enough yet 🙂

The flavor enhancement from an overnight rise, will make you happy your let your dough take a chill break though- TRUST ME. 🙂 Anyways, who doesn’t love fresh fried donuts in the morning after!

7.) SHAPING & FRYING TIPS/TOOLS:

Shaping can be a tricky part to these donuts. Because this is high protein dough, it’s not super ‘extensible’, which means when you try to stretch it out, it just kinda bounces back to its original shape quickly. That little problem is helped by letting our dough relax for 30-40 minutes after kneading (the gluten relaxes during this time!). However, it can still fight you a bit during rolling even after that. So, here’s what can help:

• Use a MARBLE ROLLING PIN (like this one I have, I got from amazon!) if you have one or can get one. it’s heavier and can really help you flatten the dough easier.
• Once you start rolling, just KEEP AT IT. 🙂 It will loosen up as you roll. If you’re still struggling, then let your partially rolled dough rest for 5 minutes, and come back and carry on rolling! That little rest will do wonders for it!

USE ROUND COOKIE CUTTERS FOR SHAPING DONUTS: You can shape these however you like! Heck you can shape them into maple bars or even round FILLABLE donuts (like boston cream donuts yum!)- the options are WIDE OPEN my friends. To Make a round donut shape like I have done in my photos (and the recipe video) – you will need a ROUND cookie or biscuit cutter, and then a smaller one to poke the donut holes out. I bought this set of round cookie/biscuit cutters from amazon, and it works great – especially because you get a size that works perfect for the donut hole in the middle! If you don’t want to buy a set, already have (or want to buy just ) a SINGLE round cookie/biscuit cutter, you CAN still make these with the center missing.. by using whatever you can find to shape a hole in the middle instead! You could use the wide end of a pastry bag piping tip or you can use a (hard like the reusable kind) straw to poke a hole in the center and then stick your finger in it and stretch it a littleby swirl the doughnut around on your finger. It won’t look quite as pretty that way, but it will do the job well enough!

Frying WITH A FRY THERMOMETER: This dough burns a lot quicker than regular flour doughs! That being said, your oil should ideally be 300°F the ENTIRE TIME you’re frying (up to 310°F to start is okay since the oil cools a little when the cooler donut dough gets plopped in). That means, YES, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you use a fry thermometer (like this one)! The good news is that you can find them for super cheap (I got my Good Cook Fry Thermometer at fred meyer for 5$ ( a steal!) but they’re almost as cheap for the same brand (linked above) as freddy’s prices. You don’t have to use a fry thermometer, but I can tell you from my experience, that having the oil only 15 -20 degrees off meant that I either had burnt and crispy (from too hot) donuts OR soggy, heavily oil absorbed donuts ( from oil temp too low).

TROUBLESHOOTING INFORMATION:

My Donuts Didn’t Rise at all : Check your yeast! Did you bloom it in water as per the directions before using in the rest of the recipe (this is an ‘insurance check’ to make sure your yeast is still active)? Was it Old? Yeast usually is kept best in the freezer for up to 6 months or in the fridge for up to 3 months. Keeping an opened yeast bag or container in your cupboard means it can go bad fast! Also, what was temperature was your water? If your water was below 70F it may have been too cool! If your water was above 110F in was TOO hot and killed the yeast.

Also, Did you use the recommended brands of ingredients in this recipe? using other brands can mean your water ratio is off, and your bread is TOO FIRM and stiff to rise.

Sometimes, since temperatures can ALTER the rising time, your dough could simply just take LONGER to rise than mine! I have had doughs take double the time they normally do to rise, simply because it’s winter and cooler temps (and cooler kitchen counters) slow down the yeast activity. When in doubt, leave your dough out LONGER at room temperature to see if will continue to rise with more time.

Another possibility is that you left your dough to “rest” for too long? This dough does NOT undergo a double rise like regular dough. If you left your dough to sit and “relax” before shaping for much longer than 45 minutes (like a bulk fermentation stage with regular flour doughs), and THEN shaped it, your yeast may not have had enough rising power left to get a full rise again afterwards. I HAVE had this dough, when using high powered SAF yeast (the type of yeast is important too), go through a double rise without a problem; however, if you used a different brand of yeast that isn’t as good or a “QUICK RISE” yeast (which is meant for a single quick rise only) then your buns probably would NOT continue rising after an ACTUAL full first rise bulk-fermentation, followed by deflation, shaping and then attempt at another rise. In the instances where my dough has been able to withstand two rises, it takes significantly longer to rise fully in the second round AND I had to use GOOD YEAST. So if your dough was left to rest/relax for TOO LONG by accident (and incidently when through a full rise BEFORE shaping), then give continue on with shaping and see if it rises, but know it will take a longer period of time for the second rise (maybe even up to 6 hours?) AND you would have to have used good yeast for this to work 🙂 Hope that makes sense! You could always try to make elephant ears instead though with this dough if that was the case 🙂

My Donuts Deflated: The number one reason for deflated dough is usually from overproofing! Either your water was TOO warm initially (which casuses the yeast to proof much too quickly), the area where your bread was left to rise was TOO warm (and this makes it rise MUCH quicker), OR you simply let them rise TOO LONG! There’s also a possibility that you cut into your donut before it was cooled after frying (the fried donuts or breads need to cool before breaking one open or biting into it, as the crust opening releases steam out when they’re still hot & can mean deflation).

My Donuts Were Rubbery and Not Soft: This can be caused by a few things. Most likely, your dough was NOT kneaded enough. You need to really develop the gluten with long and very SLOW kneading to get that airy soft interior texture. Further, Did you use a scale to measure your ingredients? If not, it’s possible that you added too much of the low carb flours from measuring inconsistencies – It’s best to WEIGH your ingredients with a scale! Did you use a different brand on any of the ingredients I listed in my post above? This would definitely be a culprit as well. Lupin Flour is VERY absorbent so not measuring with a scale or using a different brand will likely yield different results (potentially quite RUBBERY ONES!)!!!

Lastly, Did your dough rise ENOUGH before your fried them (ie, were they potentially UNDER-risen)? Your donuts should be doubled in size when you go to fry them. If they’re NOT doubled in size after 1-2 hours out of the refridgerator (if you chose the overnight rise as I suggested), then your dough could just NEED A LITTLE MORE TIME TO RISE, a slightly warmer environment to speed up that rise, or something else went wrong (ie. didn’t measure with a scale or used a different brand of ingredients etc.)

Please message me on Instagram (@fatkitchenblog) if you have had something go wrong, have questions or want help with troubleshooting! Pictures help the most if you can send me what the dough looks like after kneading, what your dough looks like after rising and then after frying. This will give me a good visual so that I can help you troubleshoot best.

EVERYBODY deserves to have a low carb donut – INCLUDING YOU! If you’re having trouble with this recipe at all, WE CAN GET THROUGH ANY TROUBLES TOGETHER! Don’t hesitate to reach out please!🙂

Also, don’t forget to leave a comment below the recipe, and let me know what you think if you try these! Also, post a picture and tag me on Instagram (Instagram (@fatkitchenblog) and use the hashtag #fatkitchenrecipes 🙂 YAYYYY

Now, DONUT 🤣 be afraid of this low carb yeasted donut recipe, even though the instructions and post may seem long. 🙂 YOU CAN DO THIS!!! When in doubt, WATCH THE RECIPE VIDEO! Let’s Make some low carb yeasted donuts!!!!

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