What is the best flour for homemade donuts?

If you’re making donuts at home, picking the right flour really matters. It can change how your donuts taste, feel, and even how well they hold up after frying. But the best flour depends on the type of donut you’re making.

For yeast donuts, the kind that are fluffy, airy, and rise with yeast like the classic glazed ones, bread flour is your best choice. Bread flour has more protein than regular flour, which gives the dough enough strength to rise well without collapsing. It also helps the donuts hold their shape while frying, and gives them a slightly chewy bite, which most people love in a yeast donut.

For cake donuts. the denser kind made with baking powder or baking soda instead of yeast, go for all-purpose flour. This flour has a medium protein level, so it makes the donuts soft and tender without becoming too crumbly or dry. Cake donuts are more solid than yeast donuts, and all-purpose flour helps strike the perfect balance.

Now, if you’re going trendy and want to try making mochi donuts, you’ll need something totally different: glutinous rice flour, sometimes called sweet rice flour. Despite the name, it doesn’t have gluten, it just gets super sticky and stretchy when cooked. This is what gives mochi donuts their signature chewy, bouncy texture. You can usually find this flour in Asian grocery stores or online.

Some recipes also mix flours. For example, some mochi donut recipes combine glutinous rice flour with a bit of tapioca flour or regular flour to adjust the texture.

So, all in all:

• Use bread flour for soft, fluffy yeast donuts.

• Use all-purpose flour for classic cake-style donuts.

• Use glutinous rice flour for chewy mochi donuts.

Choosing the right flour makes a big difference in how your donuts turn out. So before you start mixing, make sure you’ve got the one that fits your donut dream.