Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Donuts (Printable)

Tangy lemon and blueberry with sourdough create soft, flavorful baked treats ideal for breakfast or snacks.

# What You Need:

→ Wet Ingredients

01 - 1/2 cup active sourdough starter, unfed or discard
02 - 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
03 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
04 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
05 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
06 - Zest of 1 lemon
07 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

→ Dry Ingredients

08 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
09 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
10 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
11 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Mix-Ins

13 - 1 cup fresh blueberries or frozen unthawed

→ Lemon Glaze

14 - 1 cup powdered sugar
15 - 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
16 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two nonstick donut pans with cooking spray or butter.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sourdough starter, buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice until thoroughly combined.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
04 - Pour dry ingredients into wet mixture and gently stir until just combined. Avoid overmixing to maintain tender texture.
05 - Fold blueberries into batter, lightly dusting them with flour if desired to minimize sinking during baking.
06 - Transfer batter to a piping bag or spoon into prepared donut pans, filling each cavity approximately three-quarters full.
07 - Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until donuts spring back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
08 - Allow donuts to rest in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
09 - In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth and pourable consistency is achieved.
10 - Dip cooled donuts into glaze, allowing excess to drip off, then place on wire rack to set.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They're baked, not fried, so your kitchen won't smell like a grease trap for three days afterward.
  • The sourdough starter keeps them impossibly tender without any fancy techniques or overnight resting.
  • That bright lemon-blueberry combination tastes like breakfast and dessert made a truce.
02 -
  • Overmixing the batter is the quickest way to ruin these; treat it like you're making biscuits, not pancakes.
  • Room temperature ingredients actually matter here because the sourdough starter needs to combine smoothly with the eggs and buttermilk—cold ingredients can cause the whole thing to break.
  • Don't skip the cooling step before glazing or your glaze will melt and slide right off onto the counter.
03 -
  • Make a double batch and freeze the raw batter in piped portions—thaw and bake them straight from frozen, adding just two extra minutes to the bake time.
  • The glaze-to-lemon-juice ratio is where your personality comes through; taste it before you glaze and adjust the tanginess to match your mood that day.
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