Gluten Free Sufganiyot {aka Fried Jelly Donuts!}

What is sufganiyot?

Sufganiyot sounds like such a fancy name for a jelly donut. And even funnier sounding is talking about just one sufaniyah! It is pretty easy to tell the difference. Deep-fried jelly donuts, aka sufganiyot (plural), or if you can eat just one, are called sufaniyah.

These Jewish jelly donuts symbolize the oil only enough to last one night. Lasted for 8 nights. It was considered a miracle, and the sufganiyot have been made to celebrate it ever since. If you want to read more about the history of these wildly popular jelly donuts, you can read more here.

My kids have been begging me to make this gluten-free recipe for years. I am not sure why I haven’t…perhaps it was the whole mom guilt thing because these gluten free jelly donuts are fried and calorie-laden.

If you feel comfortable rising yeast dough, try this Gluten Free Focaccia Bread recipe, too!

How do you get gluten free dough to rise?

One of my biggest struggles in gluten free baking (and making these gluten free jelly donuts) is getting my dough to rise. Have you had this issue as well? I am not sure if it is gluten free flour or if it is just a user error!

I recommend letting the dough rise in a warm place for this recipe. Rising in the refrigerator can work, but for me, it hasn’t. Preheat your oven to 200º F and then turn it off. Cover the donut dough with plastic wrap loosely, then put your dough into the oven to rise.

Ingredient Notes:

For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.

• Gluten Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and Cup4Cup Blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours. Note, the Bob’s 1:1 did not rise much or get that fluffy. This 1:1 blend doesn’t work well with yeast. I wanted to try it because it does work well in my sourdough bread recipe.
• Baking Powder – Use aluminum-free.
• Yeast – I used active dry yeast. Note that Red Star “Platinum” yeast is not gluten free.
• Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 3/4 teaspoon.
• Butter – Use unsalted butter.
• Eggs – Use size large.
• Milk or Non-Dairy Milk – I used almond milk in this recipe; any plant-based milk or regular milk will work.
• Jelly – You can fill these donuts with jelly, jam, frosting, pudding, Nutella, etc. The sky is the limit!
• Oil – Use a light oil that can tolerate high heat. I recommend canola, coconut, or avocado oil. If using Canola, be sure to check Is Canola Gluten Free.

Step 4: You only get one good rise, so you must shape your donuts before raising them!

Your donut dough will be somewhat wet. That is normal and one of the things you need when working with dough. Put a little flour onto wax paper and add your dough. Press your dough flat to about 1 inch thick.

The secret is to use enough gluten free flour to the dough so you can cut out the dough circles without it sticking all over the place…but too much flour and your sufganiyot will be dry and dense.

Ready to try…the circles may be distorted a bit…that happens when you have to have your dough softer in gluten free baking.

Step 7: Cover the donuts loosely with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for 45 minutes until they are puffy and almost double in size.

What oil is best for frying donuts?

The kind of oil you use for frying is important. You must use an oil that is good for high heat. Some oils, like olive oil, go rancid in high heat, so you need to use one of these:

• Canola oil
• Coconut oil
• Avocado oil