Sourdough-nuts. Yeah, that sounds off-putting on so many levels, but when you have an abundance of sourdough discard and/or starter, you have to get creative with it, especially since today is National Doughnut Day! I was perusing through the inter-webs the other day, and saw a travel video of these crispy milk doughnuts that were sold in a stand in Taiwan(I wish I knew about this since I literally went to Taiwan twice last year), and figured, why not making those, but with sourdough starter in the dough? The original doughnut was a light, airy dough that was dipped into a tempura batter so that when it is deep fried, the exterior is crunchy and crispy, you know, super ASMR-friendly if you’re into that kind of thing. The doughnuts are then tossed in a mountain of white powder that is not cocaine, but rather a combination of milk powder and confectioner’s sugar. Side note, I just remembered back in college when I was making marshmallows in my dorm room, and I was caked in powdered sugar. Walking through the hallways, I looked ridiculous, but it made for great conversation starting when I got to say “no, this isn’t coke, but hi, my name is Fred and would you like some homemade marshmallows?”. Ah, good times. Anyways, back on the topic of this recipe. I love a good doughnut, wanted to try making some with sourdough, and I figured just because why the hell not, I’d air-fry them too? Even with all of those modifications, the doughnuts came out not half had. With sourdough baking, the wait time became hell on earth(mostly because I am a very impatient person), so expect these to take at least 3 times as long as a yeasted doughnut. You usually expect a sourdough baked good to be a little chewier and denser, which yes, these kind of were, but it contrasted the crispy shells nicely. If you are wondering how I tempura’d these things in an air-fryer, I did a reserve battering method where I tossed the doughnut dough in a batter first, then kind of caked them in a dredge of potato starch and flour, coated the living daylights out of them in cooking spray, and air-fried them that way. These came out with a pleasant crispy exterior, and did not even require the pain of setting up a frier to get there!

Makes 6 doughnuts:
For the levain:
2.5oz sourdough starter
2.5oz AP flour
1.2oz water

In a bowl, mix everything together and rest, covered, overnight in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

For the dough:
Levain
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup milk powder
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1.5oz melted butter

In a bowl, mix everything together until combined into a smooth dough. Rest the dough, covered, at room temperature for 8 hours. Divide the dough in 6 pieces and roll each piece into a disk. Press a hole into the center of each disk and stretch the dough pieces to roughly 5-inches in diameter. Place the dough pieces onto parchment and rest, covered, for another hour.

For the batter:
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 cup water
1oz sourdough starter

In a small bowl, mix everything together until combined. Let the batter rest for at least 10 minutes before using.

For the dredge:
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup potato starch
Salt

In a bowl, sift everything together and mix until combined.

In an air fryer, heat to 375 degrees F. Right before frying each doughnut, coat each in the batter then toss in the dredge. Place the doughnuts onto parchment and spray with cooking spray on top. Place the doughnuts, parchment and all, in the air fryer. Air fry at 375 degrees F for 8 minutes. Flip the doughnuts and spray the other side with more cooking spray. Air fry at 375 degrees F for another 5 minutes. Repeat these steps with the doughnuts as you need to air fry them.

For the milk powder coating:
1/3 cup milk powder
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

In a bowl, mix together. Generously coat the doughnuts from the air fryer in the coating.