Life Of A Donut: How 40-Hour Sourdough Donuts Get Made
Light as a feather, fluffy as a cloud, warm and comforting like a hug.
These are just a few similes that best describe what it’s like to bite into a sourdough donut that’s fresh from the fryer. Folks who stop into Oliboli Donuts in Tustin, California, get this experience every time they come in.
That’s because the family-run shop fries their sourdough donuts fresh to order. Oh, and they’re taking 40 hours to ensure that each of those sweet fried treats is perfect. Into that labor of love goes stone-milled flour and an old-world approach to donut making inspired by sourdough ferments.
Donuts are familiar territory for owners Brooke and Victor Desprez, as Brooke was previously the chef at Sidecar Doughnuts, often regarded next to Donut Man and others as some of the best donuts in all of Los Angeles.
How does Oliboli stack up? The accolades it has earned since opening in 2018 have folks calling these treats some of the best in Orange County. Top Chef alum Joe Sasto even went as far to say it was “one of my favorite donut spots, ever.”
Oliboli is a family-run affair that focuses on that 40-hour sourdough, a neighborhood charm, and fresh seasonal glazes that the locals can’t get enough of. Seriously, neighbors will come in with bushels of lemons in exchange for donuts, and those lemons get used for their signature Meyer Lemon Glazed donut.
Seeing the love and care that goes into the two days of donut making is strong evidence of why Oliboli belongs in the upper echelon of SoCal donut shops. To see it for yourself, peep the video above illustrating the whole process from start to finish.
