Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Day 2- Krispy Kreme Glazed Donuts

Ample sprinkle coverage makes this a win.



Long before my first ventures into the super saccharine world of KK, a man by the name of Vernon Rudolph and his uncle bought the rights to a yeasted donut recipe in Kentucky, and opened up shop as the initial Krispy Kreme in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. You may be thinking, how surprising that the fried confection is a southern tradition! And how surprising that it was a certain prominent southern personality/cook who found a way to show a donut up and maximize its, erm,glory?


Actually, you might be really surprised to know, it’s not! The Dutch settlers in New England are credited with having made the first incarnation of the donut. Known as the “olykoek”, or oily cake, the fried ball of dough was a staple good used to sustain sailors who would travel for months at a time and who were in need of a stable food that could last the trip. One such sailor was Captain Hanson Crockett Gregory, whose mother would send him on his journeys overseas with a number of her trademark olykoeks, a good she had been known for filling with nuts and nutmeg, along with the recipe. Moms think of everything, but I digress. The name itself is said to be derived from the shape of the fried confection, or perhaps from most obviously the fried dough stuffed with nuts. Simple, yet effective, but the definitive origins of the name are unknown.

Before the Dutch could be given full glory for frying a ball of yeasted dough, one must take a look at artifacts that date back centuries before. Prehistoric Native American cultures are found to have fossilized remains of what seem to be the very first donut-type concoctions of fried dough, likely made in some sort of animal fat.


Flash forward to 2011. I might have initially been upset that the nearby Krispy Kreme had been shut down. The company, banking on its successes, had created a barage of openings in the United States in such a short time that the money they were making couldn't keep up with the dough they were shelling out, and many locations, including the three nearest ones, were shut down within a year. Fortunately, I had sworn off animal products, and as a vegan, continue to abstain from them, with no exception. Not even that sprinkled one.

So, what's a girl to do?I just made my own. A friend and I got together and made a batch of Krispy Kreme donuts at midnight, wrapping up the process with taste testing and a small nap on his part, while his mother and I kept working on maintaining the right temperature. The result was definitely good, and fell right in line with what our expectations were. The slight spongy soft insides were complimented with a pleasant slightly crisp outside, and we coated them in a vanilla glaze a la KK, with some being coated in sprinkles by Let's Do Organics. The result was whimsical, awe-inspiring, and certainly filling. Especially the latter.

So, catch up point: The Native Americans are believed to have made a fried dough confection back in Prehistoric times. Dutch settlers in New England make olykoeks when they arrive in Native American territory. Krispy Kreme is started in 1937 in the deep fried Southern U.S. Paula Deen makes a donut burger- a burger sandwiched between two halves of a glazed donut. A young vegan makes donuts in her vegan friend’s kitchen in New York, NY. 


The highly recommended recipe we used can be found here. 
Cardamom-Cinnamon Glazed, Cinnamon Sugar, Cookie Crumb, Sprinkle
I recommend doubling the recipe. I love that it created donut holes, as I expected this would be in lieu of making the full dozen donuts as the recipe says, not just as an addition. My friend got the donut holes, but that is no matter. The donuts were amazing and were just like their non-vegan predecessors. All around, a very successful night full of good food and many laughs.


In my research, I found myself surprised to see that donuts, in the 80’s, were being stamped out by the other ever popular breakfast baked good, the weed of the bakery world, the ever dooming bagel. Thankfully, the donut has since made its strong comeback and despite all the world’s ebbs and flows, the donut still has its place in the world; in my vegan belly. Plus, nothing can compare to sprinkles. There's no way a bagel wins this battle.

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