The History of Doughnuts

Written by: Anna Pafenberg

Everyone has sunk their teeth into a soft and pillowy doughnut, but where did one of the most classic desserts come from? While traditional American doughnuts have only been around for about one hundred years, there have been traces of them in fossil records from Native Americans and have been seen in parts of Europe. It’s important to mention that Arabs and ancient Romans also had variants of this fried dough long before Dutch settlers brought them to America. Meanwhile in New England in the 19th century, Elizabeth Gregory, the mother of a ship captain, had a well known recipe for dough. 

It included many spices and the recipe was hypothesized to keep the sailors on her son's ship full for long voyages. The treats are called ‘doughnuts’ because originally they had a nut like a walnut or almond in the middle in case the pastry didn’t fully cook through. Captain Gregory is responsible for the doughnut’s iconic hole. Historians have no idea why he decided to poke it, but it might be for easier holding or just to save money and resources such as ingredients. 

Doughnuts didn’t become popular until after World War I when American soldiers who fought in France missed their doughy and delicious treats. The first machine to manufacture doughnuts came from a Russian man who had immigrated from Russia and moved to New York. His name was Adoph Levitt and in 1920 invented a machine to punch them out quickly for selling them. The invention of this machine led up to $25 million dollars in profit around the country. Because of the high production, doughnuts were very cheap, at just around five cents a doughnut. This made them somewhat affordable during the depression of the thirties. 

During this time, a French baker named Joe Lebeau sold his doughnut recipe to Ishmael Armstrong. This was the start of Krispy Kreme, and Armstrong and his brother started their doughnut business which was soon booming. Similar to World War I, in WWII, doughnuts were also very popular with soldiers. Soon Krispy Kreme had a fierce competitor, Dunkin’ Donuts, who just about surpassed their hourly production rate, even with machines. 

All in all, these pillowy soft treats topped with a sweet glaze or filled with a tart jam have owned American hearts for decades. No matter where in America, a Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ is always available to satisfy the craving that we all seek.