 A variety of powdered and glazed donut holes | |
| Type | Fried dough |
|---|---|
| Course | Dessert |
| Associated cuisine | American cuisine |
A donut hole (also doughnut hole) is a type of donut formed out of small round pieces of dough. Donut holes can be plain or coated in a topping such as glaze, and are a popular dessert in the United States.
There are several purported origins for donut holes and the "ring" shaped donut. The concept of forming donuts with a hole in the center is commonly attributed to Captain Hanson Gregory, [1] [2] who claimed to have invented the first ring donut after cutting the center of his mother's donut out in 1847. [3]
Many early recipes called for the donut to be formed in the shape of a jumble, a circular cookie with a hole in the center. It has also been suggested that this was invented because donuts cook more quickly when they have a hole in the center. [4]
In 1973, Dunkin' Donuts added "Munchkins" to their menu, selling them in the various flavors of their donuts as a way to use up the dough cuttings taken from the center of their ring donut. The name reportedly stems from the miniature "Munchkin" characters from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. [5] The chain had previously unsuccessfully attempted to market them as donut holes before changing their strategy to appeal to younger consumers. [6] However, as of 2021, the company produces donut holes separately from full size donuts. [7] This is common for most donut producers in the 21st Century. [8] In 1976, Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons introduced donut holes called "Timbits" to their menu. [9]
Like regular donuts, donut holes can come in many varieties. The dough itself can fall under the categories of either cake or yeast style. The main difference between the two is that cake style donut holes use a leavener like baking soda or baking powder to bring rise to the bread, while a yeast style donut uses yeast. [10]
A doughnut or donut is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty vendors. Doughnut is the traditional spelling, while donut is the simplified version; the terms are used interchangeably.
A croissant is a French pastry made from puff pastry in a crescent shape.
A muffin is an individually portioned baked product; however, the term can refer to one of two distinct items: a part-raised flatbread that is baked and then cooked on a griddle, or a quickbread that is chemically leavened and then baked in a mold. While quickbread "American" muffins are often sweetened, there are savory varieties made with ingredients such as corn and cheese, and less sweet varieties like traditional bran muffins. The flatbread "English" variety is of British or other European derivation, and dates from at least the early 18th century, while the quickbread originated in North America during the 19th century. Both types are common worldwide today.
Beignet is a type of fritter, or deep-fried pastry, made from pâte à choux, but may also be made from other types of dough, including yeast dough. In France there are at least 20 different versions. They can vary in shape, the flour used for the dough, and the filling. They are popular in French, Italian, and French-American cuisines.
Timbits is the name of a bite-sized fried-dough confection sold at the Canadian-based franchise Tim Hortons. Equivalent to the American "donut hole," they were introduced in April 1976.
A cruller is a deep-fried pastry popular in parts of Europe and North America. Regarded as a form of cake doughnut in the latter, it is typically either made of a string of dough that is folded over and twisted twice to create its signature shape, or formed from a rectangle of dough with a cut in the center allowing it to be pulled over and through itself to produce distinctive twists in the sides of the pastry.
A sopaipilla, sopapilla, sopaipa, or cachanga is a kind of fried pastry and a type of quick bread served in several regions with Spanish heritage in the Americas. The word sopaipilla is the diminutive of sopaipa, a word that entered Spanish from the Mozarabic language of Al-Andalus. The original Mozarabic word Xopaipa was used to mean bread soaked in oil. The word is derived in turn from the Germanic word suppa, which meant bread soaked in liquid.
A Bundt cake is a cake that is baked in a Bundt pan, shaping it into a distinctive donut shape. The shape is inspired by a traditional European cake known as Gugelhupf, but Bundt cakes are not generally associated with any single recipe. The style of mold in North America was popularized in the 1950s and 1960s, after cookware manufacturer Nordic Ware trademarked the name "Bundt" and began producing Bundt pans from cast aluminum. Publicity from Pillsbury saw the cakes gain widespread popularity.
An éclair is a pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with a flavored icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for profiterole, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside. Once cool, the pastry is filled with custard, whipped cream or chiboust cream, then iced with fondant icing. Other fillings include pistachio- and rum-flavoured custard, fruit-flavoured fillings, or chestnut purée. The icing is sometimes caramel, in which case the dessert may be called a bâton de Jacob. A similar pastry in a round rather than oblong shape is called a religieuse.
A bear claw is a sweet, yeast-raised pastry, a type of Danish, originating in the United States during the mid-1910s. In Denmark, a bear claw is referred to as a kam. France also has an alternate version of that pastry: patte d'ours, created in 1982 in the Alps. The name bear claw as used for a pastry is first attested in March 1914 by the Geibel German Bakery, located at 915 K Street in downtown Sacramento. The phrase is more common in Western American English, and is included in the U.S. Regional Dialect Survey Results, Question #87, "Do you use the term 'bear claw' for a kind of pastry?"
Mister Donut is an international chain of doughnut stores. It was founded in the United States in 1956 by Harry Winokur. Primary offerings include doughnuts, coffee, muffins and pastries. After being acquired by Allied Domecq in 1990, most of the North American stores became Dunkin' Donuts. Outside of the United States, Mister Donut maintains a presence in Japan, El Salvador, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Singapore.
Kürtőskalács is a spit cake specific to Hungarians from Transylvania, more specifically the Székelys. Originally popular in the Székely Land, it became popular in both Hungary and Romania. The first written record dates back to 1679 and was found in the village of Úzdiszentpéter, while the first recipe appears in a manuscript cookbook dated in 1781. Earlier a festive treat, now it is part of everyday consumption. A similar pastry to Kürtőskalács is Baumstriezel, originating in the Transylvanian Saxon communities.
The Boston cream doughnut is a round, solid, yeast-risen doughnut with chocolate frosting and a custard filling, resulting in a doughnut reminiscent of a miniature Boston cream pie.
The coconut doughnut is a variety of doughnut in the United States and Canada that is usually covered or topped with shredded or flaked coconut topping. It is often toasted or broiled, and there are variations made with chocolate and, in a 1959 recipe, orange juice in the dough and icing.
The dutchie is a Canadian doughnut popularized by the Tim Hortons chain. It is a square, yeast-lifted doughnut containing raisins that is coated with a sugary glaze. The dutchie was one of two original baked goods that had been available on Tim Hortons' doughnut menu since the chain's inception in 1964.
A spit cake is a European-styled cake made with layers of dough or batter deposited, one at a time, onto a tapered cylindrical rotating spit. The dough is baked by an open fire or a special oven, rotisserie-style. Generally, spit cakes are associated with celebrations such as weddings and Christmas. The spit can be dipped in a thin dough, or the dough can be poured or rolled on the spit.
The old-fashioned doughnut is a term used for a variety of cake doughnut prepared in the shape of a ring with a cracked surface and tapered edges around it. While many early cookbooks included recipes for "old-fashioned donuts" that were made with yeast, the distinctive cake doughnuts sold in doughnut shops are made with chemical leavener and may have crisper texture compared to other styles of cake doughnuts. The cracked surface is usually glazed or coated with sugar.
Mochi donuts, also known as poi mochi, are a fusion pastry crossing traditional American-style doughnuts and Japanese mochi. The mochi donuts' "hybrid batter makes for a doughnut that is fluffy and moist, with a satisfying chew". An early iteration can be traced back to Hawaii in the early 1990s. Mochi donuts were popularized by Mister Donut's "Pon de Ring" in the early 2000s. Mochi donuts are commonly formed into a circular shape, consisting of eight small balls that are easy to pull apart. They are made out of glutinous rice flour or tapioca flour.