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Doughnut

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A doughnut is a tasty pastry made from fried dough.

Donuts (Coffee An), Westport, CT 06880 USA - Feb 2013
Donuts (Coffee An), Westport, CT 06880 USA - Feb 2013

People all over the world love them as sweet snacks. You can find them at bakeries, supermarkets, or even food stalls. Some people make them at home, while others buy them from specialty shops. Many people enjoy eating them alongside a cup of coffee or milk.

These treats come in many different shapes and wonderful flavors.

There are two main ways to make the dough. One way uses yeast to make the dough rise high. These are called yeast-raised doughnuts and they are often quite large. They usually take about 150 seconds to fry in hot oil.

Krispykremesbeingmade
Krispykremesbeingmade

The other way uses a special cake batter. These are called cake doughnuts and they are often smaller and denser. They fry faster, usually for about 90 seconds. You can top them with sugar, chocolate, or even sprinkles.

Some doughnuts do not have a hole in the middle. Instead, they are filled with sweet things like jelly or custard.

These are often called filled doughnuts. You might also see small, round pieces called doughnut holes. These are often made from the dough cut out of the center of a ring doughnut. Some famous shops even have special names for their holes, like Munchkins or Timbits.

People have been eating fried dough for a very long time. An old recipe called globi used cheese, honey, and poppy seeds.

"Illustrations of the common people of Vienna", sheet 63 "Doughnut seller. A doughnut seller." (cropped)
"Illustrations of the common people of Vienna", sheet 63 "Doughnut seller. A doughnut seller." (cropped)

In the 13th century, an Arabic cookbook described a snack called sfenj. By the 1700s, Dutch settlers brought "olykoek," which means oil cake, to New York. An American named Hanson Gregory said he invented the ring shape in 1847. He used a tin pepper box to punch a hole in the dough. This helped the middle cook all the way through.

There are two ways to spell the name of this treat. The traditional spelling is doughnut, which is used all over the world.

Donuts (Coffee An), Westport, CT 06880 USA - Feb 2013
Donuts (Coffee An), Westport, CT 06880 USA - Feb 2013

However, many people in America use the shorter spelling, donut. This shorter version became popular in the 1920s. A company in New York used it to help people in other countries say the word easily. Today, both spellings are very common in the United States.

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🖼️ Images & Media (26)
File:Krispykremesbeingmade.JPG
Krispykremesbeingmade.JPG
File:Donuts (Coffee An), Westport, CT 06880 USA - Feb 2013.jpg
Donuts (Coffee An), Westport, CT 06880...
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Balushahi2.jpg
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Pon de wreath strawberry flavor of Mister...
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Bean jam doughnut,Katori-city,Japan.JPG
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Philippine buñuelo (bunwelo) doughnuts...
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Shakoy doughnut.jpg
File:Armenian_Ponchik_from_Gyumri.jpg
Armenian_Ponchik_from_Gyumri.jpg
File:"Illustrations of the common people of Vienna", sheet 63 "Doughnut seller. A doughnut seller." (cropped).jpg
"Illustrations of the common people of...
File:Doughnuts cz.jpg
Doughnuts cz.jpg
File:Lihapiirakka.jpg
Lihapiirakka.jpg

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