There are several possible originators of doughnuts but the most likely inventors were the Dutch and their olykoeks or "oily cakes" which appeared in the U.S. in the 19th century
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Origin of Doughnuts
#2
Suggested by
Sleep Stranger
Another potential origin is from the recipe book of Baroness Elizabeth Dimsdale, wife of smallpox pioneer Baron Thomas Dimsdale. These "dow nuts" were made by a local cook known only as Mrs Fordham an
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Sleep Stranger
8 years ago Report
...and dates the creation of these treats between 1800-1808
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#3
Suggested by
Sleep Stranger
A New England ship captain's mother, Elizabeth Gregory, typically placed hazelnuts or walnuts in the centres (where a hole might otherwise be) before giving a batch to her son. She referred to them as
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Sleep Stranger
8 years ago Report
"dough nuts"
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#4
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Sleep Stranger
The hole is believed to have resulted with her captain son removing the centre entirely
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Sleep Stranger
8 years ago Report
Some rumours allege he couldn't hold the doughnut with steering the ship so he poke one of the wheel handles through the centre. More likely he didn't like walnuts and simply removed the middle
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#5
Suggested by
Sleep Stranger
Women volunteers served doughnuts to soldiers in the trenches of WWI and became popular again in WWII in similar fashion
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#6
Suggested by
Sleep Stranger
In 1920 a Jewish-Russian expatriate named Adolph Levitt invented the first doughnut machine. By 1934 Levit was making 25 million dollars annually selling his machines to bakeries
