Few foods scream "comfort" more than doughnuts. A warm, round, glazed slathered disk of fried dough. Yum, oh, yum. And Amish cooks are uniquely qualified to churn out these confections. Doughnuts really are just yeast, flour, sugar and a few other basic ingredients fried into a sweet treat and then topped with any number of decadent flavors. Of course there are filled doughnuts, iced doughnuts, yeast doughnuts, cake doughnuts, maple doughnuts, and on and on. I once saw an Amish woman making heart-shaped glazed doughnuts to celebrate Valentine's Day. Cute touch. But nothing matches what I saw at Keim Family Market, an Amish-owned bakery in Adams County. They christened this doughnut "The Big Daddy", which is an on-steroids version of their popular regular glazed doughnut. Look at the above photo, the doughnut is the same length as a butter knife and takes up a dinner plate. I should have measured the doughnut's depth, it has to be close to 4 inches thick.
BEHIND THE BIG DADDY
So how did this legendary doughnut get its start?
Owner Dan Miller explains that a customer had a nephew that was a huge fan of Keim's regular glazed doughnut. He'd sit down and consume six in a single sitting. As the nephew's birthday approached the customer persuaded Dan to try to make a "mega-doughnut" that could double as a cake. Dan was a little reluctant to try at first.
"It might be a total flop," he warned her.
"That's okay, I'll still buy it," she reassured Dan. So he got to work and made a couple huge doughnuts for the elated customer.
"And before she went out the door we could have sold 5 more, people saw those and wanted some for themselves. After that, it just took off," Dan recalls.
"One couple ordered 36 of them, I'm not sure what they were going to do with that many," Dan mused.
Since then there have been custom-ordered variations. Double-stacked doughnuts with "Happy Birthday" iced on top.
"They've been a big hit," Dan says.
Here are some other Amish-made doughnuts that I have been smitten with over the years...from top to bottom: assorted doughnuts from the Rise N Roll Bakery in northern Indiana; maple-dipped doughnuts from the Conewango Valley of New York, and Clara Yoder's doughnuts from Adams County, Ohio. And if you want to make your own, check out this earlier post for Emma Raber's "Light as a Feather Doughnuts."
Janette,
What kind of upbringing did you have that taught you it was ok to be so rude?
God have pitty on you.
I just don't know what to say but keep up the great work you do! We love that you enjoy what you do! Some people are just ignorant, don't pay attention to ignorance!
I only recently discovered your site, but I'm pretty sure you don't post pictures of your wife, Rachel. So, janette knows you and is "having fun" or is completely clueless. By the way...you may not look like you did, when you were in your 20s, but how many of us do? Thanks for a great site! I check it daily.
STICK AND STONE WILL BREAK MY BONES, BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME 🙂 KEEP EATING THOSE DONUTS KEVIN, AND WHILE YOU'RE AT IT, EAT ONE OR TWO FOR ME.....WHO CARES IF WE'RE FAT 🙂 JUST SOME JEALOUS PEOPLE.....WHO WISH THEY HAD ONE OF THESE DELICIOUS DONUTS 🙂
My husband says he never met a doughnut he didn't like, And he's not fat!!
Everyone can enjoy a donut - -the problem lies in how many you have. I am diabetic and I can make a 1/2 a donut last 2-3 days. I do the same with candy on occasion. I do not feel denied nor angry that I cannot have more. My blood sugar does not raise nor do I gain weight. But for a normal person one of anything is not going to hurt.
Those doughnuts look very yummy, especially the glazed ones! My husband loves doughnuts and isn't big at all! Enjoy yourself, life is short. By the way, you look great and I enjoy your articles so much!!
I grew upon a farm in Pa. We made always made these on the first day of deer hunting season when grandpa and his cronies would come to hunt in the forest on our back acres. He always left with a bag of warm yeast donuts after he had had his fill while sitting with his coffee. Grandma asked that we fill him up before giving him the bag to bring home. We turned these out several times a year.
Wow! Nasty. comment and certainly NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!
Thanks, Margo, I forgot about that long-ago commenting exchange, I just went in and deleted it.