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    Home » Top Amish Recipes » Pies, Cakes & Breads

    Meet (and Eat) The Big Daddy, Amish Doughnut Thoughts, and A Recipe..

    Published: Feb 25, 2016 · Updated: Feb 25, 2016 by Kevin Williams | 4 Comments

    THE BIG DADDY: A hit at Keim Family Market in Adams County, Ohio

    THE BIG DADDY: A hit at Keim Family Market in Adams County, Ohio

    By Kevin Williams

    I write about doughnuts from time to time because, well, I like doughnuts and it is virtually impossible to write about Amish culture and cooking without talking about doughnuts. Frequently.

    The original Amish Cook columnist made some wonderful doughnuts, a frosted oblong deep-friend piece of bliss known as a "Long John Roll."  Those were really good and we often a snack served at Amish quilting bees.  Each Amish settlement seems to have their own favorite doughnut places.  There's a wonderful Amish-owned orchard in southern Michigan that sells "cider doughnuts" each fall.  The "Country Store" in Unity, Maine has a "doughnut day" each Friday where homemade doughnuts are made and sold.  Those are melt-in-your-mouth glazed glory.

    The Rise and Roll Bakery is an Amish institution in northern Indiana.  They recently were bought by a non-Amish outfit so we'll have to see if the quality stays the same.  But, yea, their store is packed full of amazing doughnuts.

    Barbara's Bakery in Cherry Creek, New York specializes in some amazing maple dipped doughnuts this time of year.  Yum.  And I wonder why I'm not losing any weight....

    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.

    “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.

    “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.

    This is one of the most popular doughnut recipes on Amish365.com, easy, easy, easy...comes from an Emma Raber in Holmes County.  Enjoy these "Light As A Feather" Doughnuts!

    Meet (and Eat) The Big Daddy, Amish Doughnut Thoughts, and A Recipe..
     
    Print
    Prep time
    30 mins
    Cook time
    3 mins
    Total time
    33 mins
     
    Serves: 20 doughnuts
    Ingredients
    • LIGHT AS A FEATHER DOUGHNUTS
    • 1 1 /2 cups milk, scalded
    • 1 /2 cup sugar
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 /2 cup margarine
    • 1 1 /2 cup warm water
    • 1 /2 tablespoon sugar
    • 2 packages of yeast
    • 2 eggs
    • 8 – 10 cups bread flour
    Instructions
    1. Add sugar, salt, and margarine to hot milk.
    2. Cool to lukewarm.
    3. Add yeast and sugar to warm water.
    4. Let rise for 5 minutes.
    5. Pour both liquids together plus eggs and add flour,
    6. After last flour has been added knead for 10 minutes.
    7. Let rise 1 hour and knead again.
    8. Let rise 1 hour and punch down and roll to 1 /2 inch and cut.
    9. Put on floured pan, let rise and deep fat fry at 350 on both sides until golden.
    10. Glaze while still warm
    Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
    3.2.2807

     

     

    Easy Maple Glaze
     
    Print
    Prep time
    5 mins
    Total time
    5 mins
     
    Serves: frosting for 12 doughnuts
    Ingredients
    • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon maple extract
    • ½ cup milk
    Instructions
    1. In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, maple extract and milk; stir well.
    2. Add additional milk, if needed, to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over donuts.
    Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
    3.2.2807

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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gloria Johnson

      February 25, 2016 at 2:41 pm

      You know what else is delicious at Keim's? Their donut holes! So light with the perfect glaze on top! Those huge mega donuts are as big as an adult's head and look really good, too.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        February 25, 2016 at 3:07 pm

        Yep, good point, Gloria, those are delicious too!

        Reply
    2. Michelle Shilts

      June 04, 2017 at 1:02 am

      I was wondering if the doughnuts could be baked in the oven instead of deep frying? Also, I was wondering if you could leave off the glaze. Could I use a sugar replacement in place of regular sugar? The reason that I ask these questions is because I have diabetes and I need to watch my blood sugar readings. I need to find out what kind of oil that you use to deep fry the doughnuts in, too.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        June 04, 2017 at 4:47 pm

        You can bake them, but if you deep fry them, you can do it in olive oil, I know that...

        Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

    More about me →

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