National Doughnut Day: Farmer Bob's Doughnut Debut Not a Hit

Since it's National Doughnut Day, I'll salute it with a story from several years ago. On a June morning in 2006, I put out a call on Facebook for where to find good doughnuts. I received plenty of responses, ranging from PayLess in Freeland and the Donut House in Anacortes to Henry's Donut on the Mukilteo Speedway. Folks also chimed in on their favorite doughnuts, which ranged from sugar and malasadas to maple bars, cinnamon minis and cruellers. 

But my goal was to find a recipe for doughnuts so Farmer Bob could whip out a batch one Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I probably didn't choose the best one. The recipe was from a blog titled The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch, which should have been a red flag. But Nanny's Raised Doughnuts seemed simple enough so I printed it out and Bob took to the kitchen. By the time they were cooling on the counter, they looked like the real deal. Bob coated them with a Doughnut Glaze recipe from Alton Brown, and we took our first sweet bites. 

My reactions ranged from "Sort of heavy" to "Not light and fluffy enough. Bob agreed. They also had more of a bagel than a doughnut texture, and were much more dense than a doughnut should be. Even the doughnut holes, which looked more like little corn dog rounds, were lacking in lightness. The glaze was the only thing that got a thumbs up. And they didn't look all that bad. 

By Sunday morning, the doughnuts were even less appealing, and we tossed them into the chicken bucket. I'm sure our hens had a good time packing away at them and appreciated the sweet weekend treat. In the meantime, I'll stick with Henry's Donut on the Speedway when I need my doughnut fix.

National Doughnut Day was created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the men and women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I. It's held on the first Friday of June, and celebrates the doughnut (aka donut). Many doughnut stores offer free doughnuts on National Doughnut Day. 

Photos by Sue Frause