Try this 100-year-old doughnut recipe that was created during World War I

Justin Chan
Updated ·2 min read

Most experts agree that the popularity of the doughnut — one of America’s favorite delicacies — dates back to World War I, when millions of homesick U.S. infantrymen, otherwise known as doughboys, were served this tasteful delight by women volunteers in France. Though the doughnut’s creation predates the war, it didn’t gain steam in the country until the soldiers came back home yearning for more.

According to the Smithsonian Magazine, the first doughnut machine was invented by Russian refugee Adolph Levitt in New York in 1920, following an intense demand for the fried and sweetened dough. Nearly two decades later, in 1937, a Kentucky store worker by the name of Vernon Rudolph, along with his friends, came out with their first batch of Krispy Kremes — a name that Rudolph’s uncle, Ishmael Armstrong, got the rights to from the doughnuts’ original creator Joe LeBeau. The doughnuts were an instant success, and, in 2016, Krispy Kreme was sold to a private company for more than $1 billion.

All of this is to say that doughnuts, in general, are very much sought-after in the states. For those of you who are interested in trying one of the original doughnut recipes, don’t worry. Recently, Lora Vogt, curator of education at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo., shared one with Fox News. Now, you too can make your own doughnuts from home.

Ingredients

  • 5 cups of flour

  • 5 tsp. of baking soda

  • 2 cups of sugar

  • 1/4 tsp. of salt

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 tub lard

  • 1 3/4 cups of milk

Instructions

  • Mix the flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, eggs and milk in a bowl.

  • Knead the dough, roll it and cut it into rings that are less than a quarter of an inch thick.

  • Drop the rings into the hot lard.

  • Turn the doughnuts several times until they are brown.

  • Remove the doughnuts from the lard and get rid of the excess fat.

  • Powder the doughnuts with sugar and let them cool.

If you enjoyed this story, you might also want to learn how to make dumplings.

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