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History of Doughnuts Timeline
(c. 8000 BCE – Present)The doughnut is a beloved fried sweet treat with a history spanning centuries. Ancient civilizations enjoyed fried dough, but the modern doughnut evolved from Dutch settlers' 'olykoeks' brought to America in the 17th century. The 19th century saw the popularization of the ring shape, often credited to Hanson Gregory. The 20th century brought mechanization, mass production, and iconic chains like Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts. More Less
Early Origins
Arabic cookbook records sfenj recipe
1250
A 13th-century Arabic cookbook written by Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī contains a recipe for a doughnut-like variant of sfenj, made by frying leavened semolina dough shaped into a small ball.
Image source: Sfenj
Ka'ak shape used to test proofing
1250
The same 13th-century Arabic cookbook calls for shaping the dough into a Ka'ak with a hole in the middle to test its proofing, an early example of a ring-shaped fried dough form.
Küchenmeisterei publishes stuffed Krapfen recipe
1485
The cookbook Küchenmeisterei (Mastery of the Kitchen), published in Nuremberg in 1485, offers a recipe for 'Gefüllte Krapfen', stuffed, fried dough cakes that resemble filled doughnuts.
Image source: Doughnut
Fried dough recipe possibly reaches China
1500
It is believed that the recipe for fried dough may have been brought to, or introduced to, China during the 16th century, spreading the tradition of fried sweet dough further across the world.
Image source: Doughnut
Dutch settlers bring olykoek to New Amsterdam
1700 - 1725
In the early 18th century, Dutch settlers brought olykoek ('oil cake') to New York (or New Amsterdam), introducing one of the direct precursors of the American doughnut to North America.
Image source: Oliebol
Naming and Recipes
Hertfordshire Cakes, Nuts and Pincushions published
1750
A recipe for fried dough 'nuts' was published in 1750 England under the title 'How to make Hertfordshire Cakes, Nuts and Pincushions', appearing in The Country Housewife's Family Companion by William Ellis.
'Dow nuts' recipe recorded around 1800
1795 - 1805
A recipe labelled 'dow nuts', again from Hertfordshire, was found in a book of recipes and domestic tips written around 1800 by the wife of Baron Thomas Dimsdale, transcribed for the dowager Baroness by an acquaintance.
The Frugal Housewife uses 'dough nuts' spelling
1803
The first cookbook using the near conventional 'dough nuts' spelling was possibly the 1803 edition of The Frugal Housewife: Or, Complete Woman Cook, which included dough nuts in an appendix of American recipes.
Image source: The American Frugal Housewife
Early literary use of 'dough-nuts'
1808
One of the earliest known literary usages of the term appears in an 1808 short story describing a spread of 'fire-cakes and dough-nuts'.
Washington Irving describes dough-nuts
1809
Washington Irving described 'dough-nuts' in his 1809 History of New York as 'balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called dough-nuts, or olykoeks'. These 'nuts' of fried dough might now be called doughnut holes.
Image source: Washington Irving
Key Facts
- Fried dough treats date back to ancient times, including Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cuisines, long before the modern doughnut emerged.
- Dutch settlers brought 'olykoeks' (oily cakes), early precursors of the American doughnut, to New Amsterdam in the 17th century.
- In 1847, Hanson Gregory is credited with inventing the ring-shaped doughnut by punching a hole in the center for even cooking and better taste.
- The first automated doughnut machine was invented by Adolph Levitt in 1920, enabling mass production and fueling a national doughnut craze.
- Iconic chains like Krispy Kreme (founded 1937) and Dunkin' Donuts (founded 1950) transformed the doughnut into an international commercial phenomenon.
Source
This History of Doughnuts timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.
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