Have I written before about working in a doughnut shop? Long ago in college I worked at The Donut Gallery. Brad worked with me there for a while, but he was too smart to continue to stay under our harsh working conditions, so he left. I stayed because even though the pressure was high, there was the promise of fresh donuts at the end of the torture.
After a while I got the hang of it and made them all myself, released from the watchful, distrustful eyes of the owners. Mix the raised dough, let it rise while the cake donuts were mixed and fried. Then roll out and cut the raised dough. There’s a method to the madness – every re-rolling of the dough produces a slightly tougher doughnut since a little more flour is mixed in. The order went something like this (vaugely – I have a bad memory):
First roll – glazed doughnuts, twists, long johns and doughnut holes (Which I would eat like candy when they came out of the glaze. Serious profit loss there.)
Second roll (slightly tougher) – rosettes, bear claws, kolache knock-offs, jelly doughnuts
Third roll – apple fritters
Apple fritters are made of all the dough scraps – toughened up nicely due to all the rolling. I’d chop them up, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and a couple of scoops of apple stuff from the bucket in the fridge. I was given numbers of each kind of doughnut to make, but would often wind up with too many fritters. That would result in a stern note the next night from the owners, saying that I was making the long johns too small. “Let the dough rest! They’re shrinking when you cut them!” (Quiet, Jackie!!)
Hey, if shorting the long johns means more delicious fritters, I say, “Hello, Short Johns.”
Brad says
I quit because staying up until 3am making donuts then getting up for a morning class was bringing me to the brink of insanity. I quit right after they got me trained well enough to be independent. I’m sure they hated me. But that didn’t stop me from coming back to get sweet, sweet donuts. Mmmm…
Lloyd says
You could have just skipped the, “getting up for morning class” part.
Brad says
Haha! That makes me think of the time that Doc Matthews yelled at ME because YOU never came to class.
Lloyd says
If you don’t come to class, you don’t have to put up with that kind of abuse.
Gretchen says
Ah, that was a sweet walk down memory lane. A sweet, calorie-laden, high fat, delicious walk. Or maybe a waddle. Either way I could really go for a doughnut right now.
John Brady says
“The Donut Gallery”? What a great name for a donut shop!
Lauren says
Who could have come up with such a great name? That’s right -- Kate Brady! They had a contest and she came up with the winning name. It’s a small world, ain’t it?
Beth says
In the final summer of The Donut Gallery, two of my friends and I lived in the apartment above. Every morning one friend would go downstaris to head to her job and stop at The Donut Gallery for a coffee.
Until the very mean and distasteful owner woman scolded her and told her to buy her coffee somewhere else because she was “a renter”!
I was a little sad. I liked their donuts.
Peggy says
So is the apple fritter in the picture one you made or bought?
Lauren says
I bought it. I just don’t have the equipment here to make good doughnuts. Maybe at an auction……
Lauren's mom says
Hi!
Please delete this. I am just trying to use a new gravatar and need to see if I did it right.
Lauren says
Nope. I love comments! 😀
Deborah says
Mmmm . . . doughnuts.
John Brady says
What’s a gravater?
Lauren says
<----- That little picture.
Jane Sommerer says
I liked the gravatar. what a great fish! I could go for the doughnuts too.