The History of the Donut
Jun 10, 2024
The first Friday in June celebrates a coffee-side staple we all know and love. While they’ve gone through several changes and rebranding over the years, today we are proud to produce America’s favorite donut, Hostess® Donettes®. Check out this brief history of the donut, including the introduction of Hostess Donettes way back in the mid-1900s.
1803 - A doughnut recipe appears in print for the very first time, in a homemaking book by Susannah Carter.
1843 - With the invention of baking powder in the 1800s, the dough of baked goods would rise more quickly, and the high levels of sugar caused the outside to burn before the middle was cooked. This led to the reshaping of the doughnut to the ring-shape, hence the hole in the center of donuts that we know today! Doughnuts also became a popular treat to serve to soldiers overseas. This resulted in a rise in popularity of doughnuts in the US.
1920 - Adolf Levitt, founder of Donut Corporation of America, invented the “Wonderful Almost Human Doughnut Machine” to mass-produce doughnuts. The machine was placed in the window of a storefront on Times Square so people would stop and watch. He put out a press release that promoted ‘doughnut’ spelled d-o-n-u-t so it could be easily spelled and pronounced everywhere in the world.
1948 - Bill Rosenburg opened Open Kettle in Quincy, Massachusetts, serving fresh hot doughnuts and delicious coffee.
1959 – Donettes® are introduced to limited markets under the Wonder name (from the makers of Wonder Bread).
1960 – Donettes® are now produced and branded under the Hostess® name!
1961 - Donettes® Gems brand name was registered (Dolly Madison’s mini-donut brand is still called Donut Gems).
1976 – Hostess® rounds up all their breakfast snacks under the “Breakfast Bake Shop” line with special displays to encourage consumers to purchase their doughnuts to eat at home.
1992 - Special holiday-packaged Hostess® cupcakes and donuts were introduced in the Christmas season.
2012-2022 – Multiple innovative new flavors are released throughout the years such as red velvet, apple cinnamon, cinnamon sugar crunch, strawberry cheesecake, and caramel crunch.
2020 - Chocolate Frosted Donettes® and Powdered Donettes are now available in snack-friendly, on-the-go packaging
2024 - Hostess® Honey Buns Donettes are the newest offering!