Cycling the Doughnut Trail

As dawn arrived and a huge sun appeared in the eastern sky, I was pedaling my bicycle past Bluegrass Country’s picture-postcard horse farms on my way to Doughdaddy’s near Versailles. I thought: “Could life be any better?” Did my joy emanate from the invigorating morning ride, the delicious doughnuts, the inspiring natural beauty, or the sheer fun that comes from doing something crazy? It was all of these things.

Six days, 344 miles, 23 doughnut shops and 49 doughnuts. How lucky can a guy be—combining a week of biking Kentucky’s country roads with an excuse to overdose on a most-essential (in my opinion) food group? Whether it’s a glazed doughnut, a yum-yum, an apple fritter, a Long John or a twist, few things can match the simple pleasure of a doughnut.

The ingredients that go into a doughnut are similar from shop to shop, but each doughnut maker does a little something extra to make his or her creation unique. One baker told me his biggest challenge “is eating too many of my fabulous doughnuts.” When I pushed another baker to name her favorite, she said, “I can’t tell you which of the doughnuts is my favorite. It’s like my children. I love them all!”

In spite of the challenges that have reduced their numbers—five doughnut shops I stopped by during my trip were no longer in business—for the most part, the shops I visited were busy and successful. And yes, to my great delight, I learned that doughnuts made in Kentucky are as satisfying to the taste buds and as appealing to the eyes as I’d anticipated. I tried 49 doughnuts during the ride. All were quite good. Many were extraordinary. Here’s how it went.

Day One

I began my adventure by pedaling from my home in Louisville to nearby Nord’s Bakery, one of the city’s most venerable doughnut shops. Nord’s is an old-style shop that reminds me a lot of the German bakery I biked to when I delivered newspapers as a boy in a small Iowa town. There were attentive and chatty people behind the counter, lots of happy customers, and a display case full of the most appealing doughnuts imaginable. I was eager to try the two items for which Nord’s is best known: the Long John topped with maple icing and a strip of bacon, and the chocolate-glazed doughnut. Although I knew I’d be in trouble tasting three doughnuts at the first of my 23 stops, I could not resist also trying the “Bill Clinton,” a doughnut with crème filling. Suffice it to say, Nord’s doughnuts deserve their gloried reputation.

My next stop was the nearby Krispy Kreme. The line was long and the choices were countless. Doughnuts went out the door in stacks of boxes. I asked several customers, “Why are you here today?” One customer responded with an immense and toothless smile and said, “I have a huge sweet tooth. Actually, as you can see, I don’t have any teeth, so I guess you could say that I just have a huge sweet … !” Another man whispered to me, “My wife says she wants a divorce, so I’m trying to be really good to her. I’m taking her chocolate-covered doughnuts this morning.”

Sugar & Spice Donuts in Louisville’s Fern Creek neighborhood was next on my route. It’s a simple, attractive place with colorful cases displaying the sugary wares, including the caramel crème and Funky Monkey doughnuts I sampled. The Funky Monkey is filled with banana-flavored custard, topped with crunchy peanut butter, and drizzled with chocolate bits. Sugar & Spice’s other unique offerings include doughnuts crowned with cotton candy sprinkles and bubble gum sprinkles. Doughnut shops are fun places.

Before heading toward Bardstown, I made a quick stop at Dunkin’ Donuts. It was a cheerful place, so I ended up lingering with a glazed doughnut and a container of munchkins (an assortment of doughnut holes covered with a variety of toppings). A school bus driver who had stopped in told me he cannot face driving his busload of children each day without first picking up a bag of doughnuts.

Day Two

The second day of my trip began as soon after daybreak as it was safe to bike the streets of Bardstown. I asked a policeman where I should go for the best doughnuts in town. Without hesitation, he directed me to Hadorn’s Bakery, which has been family operated since 1935, so I quickly biked to the downtown shop located on the first floor of a modest corner residence. Hadorn’s was packed with customers, including one woman who was purchasing a box of doughnuts to take to the family of an 11-year-old who had just returned home from successful brain surgery. “I want to express my support and thought that an early morning box of fresh doughnuts would start their day out right,” she said. Doughnuts and greeting cards are similar. Both express “we care” or “I love you” or “hope you get well” or “please don’t divorce me.”

Owner and baker Greg Hadorn suggested I try a yum-yum doughnut and a custard-filled Long John. As I munched on these too-good-to-be-true confections, Greg told me about waking up every morning between 1 and 2 to begin the daily doughnut-making process. “There’s nothing tricky about making doughnuts,” he said. “Keep customers happy by offering a high-quality product, always follow the traditional process provided by prior generations, and be here every day. There’s nothing worse than showing up at your neighborhood doughnut shop and finding that it’s closed.”

Maintaining a high-quality product is not as easy as it may seem. Changing atmospheric conditions can affect the dough, making delicate adjustments necessary. “Every doughnut maker begins with the same ingredients,” Greg said, “so it’s how we make, roll and cut the dough that causes the difference.”

It’s a 40-mile bike ride between Bardstown and Danville, so I decided I had best be on my way. The warm sun glanced off the dew-covered fields that lined the roadway. I pedaled along, enjoying the visual feast, as well as the sounds and scents of central Kentucky.

My Danville destination was Burke’s Bakery, a local icon and fourth-generation family business in operation since the 1930s. It was mid-afternoon by the time I arrived. Fellow customers suggested I try an apple crisp doughnut with caramel icing. Oh my. It may have been the best doughnut I have ever eaten. They also suggested I taste a glazed doughnut drizzled in cinnamon. It was fabulous, too. I was able to walk away from eating more of Burke’s delights only after promising myself that I’d return another day.

The afternoon was moving along, and the sky was clouding over as I pedaled to my next stop, an unlikely place for freshly made doughnuts: the Marathon gas station halfway between Stanford and Lancaster on U.S. Highway 27. There, hidden in the corner of the station’s convenience store, Sal Ezaiza operates a small bakery. Sal makes 20 or so dozen doughnuts every day. He no longer gets up as early as he once did, so his doughnuts are famous for being fresh in the afternoon. Sal’s son, Shaker, suggested I try an apple fritter and a crème horn. Both were outstanding.

I biked a few more miles before deciding to call it a day. But not before I enjoyed the two fabulous chocolate brownies I had purchased earlier at Burke’s.

Day Three

There was only one doughnut shop on my list for this day. It was a memorable stop, well worth the effort it took to get there. I cycled 10 miles southeast of Stanford on U.S. Highway 150 to the small town of Crab Orchard, and then headed 6 miles south on Highway 643, a twisting road that meanders past farmland. I made the ascent up a steep hill to one of Kentucky’s Amish communities and to the Ottenheim Country Store and Bakery. Allan Byler manages the store; his wife, Sadie, is the baker. Allan greeted me with a big hello and smile, and presented a warm, fresh raspberry roll that his daughter, Esther Mae, had just brought in from the bakery. The Bylers were born in Delaware and got married there. Life near Dover was hectic and the jobs that they and other Amish folk are best suited for were no longer available. They decided to move to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where the same problems developed a few years later. So the Bylers and others relocated to Lincoln County and became part of an Amish community of 100 families.

The Ottenheim Country Store carries hundreds of items—everything from foodstuffs, including enormous containers of homemade noodles, to oil lamps, wooden toys, work clothing and tools. I was intrigued by the contents and atmosphere of the store, but I had biked to Crab Orchard to taste one of Sadie’s hand-formed glazed doughnuts. Sadly, the doughnuts were not available on the day I visited. My disappointment was more than erased, however, by the raspberry roll, plus a pumpkin roll and the best-ever pumpkin whoopie pie. “I don’t believe how good these are!” I muttered to myself. Sadie invited me to the simple room where she was preparing pastries, breads, cinnamon rolls and cookies for sale at the store and at the Saturday flea market in London.

There isn’t electricity at the bakery or store. Yet, the Bylers find a way to create their own energy, on their own terms, to power whatever mechanized equipment they need. Allan told me the Amish believe the use of electricity and motorized vehicles would make them vulnerable to influences and a lifestyle that are not consistent with their spiritual values.

There were many miles yet to pedal, so I bid farewell to the Bylers and spent the afternoon cycling back to Lancaster and then on to Richmond. I hummed Broadway tunes as my bike and I rolled merrily along—past peacefully grazing cattle and sheep, and beautifully kept homes and gardens. When someone was sitting on their front porch, I’d stop to say hello. Not surprisingly, I was regularly asked why I was on a bicycle out in the middle of nowhere. The responses to my answer were always similar: “Twenty-three doughnut shops? You gotta be crazy! But it sure sounds like fun. Wish I could go with you.”

Day Four

As soon as daylight arrived in Richmond, I pedaled toward Poppy’s Donuts. It was an early-morning crowd, mostly sleepy students on their way to school and folks going to work. One threesome was a father and his two teenage sons. The father also is the principal of the school the boys attend. “Why are you at Poppy’s?” I asked. “To be truthful,” replied the father/principal, “I greatly value the time I have in the car with my sons every morning, and the conversations always go better when we’re munching on doughnuts.”

I asked Kim Wilson, Poppy’s welcoming manager and baker, to select two doughnuts for me to try. Her choices were a maple-covered doughnut and an old-fashioned, crème-filled Long John. Fabulous! Poppy’s also offers doughnut specials, including chocolate Suisse candy bar, apple cider, pumpkin butterscotch, chocolate-covered cherry and caramel apple.

I enjoyed my two-hour trek from Richmond to Lexington, where my first stop was Magee’s Bakery. Begun in 1956 and feeling much like it still belongs to the ’50s, Magee’s was a pleasant place to linger. The display trays overflowed with tempting choices, and there was ample space to enjoy coffee, friends and, of course, doughnuts. The first three customers I approached were former Lexington residents who now live in Maryland, Florida and Ohio. All said they never visit Lexington without stopping at Magee’s. A doughnut covered in a copious amount of chocolate and a cherry-cheese Danish made me a Magee’s fan, too.

North Lime Coffee & Donuts near Transylvania University was a delightful discovery—unostentatious on the outside and artsy and snug inside. It’s what Cheers would be had it been a doughnut shop instead of a neighborhood bar. The folks at North Lime keep it simple with a limited number of delicious doughnuts. I selected a chocolate-frosted doughnut so lathered with rich, warm, gooey chocolate that I needed three napkins. I also enjoyed a small basket of Cinnamonkeys—glorified doughnut holes that have been stirred in sugar and cinnamon and who knows what else.

Day Five

I couldn’t leave Lexington without visiting Donut Days Bakery, which boasts beautiful display cases, ample booth and counter space, and some of the best glazed doughnuts I tasted on the entire trip. The hospitable and engaging Fred Wohlstein, who owns the bakery with his wife, Marie, claims Donut Days is the largest independent doughnut business in central Kentucky. Who knows? Few shops were willing to tell me how many doughnuts they turn out every day. Donut Days produces truckloads of the sweets, which are distributed to outlets in seven or eight counties. Five hundred dozen—6,000 doughnuts—were delivered to the Amazon Fulfillment Center the morning that I visited. It seemed appropriate that the sign outside Donut Days proclaims: “There’s no business like dough business.”

In addition to the glazed doughnut, I ordered a crème-filled horn to take with me for an afternoon snack. The horn didn’t make it out the door.

Doughdaddy’s, located in a BP gas station east of Versailles, offers the most extensive assortment of doughnuts I’ve ever seen. Put gas in your car and Doughdaddy’s will give you a free doughnut. They are betting that, as soon as you taste the free one, you’ll be hooked. Faye Jones, Doughdaddy’s manager, described her round-the-clock operation. Each cycle in the doughnut-making process takes 90 minutes, even though the doughnut is in the frying oil for a mere 10 seconds.

Faye and her colleague, Scottie Jones (no relation), are certain they make Kentucky’s best doughnuts. They were outraged when I refused to admit that theirs were the best I’d ever tasted. They forced me to try another. When I conceded that Doughdaddy’s doughnuts were among the top three favorites, they made me try another in hopes of moving to the No. 1 spot. If I’d been smart, I would have continued this game because, truth be told, Doughdaddy’s doughnuts are great fun to look at and magnificent to eat. For $7.99, you can purchase a gigantic glazed doughnut, dubbed the Big Doughdaddy, that is equal in size (and calories!) to a dozen regular doughnuts. This doughnut is h-u-g-e, huge.

Day Six

I biked westward from Frankfort, past families fishing in small lakes. I took a moment to pause west of Simpsonville at a memorial to the 22 members of the 5th United States Colored Cavalry who lost their lives in 1865 when attacked by Confederate guerrillas. These former slaves were driving a herd of 900 cattle to Louisville.

Once back in Louisville, I made my way to Plehn’s Bakery. Plehn’s glass display cases contained the most striking visual of my six-day ride. After a week of eating seven to eight doughnuts a day, I was beginning to experience a case of doughnut fatigue. My fondness for the round balls of dough with holes in the middle was quickly renewed at Plehn’s. Not only were the yum-yum doughnut and custard Danish among the best of the entire trip, the cheerful welcome I received at Plehn’s reminded me that we often go to doughnut shops for more than doughnuts.

I had planned to conclude my doughnut ride at Plehn’s but learned that the Hi-Five Doughnuts food truck was stationed for a few hours at a gathering on the Bellarmine University campus. This mobile doughnut shop, owned by Leslie Wilson and Annie Harlow, allows customers the opportunity to build their own creations. I was handed a fresh cake doughnut and told to select a glaze in which to dunk it and an indulgent topping to sprinkle it with. It was great fun, and my first doughnut was so satisfying that I ended up ordering another. I chose the bourbon-caramel and chocolate glazes (bacon, cinnamon, pumpkin and peanut butter also were available) and finally settled on the candied pecans and bacon bits toppings. It was difficult to forgo the remaining topping choices of roasted coconut, cornflakes, crushed pineapple, marshmallows, chocolate minis, sprinkles, Butterfinger bits, dried bananas and dried cherries. The bourbon-caramel with pecans was one of the most memorable and delectable doughnuts I had tasted all week. And Leslie and Annie made the experience entertaining.

Six days of perfect weather, 344 miles of scenic roadways, 23 doughnut shops and 49 not-to-be-forgotten doughnuts. And I’m certain there are many more outstanding doughnut shops in Kentucky than I was able to visit. While I have concluded that the old adage “Too much of a good thing is still … too much” is probably true, this was a journey without regrets. Oh my, those doughnuts were soooo good!

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Day One

Nord’s Bakery, 2118 South Preston Street, Louisville

Try: Maple Bacon Long John

Sugar & Spice Donuts, 5613 Bardstown Road, Louisville

Try: Funky Monkey

Additional Day One Stops:

Donut Sky, 8005 Bardstown Road, Mt. Washington

Try: Apple fritters

Donut King, 10731 Kentucky 44, Mt. Washington

Try: Doughnut holes

Day Two

Hadorn’s Bakery, 118 West Flaget Street, Bardstown

Try: Yum-yum or Long John

Burke’s Bakery, 121 West Main Street, Danville

Try: Apple Crisp with Caramel Icing

Sal’s Food Mart/Marathon, 4410 U.S. Highway 27 North, Stanford

Try: Crème horn

Day Three

Ottenheim Country Store, 5920 Highway 643, Waynesburg

Try: Any of the baked goods!

Day Four

Poppy’s Donuts, 330 Eastern Bypass, Richmond

Try: Crème-filled Long John

Magee’s Bakery, 726 East Main Street, Lexington

Try: Chocolate-covered doughnut

North Lime Coffee & Donuts, 575 North Limestone Street, Lexington

Try: Cinnamonkeys

Additional Day Four Stops:

Main Street Bakery & Café, 144 East Main Street, Richmond

Try:  Blueberry cake doughnut

Spalding’s Bakery, 760 Winchester Road, Lexington

Try: Glazed doughnut

Day Five

Donut Days Bakery, 185 Southland Drive, Lexington

Try: Glazed doughnut

Additional Day Five Stops:

Magee’s Bakery Doughnuts & More, 225 West Main Street, Frankfort

Try:  Maple-Bacon doughnut

Poppy’s Bakery, 865 Wilkinson Boulevard, Frankfort

Try:  Pumpkin doughnut (seasonal)

Day Six

Plehn’s Bakery, 3940 Shelbyville Road, Louisville

Try: Yum-yum

Hi-Five Doughnuts, Louisville

Follow the company on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to learn where the food truck (named Shelby, by the way) will be parked.

Try: Build-your-own

Additional Day Six Stops:

Donut Express, 1732 Midland Trail, Shelbyville

Try: Glazed doughnut

State Donuts, 12907 Factory Lane, Louisville

Try: Blueberry doughnut