The Holy Donut
In Maine, they do things a little bit differently.
Even the donuts.
“We are known for making a very unique Maine potato donut. Most people will say or assume that we use potato flour, but we actually use Maine russet mashed potatoes in all of our donuts. It's as good as a donut can be for you and still be a donut. A lot of people will say these donuts taste like my grandmother in Northern Maine used to make. And we hear all the time, I'm not a donut eater, but I love those.”
And they’re thinking outside of the ‘donut box’ at The Holy Donut.
Since 2012, The Holy Donut has been cranking out tasty hot Maine potato doughnuts.
“We're a destination here in Maine, and we have from Kennebunk to Brunswick, we have five stores.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Everywhere you're going to go and play in Maine or along the way.”
Founder Leigh Kellis took an old recipe and started making potato donuts from her home kitchen. And what started small has turned into a delicious doughnut making dynasty, now run by her sister, Elizabeth and brother-in-law, Jeff Buckwalter.
“It's an experience different from most donut shops. We do make our donuts from scratch every day, which is a little bit out of the ordinary, and we use ingredients that everybody can feel good about. We use all natural products and we make everything daily. Everything that you get at the Holy Donut is fresh and it's natural and you can feel good about it.”
But what exactly IS a Maine potato doughnut?
“So in Northern Maine, Aroostook County is where all the potatoes are grown. We rice the potato into the dough as it's being made, and it gives it a really nice texture, nice quality and nice richness to it and then the dough is rolled out, cut into donut shapes, formed, fried and then glazed and served. It's most similar to a cake style donut, as opposed to a yeast donut. So it's got a nice amount of weight to it. It's not necessarily an airy donut, but it's nice and moist. You have that little bit of crisp on the outside, nice and moist and soft on the inside. It is just perfection.”
Flavors of these Holy Donuts range from simple to sensational.
But a donut shop is only as good as its Old Fashioned.
“It's the best way to measure a donut, right? Nothing on it, nothing fancy. You're going to taste the buttermilk. You're going to notice those nice little air pockets. You're going to have crunch on the outside, moisture in the middle and it's just a very unique mouth feel and texture that you're typically not going to find when you try other donuts.”
Another classic is the Vanilla Glazed.
“Vanilla glaze is the old fashioned donut, and it has a pure vanilla glaze on top. We glaze that one hot, so it's a nice, kind of translucent, thin glaze on top, so it's not too sweet, but it's really classic and kind of a good donut for all.”
The Chocolate Glazed Sea Salt was the donut that really put Holy Donut on the map.
“Our dark chocolate sea salt is our flagship. It's fantastic. We use really good 70% dark cocoa powder, and we actually melt chocolate and put that right in with the dough, so that gives it that really interesting, brownish, fudgey kind of taste, stays crispy on the outside, and just a hint of sea salt. It blows people's minds.”
Other favorites include the light and lovely Lemon.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Iconic Cinnamon Sugar and that classic sweet and salt combo- the Maple Bacon.
“So it is the classic combination, like pancakes and bacon. So you've got the sweet from the syrupy maple and the salty bacon on top. So it's a real breakfast combination that can't be beat.”
“You got the crispy and the savory of the bacon offset by the sweetness of that really good, authentic maple. On top of a nice, fluffy, old fashioned donut. That's probably one of my all time faves.”
Bacon lovers will also want to try the Bacon Cheddar Donut.
“The bacon cheddar donut is our old fashioned dough, which we use to make a little pocket, and we stuff it with crispy bacon and sharp cheddar cheese, and then fry it so it comes out hot, served warm and filled with melted cheddar and crispy bacon. It's kind of like a donut Hot Pocket. You're gonna get that beautiful cheese pull and little bits of bacon all throughout. It is amazing."
For that quintessential Maine experience you can try a Blueberry Glazed donut featuring locally sourced berries…
Or a spin on a classic and order yourself a Whoopie Pie Donut.
“It's a nice kind of play on a Maine tradition. We're combining the Maine whoopie pie with a Maine potato donut.”
And for another delicious mashup, order one of the Cannoli Doughnuts.
“So we make the cannoli shells out of our old fashioned dough. We just don't put a hole in it. So it's made kind of as a little basket, and then we fill it with our house made ricotta cream. It's a delicious, slightly lemony, creamy filling. People love it.”
“It's a very unique looking donut. I call it open face. It's but it's different, little messy, so an extra napkin or two doesn't hurt, but they're delicious.”
And whether you order one or one dozen, you’ll find ‘different’ is delicious at The Holy Donut.
“You'll walk away going that's unlike any other donut I've ever tried. And then you'll be asking us, when are you going to set up a shop, wherever I'm from. It'll be unlike any other donut you've ever had, promise you that.”
