Community Chat

[newname0]

I remember getting irked when having young bakery clerks refer to everything as a donut.  When I was young it was first called a bismarck, then a sweet roll, then a Danish and I think now clerks refer to them as donuts.  

What do you prefer calling the thing you eat with coffee today?  Is there a new name?

[Desertdi]

I'm kinda partial to almond bear claws..........

[Suzeecat]

Whatever I want, I call it what it is labeled in the counter.  I want to be sure to get exactly what I want. 

[Havarti]

Where I come from...those are all completely different things.  

A donut is round with a hole in the middle and made froma cake-like dough.  It might be plain, frosted with a glaze, rolled in powdered sugar, or rolled in cinnamon sugar, etc.  Donuts are usually fried individually, then frosted/coated.

A bismark has no hole.  It may be round or rectangular and has a filling in the middle and is made from a cake like dough.  It may contain a custard, or jam or jelly.  It may be frosted with glaze or plain.  Bismarks are usually fried individually, then stuffed, then frosted.

A sweet roll is often round (but sometimes square - depending on how they are cut).  They are baked in a pan (not fried).  It may be a rolled bread-like dough with cinnamon, maybe nuts put on the dough before it is rolled so you will find it throughout the roll once it is baked.  A pan of sweet rolls are baked together then frosted with a glaze when nearly cool and pulled or cut apart into individual rolls.

A danish is often a round roll - but may be rectangular - that is made of multi-layered dough (sort of like a puff pastry) to make it more flaky.  It is baked and frosted with a gaze frosting when nearly cool.  It may contain a fruit filling, but not necessarily.  

They would all be found in a typical bakery case but each is different and has its own name.

I like a good donut, or a custard filled bismark, or a carmel pecan sweet roll.  I am not so much into danish, but would not turn down any of them with a good cup of coffee.

[sunshine45]

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@newname0 wrote:

I remember getting irked when having young bakery clerks refer to everything as a donut.  When I was young it was first called a bismarck, then a sweet roll, then a Danish and I think now clerks refer to them as donuts.  

What do you prefer calling the thing you eat with coffee today?  Is there a new name?

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never remember hearing the word bismarck.

a sweet roll, a danish, and  donut are all three different items to me. have not really heard anyone mix up those terms.

a donut has a hole or not if it is filled and is traditionally linked with coffee because people like to dunk them......hence the business name "dunkin donuts.".....remember when the plain dunkin donut had a little " donut handle" on it?

[proudlyfromNJ]

I have no clue what a Bismarck is and I have called a roll a roll but never a sweet roll. A roll would be eaten with dinner.

[Diva on The Q]

@Havarti: Maybe it's a regional term, but I have never heard of a bismark. What you've described sounds like what's called a paczki in my neck of the woods. Learn something new everyday! 

[sunshine45]

if a bismark looks like this (from what you have described), we call them logs or long johns...... they can be topped, filled, or topped and filled.

[Desertdi]

A bismarck is a round fry cake.....usually filled with custard, or raspberry jelly, and topped with icing, powdered sugar, or granulated sugar.

[KentuckyWoman]

If it's a donut, eclair, cinnamon bun, glazed croissants, danish, or bismark is what I order.  Everything is not a donut.