How Did They Do It?

The women were originally there to set up camps for the soldiers before stumbling across a supply of flour, sugar, milk, water and cooking oil. Although they had the ingredients, they had a lack of supplies to make their baked goods. With determination and initiative, they resorted to using empty wine bottles as rolling pins and tin cans as cutters. There was a high demand for doughnuts from the soldiers, up to 120 women were recruited into the ‘Doughnut Lassies’ team and thousands of doughnuts could be made each day. 

The Impact

The Doughnut Lassies played an important role in the American war effort: rising morale in the soldiers, risking their own safety to deliver the doughnuts, and creating a powerful presence amongst the cruelty of war. The soldiers who returned home continued to crave the household treat, requesting them from their wives and neighbourhood bakeries, and they soon became an everyday staple. The comfort they brought during the war ensured doughnuts truly became part of American life.