REEDSVILLE - After a snowstorm missed Schuylkill County on Monday morning, Jason Zimmerman, owner of Martin's Farm Market in Wayne Township, predicted his staff, and other bakers in the county, would be making more and more "fasnachts."
"Our orders were down a little bit because of the weather they were predicting. And we were expecting some snow and figured it wouldn't be very busy, but that's not the case. We have a lot of walk-ins and we're trying to make them as fast as we can," Zimmerman, Rehrersburg, Berks County, said Monday.
They're square-shaped, Pennsylvania-Dutch-style, deep-fried doughnuts made of flour, mashed potatoes and sugar. And Zimmerman anticipates he'll sell thousands today, since today is Fasnacht Day, also known as Doughnut Day. They're a symbol of indulgence before the start of Lent, which is Wednesday.
Monica Larock, Sugarloaf, Luzerne County, was a walk-in who bought two dozen at Martin's at 9:10 a.m. Monday. She said it was the first time she bought fasnachts. She found out about them through Martin's Facebook page.
"I didn't order them because I thought we were getting the snowstorm and I live far away," Larock said.
Martin's Farm Market is at 744 Pennsylvania Route 183. It has a Schuylkill Haven address.
When Zimmerman bought Martin's in 2007, he learned quickly his customers enjoyed fasnachts. And his crew traditionally makes them every Friday and Saturday.
"On an average Friday or Saturday, we'll make about 20 dozen," Zimmerman said.
But on Fasnacht Day and the day before, Zimmerman said his staff will make more than 1,400 dozen, using 900 pounds of soybean oil, 1,600 pounds of flour, 400 pounds of sugar, 90 dozen eggs, 70 gallons of milk and 100 pounds of potatoes and "a couple cases of yeast," he said.
"This is usually how it always is. Last year, we made about 17,000 fasnachts. When we took over the business in 2007, we were making maybe 3,000 or 4,000 for Fasnacht Day. Now we're closer to 17,000. I think we'll beat that this year. Every year, it seems to go up a little bit," Zimmerman said.
Fasnachts are marketable for a few reasons. For some people, it's a family tradition. According to Pennsylvania Dutch folklore, fasnachts were made when families were "using up the fat in the kitchen" before Lent, according to www.padutchcountryblog.com.
For others, it's an opportunity to buy homemade doughnuts, which, according to Zimmerman, are very different than those made by brand-name fast-food franchises.
"They use a frozen dough that's brought in and simply thrown on a tray and thawed. It's not a fasnacht. Ours have mashed potatoes in them. They're made from scratch, all by hand," Zimmerman said.
Last year, he sold them at $9 a dozen. Because of inflation, he said he had to hike the price this year to $10 a dozen.
"Costs keep going up. Sugar costs a little more. Propane costs a little more. We use propane to fuel the fryers to cook them," he said.
Traditional fasnachts are either "plain" or covered with sugar, Zimmerman said.
But his crew is making a variety, which include glazed, cinnamon sugar, vanilla cream filled, Bavarian cream filled, strawberry filled, blueberry filled and peanut butter cream filled.
"People start ordering them around the end of January. We usually have between 500 and 600 dozen ordered. By Monday morning, we had 400 dozen ordered," Zimmerman said.
At 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Julia Heller, Pine Grove, was among Zimmerman's employees who started making the doughnuts. Zimmerman said he has 20 employees, which includes seasonal workers. And he brings in reinforcements for the two days he makes doughnuts for Fasnacht Day. Even his brothers, Jay and Jeffrey, both of Myerstown, Lebanon County, came in to help Monday.
At 9:05 a.m. Monday, Zimmerman wheeled two shopping carts filled with boxes and boxes of fasnachts out of his store and over to a Ford F-150 pickup truck.
"This is an order for I think we have about 60 dozen here," Zimmerman said.
They were for Way-Har Farms, Bernville, Berks County.
One of his employees, Karen Gingrich, also of Bernville, helped him load up the truck.
In the workshop at the back of Martin's Farm Market at 9:30 a.m. Monday, bakers were making the pastries using tools like a Hobart-brand commercial mixer.
"From the time they're mixed, I think it's a three-hour process until they're ready to sell," Zimmerman said.
The dough is put into a riser, rolled out and cut, put into a second riser, then fried. Many are decorated, and some are covered with Martin's homemade glaze, a concoction made of milk, honey, vanilla and sugar.
At 9:30 p.m. Monday, Zimmerman's crew started work to make more doughnuts.
"We'll work all night and all day Tuesday until, probably, about 6 p.m. Tuesday will probably be busier because it's the traditional Fasnacht Day," Zimmerman said.