Old-fashioned dreamers

Graham Yelton can’t help but eye the purple fruit hanging on the plum tree in her backyard this summer, imagining how delicious it would taste mixed into an old-fashioned doughnut recipe. 

These days, Yelton said, her taste buds tend to wander to the sweeter side. 

For the officially year-old doughnut company, We Have Doughnuts, finding creative, sweet flavors isn’t all that matters.

 “The goal is to speak to the season and the South and to Birmingham specifically,” said Yelton, one of the four friends who started We Have Doughnuts. “How do we roll out a menu that reflects our time and place?”

We Have Doughnuts operates a stand in downtown Birmingham at Blach’s Lofts on 20th Street North, selling old-fashioned doughnuts made from scratch Tuesday through Friday mornings. It sells freshly made singles, assorted half-dozen and dozens from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., or more often than not, until they sell out.

We Have Doughnuts has announced a second location at the Box Row development in Avondale, a newly thriving area in Birmingham where many of its customers live.

“It all started with Phil Amthor; he’s a dreamer. It was his baby, his dream, and it began with the fact that he just really wanted a good double old-fashioned doughnut,” Yelton said.

An old-fashioned doughnut, unlike the more commonly sold yeast doughnut, is made from a specially-crafted batter instead of dough, which allows for a denser, more cake-like texture. Amthor, who originally developed his first old-fashioned recipe several years ago, doesn’t take his love for doughnuts lightly. Everywhere he travels, he said he uses it as an opportunity to try and critique local doughnuts. Not only does he occasionally record videos of himself trying various doughnuts across the country, but he also has a manifesto he wrote about his passion for these “underrated” treats. 

Yelton said they like to focus on new and creative flavors and even sometimes delve into the cocktail flavor scene. The flavors, which also change with the seasons, include lavender lemon, bruléed peach, brown butter, the newly perfected double chocolate and the classic buttermilk and chocolate. 

“We have a bunch of regulars. Everyone’s happy when there’s doughnuts involved,” said Chelsey Whilding, who sells the doughnuts at the downtown stand.

Everyone on staff plays a part in the menu. Each opinion, along with the customer’s intake, is taken into consideration while tweaking and perfecting flavors.

They love to take suggestions, Yelton said, which is why she hopes to use her basket of plums soon for a doughnut.

“The menu is a collaborative effort,” she said. “We are always trying to improve and make it better.”

A team of three to four bakers rises before the sun to make about 35 dozen doughnuts on an average day. Once the doughnuts are made, they are transferred to Seeds Coffee, Satellite Coffee Bar, Revelator Coffee Company and the downtown stand. On Saturday, doughnuts can be pre-ordered for pickup. 

With a pre-order system up and running smoothly, the company still has the capability to be operated by a small number of employees, though it hasn’t ruled out the option of expanding to other towns. 

Supporting local business is also a crucial part of its operating system. 

Year-round, We Have Doughnuts attempts to source from local farms such as Whit Farm and other locally driven organizations like the Urban Food project. The staff also uses herbs from their personal gardens. Last spring, the owners bought honey from the City Bee Company, also located downtown, and created the hot-honey doughnut, one that Yelton said made them especially proud. 

Go to wehavedoughnuts.com for pre-order or pickup information.