Hanisch Bakery

When you head south of the cities, there aren’t many options for donuts. And guess what? I lived south of the cities for all of my childhood. Who would have thought I'd love them as much as I do after eating my first donut from a grocery store bakery? Now, I'm indulging in fancy ass donuts and Hanisch's specialty, splooge worthy Bismarcks and Paczkis. Unfortunately, Hanisch is about an hour drive from the cities, but when you venture down to Red Wing, you're sure to find everything a you'd want and more from a bakery: donuts, cookies, muffins, pastries, bread, buns, and even soups, salads and sandwiches.

It's a family owned business that started back in 1954 by the Quandt's, then bought by the Pirius,' followed by the Braschlers's and in 2007, Billy the Bunman. He took it over after starting from the bottom of the totem pole mopping floors. He's got quite the education though, graduating from Johnson & Wales University’s College of Culinary Arts. It's a funny story how Billy ended up at the bakery; he was caught doing "donuts" in a golf cart working at a golf course and let's just say, he didn't stick around long. The only thing he’s really concerned about is having fun. And from a business owner of a family owned shop, that's how you want it to be. Yeah, he cares about making a buck, but at the end of the day, whatever puts a smile on his face is what he’s going to do. That starts with bringing in a large crowd on a day to day basis. Donuts and baked goods can reel in the food lovers, but the atmosphere is what makes people come back. In addition to the bakery counter, there's a "cafe" just on the other side of the wall where you can order a select list of brunch/lunch items and take a seat in the dining area. It's a great place that allows you to sip down some coffee (which they offer a dozen different varieties of), chow down, and relax.

Thousands of donuts and baked goods are whipped up every day with 57... count it... 57 different types of donuts a day! Even with this super high quantity, Billy truly focuses on quality. Ingredients are bought from local partners/businesses to support the community, the buttercream, icing and a number of fillings are made in house and they never sell day old donuts. Their best selling item is the buttercream cookie which is iced and decorated to perfection with colorful and fun designs of thick buttercream. I swear, this stuff has crack in it. It's truly addictive and once you have one, you'll know exactly what I mean. They're especially popular for holidays with their designs including, Santa for Christmas, pumpkins for Halloween, turkey's for Thanksgiving and even out of the box creations like Minions from Despicable Me. Since the're a "bakery," they focus on baked goods as a whole, even soups, salads and sandwiches which I mentioned before. Lets get real though; when I'm going to a bakery, I'm walking out with a box of donuts (and maybe a coffee). But hey, for Hanisch in Red Wing, having a little bit of everything is the perfect business plan. Now it's time to dive into the donuts.

The most popular donut at Hanisch is the Maple Bacon Cake Donut. It usually sells out before noon and people come in just for this. The last time I was here, somebody had actually bought two dozen an hour before I walked in and I was shit out of luck. Maple bacon donuts are that type of combo people usually flock to: a moist donut, sweet icing, and bacon... all things that most normal people wont say no to, and for good reason. It's the ultimate sweet and salty combination right next to Peanut Butter and Jelly (or chocolate) in my opinion. Hanisch is one of the few, if not the only place I've been to that does a maple bacon CAKE donut instead of yeast. I'm not a big fan of cake donuts, and unfortunately almost all their crazy flavor and candy coating donuts are on a cake donut. Don't fret though, there's many others to choose from. My favorite is the Buttercream Long John (pictured below). It's a Yeast Dough with Fresh Ground Roasted Spanish Peanuts, Scratch Chocolate Icing and Scratch Buttercream Filling. If you guys know me, you know this is right up my alley: hefty splooge, crunchy texture, saltiness from the peanuts and a rich, decadent chocolate icing. The selection of donuts is unreal and you'll probably be able to find anything of your choosing here.

His newest creation is an Ice Cream Donut Sandwich. Yes, you read that right! This isn’t your typical Ice Cream Donut Sandwich though. Billy traveled to Far Far Away (where are my Shrek fanboys at?!) and found a machine that literally engulfs a scoop of ice cream with a donut and seals it together. It's not one of those basic sandwiches with a sliced open donut and scoop of ice cream that eventually floods down the edges leaving a sloppy mess. No, this thing is SEALED SHUT and warmed in a panini type press creating the tiniest bit of crust and warm to the touch donut putting it way over the edge. He was inspired by videos he saw on Instagram and he knew he had to find one. I haven’t been able to try one since he just brought it out for a special event last summer, but trust me, when these are back, I'm going hard in the gotda** paint.

Price: $1.75 - $2.75

Price of a dozen: Starts at $17.50

Crowd Favorite: Buttercream Cookie and Maple Bacon Cake Donut

My Favorite: Buttercream Long John

Hours

Monday - Friday: 5:30am - 6pm Saturday: 5:30am - 4pm Sunday: Closed

Address

410 West 3rd Street Red Wing, MN, 55066

www.hanischbakery.com