On Wednesday, February 26, Berkeley Donuts opened inside Hops & Pie, a pizzeria in Denver, Colorado. The new shop stands out thanks to the potatoes it uses in its donut-making.
Real Colorado potatoes are featured inside these donuts, but not wedges or mashed potatoes. Instead, the potato is mixed in with the flour to make a dough that’s fluffier and a donut that’s more tender, according to Berkeley’s head doughnut baker Audie Mauk.
“Growing up in the Northeast, I would go to local shops where the donuts had a crispy outside and an elegant, cake-like inside. The texture was so different from other donuts,” Mauk tells The Know, The Denver Post’s entertainment website.
Berkeley Donuts serves more than a dozen flavors of four types of donuts, including vegan and gluten-free versions. The menu also includes a donut breakfast sandwich featuring egg, cheese, and maple breakfast sausage.
The donuts are based on New England-style potato donuts. Owners Drew Watson says he’s been obsessed with them ever since a 2016 trip to Maine, so he decided to start making the donuts himself.