Brown Bobby

A Brown Bobby is a triangular shaped doughnut. It is baked in a Brown Bobby machine, which resembles and is operated similarly to a waffle iron. These machines were created by the Food Display Machine Corporation in Chicago, Illinois around the 1920s and possibly later.

History

The Food Display Machine Corporation was located at 500 North Dearborn Street in Chicago Illinois. Its president was H. Adams. In the mid 1920s, through advertisements in Popular Mechanics Magazine and perhaps other means as well, these machines were marketed as a means to start a small business. The machine’s manual has 3 parts:
*1. Seven Proven Business Plans for Operating a Successful BROWN BOBBY Business
*2. How to get the Best Results from your BROWN BOBBY Machine
*3. Recipes that Whet the Buying AppetiteThe seven business plans described are:
*1. Selling Direct to Homes
*2. Getting the Restaurant and Drug Store Business
*3. Getting the Grocery Business
*4. Window Demonstrating and Sampling
*5. Getting the Student Trade
*6. Selling Through Salesmen
*7. Running a BROWN BOBBY Store of your own

Some of the suggested locations for selling included candy stores, theatres, chain stores, bowling alleys, cigar stores, railway stations, dance halls, waiting rooms, garages, filling stations, general stores and soft drink parlors.

One could also obtain boxes and bags from the company for packaging the doughnuts. The machines are no longer manufactured as the Food Display Machine Corporation has long been out of business. According to the [http://www.ftc.gov/os/annualreports/ar1937.pdf Annual Report of the Federal Trade Commission for 1937] the company was issued a Cease and Desist order for misrepresenting possible or maximum earnings for its potato chip machines.

The Machine

The Brown Bobby machine resembled and is operated similar to a waffle iron. Its surfaces were made of aluminum and were prepared for baking by coating with paraffin, though users today would most often use cooking spray. The machine had a high (600 watt/surfaces connected in parallel) and a low (300 watt/surfaces connected in series) setting. Cooking was done on the high setting, the low setting was for allowing the machine to remain idle. Machines were available as either a single (aka Brown Bobby Junior) for $52 or as 2 machines riveted together into a single unit for $100. Since these machines are no longer manufactured they are prized by their owners and often handed down to subsequent generations to continue the tradition of Brown Bobby making, especially during the holidays.

The Doughnuts

The Brown Bobby manual included 10 recipes for doughnuts, 4 icing recipes and a number of prepared doughnut mixes were also available. Recipes included Plain, Wholewheat, Bran, Spice, Nut, Tutti-Frutti, Chocolate and Oatmeal. The doughnuts were touted as “greaseless” because they weren’t deep-fried but, as the following recipe indicates, the grease was in the doughnut.
*Brown Bobby Special Recipe No. One (makes 2 1/2 dozen)
**2 Cups Sugar, 1 Cup Lard (cream well)
**3 Eggs, 2 Cups Buttermilk (beaten together)
**1 Tsp each of Salt and Soda
**2 Tsp each of Baking Powder and Nutmeg
**4 Cups of flour.
**Beat the whole mixture thoroughly.

The hot molds are then filled with the mixture using a pastry bag and baked approximately 3 minutes. Removal is done by lifting a corner of the Brown Bobby with the edge of a knife and placing on a wire rack to cool.

External links

* [http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=7174 For the love of brown what?]
* [http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3kvr4/bbrecipes.txt Complete List of Brown Bobby Recipes]
* [http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3kvr4/bbtips.txt Helpful Brown Bobby Making Tips]
* [http://www.flicklives.com/Glossary/triangle_donuts/donuts.htm Jean Shepherd's story about triangular doughnuts]