Plymouth Priest accused of sex abuse; Dunkin' doesn't do French donuts

PDN quote: “I saw them and I said, ‘Oh my God, can I have two of those?’ ’’ - Tracy Hernandez.

French Crullers disappear from South Shore Plymouth priest accused of
sex abuse in 1980s

The Archdiocese of Boston has placed the pastor of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Plymouth on administrative leave after an allegation of sexual abuse of a child.
      The Lowell Sun reports that Rev. James E. Braley was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. Parishioner Ann Wollman says she finds the allegations hard to believe.
      Braley was assigned to St. Peter Parish in Cambridge from 1975 to 1981 and was the chaplain of Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree from 1981 to 1986.
      He also worked in parishes in Salem, Lynn, Marblehead and Norwood and had been in Plymouth since 2001.See Ledger story here.

Beloved pasty gone but not forgotten

The Boston Globe reports that Eric Geoffroy calls it “the delicate princess of doughnuts.’’

Skye Gaudette even sketched a picture of it on a napkin in her quest to describe it.

Wendy Cobrda wrote to Dunkin' Donuts for an explanation when it vanished from her local coffee shop.

They are devotees of the French cruller, and pursuing their obsession has not been an easy path.

A French cruller is a fluted, ring-shaped doughnut made from choux pastry with a light airy texture.

The name comes from early 19th century Dutch kruller, from krullen "to curl", and if you have never eaten one, they are not at all like a regular donut but cakey and airy and moist inside.

The French Cruller, with its distinctive twisted ridges, disappeared three years ago from a broad corridor along Route 3 from Quincy all the way to Plymouth, and the doughnut’s followers were left bereft, craving something they had loved and, without warning, lost.

But not "lost" to everyone, only Plymouthians and their neighbors.

Regional bias? Hyannis has what Plymouth needs?

French Cruller: Indescribably delicious.In 2003, the Dunkin' Donuts chain of doughnut shops stopped carrying traditional crullers, claiming that the hand-shaped treats were too labor-intensive, and couldn't be simulated with new machines for mixing doughnut batter.

The company allowed local franchisees the option of making them or not.

Tim Hortons, Honey Dew Donuts, and Krispy Kreme still sell the French cruller, while Dunkin' Donuts now sells several variations of a substitute product it calls a "cake stick" which is a simplified, machine-made version of the more elaborately twisted hand-made variety.

So if you live on the South Shore, you will have to drive to Hyannis for your "French cruller fix.

Read The Globe story here.

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