RACINE - A Danish treat with a tasty history, the official state pastry of Wisconsin is the kringle.
A pastry filled with an assortment of fruits and other ingredients, the kringle first arrived in the state from Denmark in the early 1900s. With a high concentration of Danish settlers immigrating to southern Wisconsin, the city of Racine became known as the kringle capital of the world.
Bendtsen's Bakery
Bendtsen’s Bakery, in business since 1934, is one of the last of the original Danish bakeries in Racine to remain in business from the early years. Founded by Laurits Bendt Bendtsen, the bakery has stayed in the same location since the beginning turning out 80 to 90 kringles each day along with other Danish pastries and cakes.
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“The word kringle actually means ‘pretzel’ in Danish,” said manager Cindy Bendtsen, whose son Bendt took over the family business in March. “The kringle used to be shaped like a pretzel but now it’s made in an oval. It kept the name kringle, the actual pastry is still the same.”
Operated by the fourth generation of Bendtsens, the bakery with six employees still produces the same authentic kringles by hand.
“During the holidays, we can do 1,000 kringles or so on a weekend,” Bendtsen said. “It depends what type of day it is.”
Available in 25 varieties, the No. 1 selling kringle at Bendtsen’s is the pecan, which is sold five to one over other flavors. Experimenting with different fillings, the bakery recently added acinnamon roll kringle to the menu. The kringles sell for $9 to $11 each, depending on the filling, plus an additional charge if shipped.
Bendtsen’s sells kringles through itsRacine store and ships the pastry nationwide. The bakery has been featured on the CBS Morning Show and "Around the Corner with John McGivern" on Wisconsin Public Television.
“We take pride in what we do,” Bendtsen said. “We are a small business but big on quality"
O&H Danish Bakery
Three generations of the Olesen family have been making kringles at O&H Danish Bakery of Racine since 1949. Immigrating from Denmark Christian Olesen partnered with Harvey Holtz to form O&H, one of the largest kringle producers in the state.
“The kringle you know is influenced by generations of Danish bakers,” said company president Eric Olesen. “We have a lot of amazing people that work for us and many have worked for us for many years.”
Expanded to five store locations in southern Wisconsin O&H Bakery employs 160 people and produces 4,000 to 7,000 kringles per day depending on the season. The bakery also makes a full line of cakes, cookies, sweet rolls and other Danish pastries.
Almond was the original flavor of the Danish kringle, and today O&H produces 15 varieties of kringles on a daily basis. Limited seasonal flavors include Key Lime, rhubarb and the Wisconsin Kringle, created in honor of the states designation of the official state pastry. The Wisconsin Kringle features cheese from Door County, cream cheese and cranberries from Wisconsin Rapids.
The making of a kringle is a three-day process at O&H. The dough is rich with a lot of milk, eggs and butter worked into the batter. The dough is refrigerated and rolled out each day until 18 layers have been added. On the third day, the dough is rolled into thin strips, the filling is folded in and icing added.
“We make our own filling and icing from scratch,” Olesen said. “We know where we are sourcing our ingredients from. We are only as good as our ingredients and labor.”
In addition to its bakeries, O&H Danish Kringles can be found in select Roundy’s, Pick ‘n Save and Copp’s Foods locations among other venues in Wisconsin. The company has a mail order portion of the business that ships kringles throughout the U.S. The kringles are also sold by groups and organizations as a fundraising activity.
“We sell a lot in our different stores but mail order, that’s the biggest part,” Olesen said.
Kringles can be mail ordered for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, or thank you gifts as well as for graduations and retirement parties or other special occasions.
“It’s a wonderful product to share or give as a gift or mail to someone,” Olesen said. “People will not only remember the product but they will remember who gave it to them.”
Racine Danish Kringles
In operation for more than three decades,Racine Danish Kringles was purchased by the Heyer family in 1988.
“We have 25 to 30 flavors right now and we can make 45 different flavors,” said company president Chris Heyer.
The most requested fruit-flavored kringle is raspberry, followed by the traditional almond and pecan kringle, Heyer said. Racine Danish Kringles also makes several unique seasonal varieties, such as bourbon pecan, caramel and lemon poppy seed.
The bakery has the capacity to produce 10,000 kringles daily in several shifts with 45 regular employees and 75 to 80 seasonal workers.The kringles are available in Century Foods, Festival Foods and Piggly Wiggly groceries, numerous independent groceries and by mail order.
Former Wisconsin resident Norell Albania of Naples, Florida, orders Racine Danish Kringles as thank-you gifts and for special occasions such as family events and holidays.
“It’s unique gift to give to people down here,” she said. “They are delicious and super easy to order. They have wonderful customer service.”
The kringles are also sold as fundraisers by groups and organizations such as the Sheboygan South High School Band Boosters and The Academy of Performing Arts in Oak Creek and other academic, sports, church and school related groups.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Bendtsen’s Bakery, 3200 Washington Ave., Racine. For more information phone 1-262-633-0365, fax 1-262-633-7449 or visit www.bendtsensbakery.com.
O&H Danish Bakery, 5910 Washington Ave., Racine. For more information phone 1-800-709-4009 or visit www.ohdanishbakery.com.
Racine Danish Kringles, 2529 Golf Ave., Racine. For more information phone 1-800-432-6474 or 1-262-633-1819 find them on Facebook or visit www.kringle.com.
Lehmann’s Bakery, 4900 Spring St., Racine. For more information phone the bakery 1-800-607-8721 or 1-262-898-7810 or the main office 1-262-632-4636 or visit www.lehmannsbakery.com.
