While no one really knows when doughnuts were invented or who invented them, doughnuts were originally made as a long twist of dough. Not in the ring form that is most common these days. It was also common in England for donuts to be made in a ball shape and injected with Jam after they were cooked. Both methods of cooking involve no human intervention as the ball and twist will turn itself over when the underside is cooked. American Hansen Gregory claimed to have invented it in 1847 when he was traveling on a steam boat. He was not satisfied with the texture of the center of the donut so he pressed a hole in the center with the ship’s pepper box.