How to Make Dutch Crunch Bread (Tiger Bread)įirst you make a standard dough with yeast, water, milk, sugar, vegetable oil, flour, and salt. As the bread bakes, this topping breaks and hardens. It is made out of a mixture of rice flour (which is gluten-free, so it doesn’t stretch or spread), yeast, water, sugar, vegetable oil, and salt. But never fear! You can make your own at home! What Makes Dutch Crunch Bread Crunchy?īefore baking the bread, you brush the top of each roll (or small loaf) with a special topping. Apparently, it is very difficult to find in other areas of the country. It is super famous in San Francisco and sold in stores, sandwich shops, and bakeries there.
I was intrigued and knew I had to try it! What is Dutch Crunch Bread?ĭutch Crunch Bread is basically any type of bread or roll with the special crunchy, crackly top. It was a variety of bread I’d never heard of before–Dutch Crunch Bread (sometimes known as Tiger Bread, Giraffe Bread, or Marco Polo Bread). Not just split down the middle from baking, but covered with cracks all over, making a unique puzzle-like pattern on each roll or small loaf of bread.
The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color.This Dutch Crunch Bread Recipe (or Tiger Bread) will become your new favorite! So unique with its special crackly top and soft center, this specialty bread famous in the San Francisco Bay Area will make its way into your kitchen and will never leave!Ī couple months ago, I ran across some intriguing pictures of bread on Pinterest.Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating. Bake in a preheated 375º oven for 25-30 minutes, until well browned.Sprinkle on the optional salt if you wish-I did.You should err on the side of applying too much topping – a thin layer will not crack properly.Coat the top of each loaf or roll with a thick layer of topping.Add more water or rice flour as necessary.If you pull some up with your whisk it should look like soft peaks.The consistency should be like stiff royal icing – spreadable, but not too runny.Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk beat hard to combine.Let stand for 20 minutes after applying the topping.Coat the top of each roll or loaf with the topping (recipe below).Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.Shape each into a ball or loaf and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (try not to handle the dough too much at this point).Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 8 equal portions (if you’d like to make rolls) or 2 equal portions (if you’d like to make a loaf) (using a sharp knife or a dough scraper works well).Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled (or more) in size.Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few time more and shape it in to a ball.Knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic.Switch to the dough hook attachment and add remaining flour a quarter cup at time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.Mix at low speed until the dough comes together.
Add in vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of flour.Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes (The mixture should start to bubble or foam a bit and smell yeasty).In the bowl of an electric mixer or large mixing bowl, combine yeast, milk and sugar.