Tijgerbrood (Dutch Tiger Bread Rolls / Dutch Crunch)

Summer school holidays and having my parents-in-law staying with us for three months means I'm busy, busy, busy.

Busy juggling between kids activities and senior welfare means less cooking and baking. My new direction has taken a back seat as creating new recipes and sticking to only Malaysian cuisine proved to be difficult during this time of year.

Meal planning has become a chore with different preferences and dislikes. An occasional Asian meal is fine with my Dutch in-laws - but preferably not on a regular basis. Meal with bones is also a big No No for them. They also have a strict no seafood diet. They dislike the taste and smell of any sea creatures. I have been able to accommodate this request pretty well except for the occasional honest mistake, "Oops! I forgot oyster sauce is made from oyster extract!"

After seeing his mom made his favourite potato salad with Worcestershire sauce, Mr J checked the label on the bottle and whispered to me: "It actually contains ANCHOVIES!!".

A few years ago we celebrated Chinese New Year at my parents home in Seremban, Malaysia, together with my in-laws. As usual, we went to a Chinese restaurant for a CNY celebration and ordered Yee Sang (raw fish salad, a fixture in most CNY banquet) as part of the banquet.
Forever accommodating, my parents told the chef not to include the raw fish and they boldly announced to my in-laws that the dish had no seafood.

Everyone started to indulge happily. Not until half way through the meal, my father suddenly whispered to me, "Oops! I forgot that the Yee Sang dish has jelly fish!!" I then whispered to Mr J and he decided not to tell his parents what they had ingested in fear a toilet rush would follow suit.

Living in perfect harmony means compromises. We will have an evening with a spicy Asian meal and the next morning I will bake something they fancy such as these tiger bread rolls.

Tijgerbrood originates from Holland and it's translated as Tiger Bread, and sometimes it's called Dutch Crunch. It has taken the name because of the stripes and patterns on the bread rolls.

In Australia, you can buy them from Bakers Delight and they are widely available in the US and across Europe. Though I am not too sure about the availability of this bread in Asia.

The uniqueness of these rolls is in the use of sesame oil and rice flour paste that strongly suggest an Asian influence from the past of the ever adventurous Dutchmen that travelled frequently to the Far East for trade and the discovery of new lands.

The stripy crunchy crust that is created by the use of a mix of rice flour and sesame oil paste is visually and texturally stunning. It balances the soft and buttery texture of the roll. It's best eaten fresh and warm from the oven; savoury or sweet, with jam & butter or cheese and ham.

There are several recipes available on the Internet. I have based mine from this recipe. The reason? How can I resist a bread recipe with CROISSANT in it??? I did tweak the recipe to bring it a little closer to the original tiger bread. Although there is no doubt in my mind that the buttery croissant is not included in the original ingredients of making traditional tiger bread, it's a welcome addition as it adds magic to the texture of these bread rolls.

Tijgerbrood (Dutch Tiger Bread Rolls / Dutch Crunch) Recipe
Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients

1 cup bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 teaspoon instant dried yeast

2 cups bread flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 croissants
1 1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant dried yeast

Paste:
1/3 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup white rice flour
4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon instant dried yeast

Method

1. The night before, combine the first 4 ingredients together; mix and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in room temperature room overnight or 12 - 18 hours.
2. Pour the overnight mixture into a large bowl. Add the 1 1/4 cups of lukewarm water and mix till blended.
3. Tear the croissants into small pieces and whiz them in a food processor.

   

4. Pour in the whole wheat flour and the finely processed croissants. Mix with a wooden spoon till all the flour and croissants are well mixed. Add in the salt and instant dried yeast.
5. Once everything is well mixed start to add the bread flour in. About 1/2 cup at a time.
6. When the dough becomes to hard to mix in the bowl, pour out onto a flat surface and continue to incorporate the rest of the flour. Knead the dough for about 8 - 10 minutes. Add 1/2 tbsp of sesame oil to a clean bowl.

   

7. Place the dough into the bowl and turn over a few time to lightly coat all sides of the dough. Allow to rest for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or till double in bulk.

   

8. Once the dough has rested till double; punch down the dough and pour out onto a flat surface. Cut the dough into 12 equal parts (around 100 g each).

   

9. Roll each piece into a ball and place onto a piece of parchment paper. Allow to rise for an hour.

   

10. About an half an hour before baking the bread, you can start the coating. In a small bowl combine the water, sugar, rice flour, salt, sesame oil and yeast.

    

11. Mix with a wooden spoon till the paste is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest till double. Once the bread is ready to bake, spread the paste onto the outside of the rolls.
12. Place into a preheated 180 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Turn up the heat to 200C and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until the crusts are browned.
13. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.