Tijgerbrood / Tijgerbol | Tiger Bread Rolls | Dutch Crunch Rolls

I was very excited to bake this bread the minute my husband showed me the picture of it. I have never heard of the Tiger bread until now and once again I am reminded how much this Mega marathon has taught me. The Tijgerbrood also known as Tijgerbol is a Dutch bread with a cracked patter on the surface. This bread is sold as Dutch Crunch Bread in the United states (mostly in the San Francisco area) and Giraffe Bread in the United Kingdom. The bread was known as Tiger bread in the UK until a 3 year old wrote a letter to the president of the Sainsbury company, who commercially manufactures this bread. The 3 year old had stated in the letter that the bread looks more like a Giraffe bread and not a tiger bread and that the tiger had stripes, but the giraffe had spots.

The president of the company had replied to the 3 year old that he would change the name and since then has renamed the bread to be Giraffe bread. The bread is still called the Tijgerbrood / Tijgerbol in Netherlands, which is its place of origin.

So, after finalizing the alphabet for my bread, I had to see how the pattern was made. I expected it to be a complex process, but was excited to see that it was so simple to make. All it needed was a rice flour paste, that had some yeast and sesame oil in it. This paste was applies all over the top of the bread in a thick layer and then was baked. The rice paste made the top of the bread very crunchy and the inside of the bread was very soft.

I used a basic dinner roll recipe to make the rolls and made the tiger paste. I did not use sesame oil to make my paste as I was not sure how the boys were going to take it. Also instead of baking it as a loaf of bread, I made it as rolls and hence called it the Tiger bread rolls. I have realized in the past that rolls seems to disappear quicker than loaf of bread in my house and this month I need my breads to disappear as quickly as possible as I am baking something every day.

Blame it on my being disorganized, my last week’s posts are all being baked and posted the same day. It is a challenge, but thanks to my husband, At least my list is complete and I know what I am baking every day.

My other bakes in the A – Z Baking around the World Marathon –

A for Almond cookies from China

B for Bretzel Rolls from Germany

C for Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from USA

D for Danish Cookies from Denmark

E for Empanada from Argentina

F for Franzbrötchen from Germany

G for Grissini from Italy

H for Hot Cross Buns from England

I for Irish Freckle Bread from Ireland

J for Jan Hagel Cookies from Netherlands

K for Kiffles / Kiflis from Hungary

L for Lagana Bread from Greece

M for Monkey Bread from USA

N for Nazook / Nazouk from Armenia

O for Obi Non from Uzbekistan

P for Peyniril Poğaça from Turkey

Q for Quesitos from Puerto Rico

R for Rice flour Cookies from Persia

S for Sheermal from India

Preparation time – 15 minutes plus 2 hours of resting time
Baking time – about 30 to 35 minutes
Difficulty level – Easy
Recipe adapted from – Bright Eyed baker

ngredients to make Tijgerbrood / Tijgerbol | Tiger Bread Rolls | Dutch Crunch Rolls – Makes 8 rolls

For the dough –

• All purpose flour – 2 1/2 cups
• Instant yeast – 1/2 tbsp
• Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Lukewarm milk – 1 cup
• Unsalted butter – 1 tbsp (melted)

For the Tiger paste –

• Rice flour – 1/2 cup
• Instant yeast – 1/2 tbsp
• Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Salt – 1/4 tsp
• Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp
• Warm water – 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup

Procedure to make the Tijgerbrood / Tijgerbol | Tiger Bread Rolls | Dutch Crunch Rolls –

To make the dough –

• I used my stand mixer to knead the dough. In the bowl of the mixer, add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix to combine.
• Add the melted butter and then the lukewarm milk and knead to form a smooth dough. Add a little more flour or milk to adjust the consistency.
• Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth, about 7 minutes.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel.
• Let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in volume. About 1 1/2 hours.

To shape the rolls –

• Once the dough has risen, punch it down gently and then divided it into 8 equal pieces.
• Make a taut ball out of each piece and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Cover the rolls and let it rest for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, we can make the tiger paste.

To make the tiger paste –

• In a bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk well to form a paste. The paste should not be too thin nor too thick. The consistency should be such that we can easily brush it on  the rolls. Adjust the water quantity to make a smooth paste.
• Cover this with plastic wrap and let it sit until the rolls are ready.
• You will notice that the mixture will be very frothy after 15 or 20 minutes.

To bake the Tijgerbrood –

• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• Mix the tiger paste once again as it would have become quite frothy.
• Once the shaped rolls have puffed up, apply the tiger paste all over the surface of the rolls. The paste has to be applied in a thick layer for the pattern to form.
• I used a pastry brush to apply the paste. Use almost all the paste to brush the 8 rolls. I did have a little bit left after I fished all the rolls.
• Let the rolls sit for 10 more minutes.

• Then bake the Tijgerbrood in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and well cracked. Rotate the tray once or twice in the middle for even coloring.
• Remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool for few minutes.
• Place Tijgerbrood in between towel and serve warm with butter and/or jam.

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