Have you ever tried Dutch Crunch Bread? Inside, it's a regular white loaf of bread, fluffy and chewy, but outside it has crunchy spots — like a tiger!
This bread originated in The Netherlands, but now it is also extremely popular in San Francisco and other parts of the West Coast. The crunchy topping of the bread (which is otherwise very normal bread in all respects) is made from a paste of rice flour and yeast, which dries as it bakes into crispy, yeasty patches of crunch.
The bread's patches look like a tiger's stripes, hence the name — but it is also sometimes called Giraffe Bread, Dragonette Bread, and Turtle Bread (speaking of which, check out these turtles made out of Dutch Crunch bread!).
Have you ever tried Dutch Crunch bread? Do you like it?
Get the recipe: Tijgerbrood/Dutch Crunch Bread at The Novice Housewife
Related: Bittman's No-Knead Bread Phenomenon
(Image: The Novice Housewife)
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Oh man, I grew up in NorCal and my favorite deli had Dutch Crunch! It's the best. I've actually packed it with me on plane rides back to Portland..haha
I never had this, but it sounds amazing.... even better than German hazelnut bread....http://7th-taste.com/2011/06/23/german-hazelnut-bread/ Does anyone have a recipe for the Dutch Crunch Bread you can share with me? I'd like to try making it at home....
Your picture doesn't look like any Dutch Crunch bread I've seen at grocery stores... it looks much fluffier and more delicate than many commercially made Dutch Crunch bread.... my mouth is watery!
I love Dutch Crunch! It's my go to at Little Lucca's and Darby Dan's, both in South San Francisco, CA.
Are you kidding me! I'm from Northern California and I gained, like, 30 pounds because of this stuff!!! I used to get a Dutch Crunch Roll heated and sliced with real butter for lunch nearly every day. SOOOOO good!
I think it should be called Giraffe bread ;-)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2094564/Giraffe-bread-Lily-Robinson-3-gets-Sainsburys-change-tiger-variety-viral-letter.html
I've only ever seen dutch crunch in Northern CA. And amazingly, the best comes from Safeway.
Really? Usually I don't like Safeway breads at all. After getting hooked on Acme bread, I can't eat anything else... I gotta check out these two places recommended by Manda! Thank you for the tip!
Tigers don't have spots. Perhaps it should be cheetah brood?
Mmm ... I went to college in Oakland, and always got my sandwich from Genova Delicatessen on a dutch crunch roll. Man, I miss that!
I hadn't heard of this bread until I visited a friend at Stanford this past spring, and the amazing sandwich place (called Ike's) in one of their academic buildings had it. SO GOOD!
Most supermarkets in the UK sell loaves and baguettes of this bread - it's marketed as Tiger Bread and it's very popular.
Most people in Belgium and the Netherlands have a real bread-eating food culture.
The best part of the weekend is gathering on sunday at noon for a brunch at my mom's place. We eat pistolets (the Dutch crunch bread in the picture) with all kinds of cold meat like salami or ham, sandwich spreads, or jams, with a nice cup of coffee and it's always such a lovely gathering that we stick at the table talking until three in the afternoon, before even clearing the table.
Wait, this stuff isn't ubiquitous? I figured it rose into prominence everywhere during the foodie wave of the last few years. The Sandwich Spot in SF does a perfect job of playing creamy, tangy, savory fillings against this sweet crunchy delight. It is my favorite.