This month’s Daring Bakers challenge was to make bread dough, topped with the dutch crunch paste, and then to bake it and devise a creative sandwich. Having never heard of this so called “tiger bread” I was intrigued. Hailing from Holland (where it’s known as tijgerbrood) but currently popular in the San Francisco Bay Area this bread is unique in that before baking, the rolls are painted with a rice flour paste-like substance which creates the cracks and crunchy slightly yeasty texture in the final product. Since my last attempt at making rice flour ended in epic failure (apparently grinding the rice in a blender produces more of a grainy sandy texture than the required powdered sugar texture) I decided to buy some this time. The most convenient aspect of working in the center of the city is the ability to pop out during lunch and run all your errands. After discovering that my local Giant does not carry rice flour and with Whole Foods just a few blocks away I was able to painlessly find some.
I rarely make bread – a) because I don’t really eat it and b) because it requires yeast which I consider to be a pretty high maintenance ingredient – if the liquid is too hot you kill the yeast and if it’s too cold you don’t activate it. Frankly without a kitchen thermometer it’s almost impossible for me to accurately measure a 41-43 degree C temperature on my hand (anyone else with me on this?). Sometimes I feel more confident about the temperature – not this time though. My neurotic self got all worked up and paranoid that the water/milk combination was too cool for the yeast, so I dumped it out and started over. The second batch seemed slightly warmer but I still contemplated starting over – until I realized I didn’t have any more yeast packets to spare and simply had to hope for the best. As luck would have it within the hour my bread had doubled in size indicating the yeast had in fact been successfully activated (insert sigh of relief).
On to the baking. After reading in the Daring Bakers forumn that several bloggers weren’t able to produce cracks in their bread I was worried that as a newbie to the bread making process I would have the same problem. Alas, as I peeked through the oven door 20 minutes into the cooking process I let out a yelp of excitement – I had achieved the crackly top pattern!
The bread was a success. For sandwich filling I went with prosciutto, oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, spring mix, mayonnaise, and fresh mozzarella. D went as far as saying that this was the best sandwich he’s ever had (which he quickly followed up with – “for as long as I can remember”). Either way the bread was truly delicious – the contrasting textures of the soft roll with the crispy crunchy topping paired perfectly with the delicious sandwich filling.
- 1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast
- ¼ cup warm water (41-43 degrees C/105-110 degrees F)
- 1 cup warm milk (41-43 degrees C/105-110 degrees F) (I used whole milk)
- 1½ tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- up to 4 cups all purpose flour
- For the topping:
- 1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast
- ½ cup warm water (41-43 degrees C/105-110 degrees F)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup rice flour
- For the sandwich:
- prosciutto (go for the good quality stuff)
- oil packed sundried tomatoes
- spring mix with arugula
- mozzarella balls, thinly sliced
- mayonnaise
- basil pesto (optional)
- In a large mixing bowl combine, water, milk, sugar, and yeast. Stir to combine and let sit for 5 minutes (should start to form a little bit).
- Add sunflower oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Using a wooden spoon mix until combined and slowly add flour ¼ cup at a time until dough pulls away from the sides (and isn’t as sticky).
- Knead dough for 4 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Lightly grease a large bowl and place dough in it, covering with plastic wrap. Keep in a warm place and let rise until doubled in size – should take around 1 hour.
- Once dough has risen divide into 6 portions and form into rolls (try not to handle the dough too much). Place dough on parchment paper lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 380 degrees F.
- Start topping right before bread has finished rising. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine, until smooth. Add more water or flour if necessary – mixture should have a slow dripping consistency. Let stand 15 minutes.
- Using a spoon generously top the bread rolls with the mixture. Make sure to use all of it — a thicker layer of the topping will allow for more cracks in the bread.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes at 380 degrees F on the middle or top rack (I used the top oven rack) until browned. Let cool before slicing and eating.
- Slice the bread in half and toast the bottom half. Spread mayonnaise and pesto (optional) on both sides of the bread. Add remaining toppings and enjoy!
Welcome to Avocado Pesto! Long time foodie and travel enthusiast, I started this blog to share my curious culinary efforts and kitchen endeavors. Here you'll find a smorgasbord of ethnic cuisines and hopefully a few humorous tales too.
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Those sandwiches are fantastic! Wow!
wow these LOOK AMAZING. making these for lunch ASAP. fantastic picture Vicky
Thanks!!! The bread was seriously so good!
WOW, your sandwiches look luscious, the bread look too crunchy, I will love to taste one of them, yummy!!!
Beautiful work! I get a bit paranoid about the yeast temperature as well, but I think it’s one of those things you just have to trust yourself about – and then if the yeast doesn’t activate, then you can start over (which I’ve definitely done!). Great job on the challenge – thanks for joining us!!
Cooking with yeast always makes me incredibly paranoid that I’m getting the temperature all wrong – but as you said you do just have to trust yourself!
Great job with this challenge! So glad to see your bread turned out perfectly. And your sandwich looks absolutely delicious.
haha I had the same concerns about my bread crackling. I was hopping back and forth in front on the oven going ‘comeoncomeoncomeon’ until I saw a crack appear. Funny what can make you happy isn’t it! Beautiful photo by the way and the thought of prosciutto sandwiches…mmm, delish.
Sure is – I was so relieved when I opened up the oven door to see the crackled speckled top!
Hey your bread looks fantastic. I loved this challenge, I’d never heard of it either but that crunch topping is great – definitely be doing this to a few more loaves. Great photos as always.
Thanks!
YUM – both your rolls and the sandwiches look delicious! Wonderful job on the challenge.
What a great challenge!! Your bread looks as though it came out perfectly and that sandwich looks amazing!!! I would love some for lunch today
Thankfully the bread held up pretty well for a few days and made for quite a few lunches!
These sandwiches look so delicious! I love your photography – I will definitely be making those rolls!
That is a seriously beautiful sandwich. I am making the rolls this week.
Thanks! Let me know how they turn out!
This bread is here everywhere, more in the shape of sandwich bread I must say
By the way, I am a Daring Baker now, this month is my first challenge!!
Awesome! I’ve loved being a part of both the daring cooks and daring bakers challenges! I feel like I’ve learned so many new techniques and have experimented with different ingredients. Good luck with your first challenge!
This sandwich is beautiful and looks crazy delicious!
The bread looks amazing! I’m a vegan and I’m glad that the bread recipe is easily veganized. How yummy!
Thanks! It seriously was the best sandwich bread I had ever tasted! Highly recommend making it !
what do you mean by start topping in step number 5? what are the ingrediants for the toppings?
Hi Jimmy the recipe has been updated to include the topping ingredients – not sure where they disappeared to before but it should be showing properly now. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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