Healthy Bread: Recipe for Dutch Crunch-Daring Bakers

When I worked in San Francisco, our cafeteria had the best Dutch crunch rolls for sandwiches. I never really thought about how the topping was made until this month's Daring Bakers Challenge. Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

Sara and Erica told us "Technically, Dutch Crunch doesn’t refer to the type of bread, but rather the topping that is spread over the bread before baking. In Dutch it’s called Tijgerbrood or “tiger bread” after the tiger-like shell on the bread when it comes out of the oven. The final product has a delightful sweet crunch to it that makes it perfect for a sandwich roll. It’s a common option at sandwich shops all over the Bay Area and is often one of the first breads to run out."

I made my sourdough multigrain bread and then topped it with the Dutch crunch spread. For my sammy: aged Gouda, turkey, and broccoli slaw-yum!

For the topping (I had a small boule to top so I only made half of this amount):

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115º F)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups rice flour (white or brown; NOT sweet or glutinous rice flour)

Method:

Make your favorite bread dough
Just prior to baking the bread, whisk all topping ingredients together (consistency should be of thick icing)
Let topping sit for 15 minutes while oven preheats
Spread topping over bread (thick layer for best cracks)
Bake bread as per your bread recipe