What is Dutch Crunch Bread? (2024)

FAQs

What is Dutch Crunch Bread? ›

Dutch Crunch bread is a San Francisco bread sensation that is not sourdough! These rolls — generally used for building sandwiches — are made from a tender white bread but topped with a rice flour coating that bakes up incredibly crisp and crackled, making for a bread roll that is both beautiful and delicious.

"Dutch Crunch rolls have a sweet flavor reminiscent of the white bread you always wanted as a kid, but maybe didn't get if you had whole-wheat parents, as so many of us Californians did," says San Francisco–based food writer Lauren Sloss. "And Dutch Crunch rolls should be soft--really soft.

Although it hasn't yet caught on nationally, this crusty, dense sandwich bread is wildly popular but also very controversial here in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's become a regional staple and can now be found in many delis, alongside its more classic bread counterparts, like sourdough.

Dutch Crunch is a dense soft bread with a crackled top. This crunchy topping is formed when the rice-yeast paste on top of the bread crackles during the baking process. Dutch Crunch has been described as a sweeter chewy white bread with a moist crackle crust.

Tiger bread, known as Dutch Crunch in the U.S., is a Bay Area sandwich staple and a San Fransisco food you need to try. To make it, the top of a white bread roll gets thinly coated with rice flour dough to give the bread a unique, crackly top when baked.

Dutch Crunch is ubiquitous in San Fransisco, but it has origins in other parts of the world. Tiger Bread, a similar bread in taste and appearance, is found in the Netherlands, hence the “Dutch” in the name.

The name originated in the Netherlands, where it is known as tijgerbrood or tijgerbol (tiger bun), and where it has been sold at least since the early 1970s. The US supermarket chain Wegmans sells it as "Marco Polo" bread. In the San Francisco Bay Area it is called Dutch Crunch.

Italian Bread

Super soft with a light, chewy crust, Italian breads are an absolute delight—especially fresh out of the oven. There are many different types of Italian bread, but this Italian loaf pairs great with your favorite Italian pasta recipes or just a pat of butter.

Enriched Unbleached Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Rice Flour, Palm Oil, Sugar, Salt, Dried Whey, Dried Egg Yolk, Soy Flour, 2% or Less of Each of the Following: Soybean Oil, Enzymes, Ascorbic Acid, Sea Salt, Yeast.

The Bread is Different

Bread in Germany is usually bigger and I guess more “bread-like.” Bread in The Netherlands is usually more soft and just has a different texture to it. There are also less bread flavours in The Netherlands. See below a picture of typical bread in Germany.

What is the difference between sourdough and Dutch Crunch Bread? ›

Besides the crunchy exterior, Dutch Crunch Bread is described by many as having a soft interior crumb that's slightly sweet. Yeast, and an addition of sugar, will likely help achieve this. My sourdough version has a more robust crumb and is slightly chewy. But it's not dense like a bagel or pretzel.

The bread is generally made with sesame oil and with a pattern baked into the top made by painting rice paste onto the surface prior to baking. The paste dries and cracks during the baking process. The rice paste crust also gives the bread a distinctive flavour.

White bread with a decorative paste.

What Does It Taste Like? Each flavor of hagelslag has its own unique taste. Since the chocolate has a large percentage of cocoa, they taste like chocolate. The fruit varieties are light, sweet, and have a fruity flavor, while the anise seeds taste of licorice.

Also known as “hardo,” the bread is a thick and ever-so-slightly sweet loaf consumed widely in Jamaica, but whose origins span the globe. The loaves are basted in sugar water before baking, which gives them the signature sweet taste and a smooth, waxy skin.

Old Dutch Foods, Inc. is a manufacturer of potato chips and other snack foods in the Midwestern United States, New England and Canada. Their product line includes brands such as Old Dutch Potato Chips, Dutch Crunch, Ripples, Cheese Pleesers and Restaurante Style Tortilla Chips.