Tiger Rolls

5 from 2 votes

Tiger Rolls are soft and pillowy rolls with a fluffy inside and a tiger-like, crispy exterior. This is why these are also known as Dutch Crunch bread! This tiger bread makes amazing sandwiches, but is also great dunked in soup.

Prep Time25

Cook Time25

Rising Time1 40

Total Time2 30

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: European

Servings:

Calories: 183kcal

Author: Tristin - Home Cooked Harvest

Ingredients

For the Bread

1 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

Rice Flour Paste Topping

1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 tablespoons rice flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
salt pinch
2 1/2 tablespoons lukewarm water
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the water and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit for 3-4 minutes until a little frothy.
Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook. To the bowl add in the oil, salt, and flour. Mix the dough for about 5-10 minutes on medium until the ingredients are well combined and dough is a little tacky. Add a little more flour as needed to get dough to the right consistency. It should gently bounce back when touched.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and place in a warm, draft free place to rise for 60-90 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
Punch down the dough a little and roll it onto a clean surface. Divide the dough in half. Then divide each half into 1/4ths. This will give you 8 rolls. For even smaller rolls (dinner rolls size), they can be divided into 16ths. This will give you 16 small rolls.
To make tiger rolls you will need to flatten each dough piece and pinch the end together. Then roll it on a surface seam side down with a cupped hand to get it formed into a nice round roll.
Place 4 rolls onto each prepared parchment covered baking sheets. For the medium rolls, just form into 4 loaves, placing 2 loaves on each baking sheet. Or one loaf will just get made on one baking sheet. Allow the dough to rise again in a draft free, warmer location.
Immediately make the rice paste. In a small bowl add in the rice flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix well, then add in the water and the oil. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
About 20 minutes before rolls are done rising (the second rise takes about 40-50 minutes). Add about 1 tablespoon of the rice flour mixture onto each roll or about 2 tablespoons on the medium rolls. You can either spread it on with a pastry or basting brush or use your fingers, whichever is easiest. Being careful not to deflate the dough. If it is too thick to spread, add a little water to the paste to thin it a little.
The process is pretty messy, so keep that in mind. Clean up any drips that fall onto the baking sheets. Re-cover the loaves and allow the rolls to rise for another 15-20 minutes until they have gotten a little bigger.
Preheat the oven to 400°F about 15 minutes before the bread is done rising.
Add one baking sheet to oven. Once the bread starts to turn brown you want to cook it for a few more minutes to ensure the tops get nicely browned, but make sure they aren't burning.The 8 tiger rolls get baked for about 20-25 minutes.

Notes

Baking different sized Tiger Rolls

The 16 smaller tiger rolls get baked for 18-20 minutes.
The 8 tiger rolls get baked for about 25 minutes.
The 4 medium loaves will get baked 30-32 minutes.
A single loaf will need to bake for 40-45 minutes.

Tips for Tiger Bread

Thin rice paste. If the rice flour mixture is too dry or thick, add a little water to thin it just a little.
Carefully add rice paste. When brushing on the rice paste, make sure to be very careful. The dough is going to be puffed and delicate and you have to put on the thick rice flour without deflating those delicious puffs.
Clean any drips. Make sure to wipe up any drips of rice paste that may fall onto the baking sheet.
Sesame flavor. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil into the dough and 1 tablespoon into the rice paste. You can even add sesame seeds to the top of the bread that has been coated with the rice paste before baking.
Different dough shapes. This tiger bread dough can be formed into rolls, oblong loaves, sandwich loaves.
Rice paste rest. Let the rice paste sit for about 15 minutes before using it.
Make it a little healthier. Use half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour.
Plain rice flour. Don't use sweet or glutinous rice flour.
Tiger bread is best eaten the day it is made. Let the bread cool and put in an air tight container. It should last about 2-3 days at room temperature or 3-4 days in the fridge.

* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.

Nutrition