Divine Dutch Crunch

Dutch Crunch Buns

While driving south toward Austin on the way to Snow's Barbecue, the topic veered to Dutch Crunch. It's a sandwich bun I'd never heard of, and some of the certified barbecue judges in the car were from the Bay Area, so they knew all about it. Of course they did. All bread with soul has ties to Northern California.

On the interweb, The Fresh Loaf was also curious about Dutch Crunch and checked it out. California, Great Britain and the Netherlands all know about this bread, also called Tiger Bread. How is it that an el grande state like Texas doesn't have it, or a hip-hop-happenin' borough like Brooklyn, which does have kolaches?

People ask why I take up these branch line investigations. All I can say is, if Dutch Crunch can distract a carload of Texans during a barbecue run with a side trip to Austin's Shake Shack, look into it.

The Fresh Loaf tested the Dutch Crunch from BakingBarrister.com. I used my own bun recipe and you can, too, if you keep reading below and stop thinking about the brisket at Snow's, or that Shake Shack is coming to Plano.

I've got the bun, but how to get that distinctive crackling effect on top? There's only one guy to ask, and it's Joe Ortiz at Gayle's Bakery in Capitola, Calif. Yes, yes, I raved about Gayle's in the last two posts (so look into that), but the timing is coincidental.

Joe was at the forefront of artisan baking in this country long before the front of the line at Snow's grew to epic proportions. Joe put me in touch with Chris Rominger of Gayle's, who kindly shared how they do it at the bakery.  Here's what Chris helped me learn, and it's delicious.


Divine Dutch Crunch 
Yield: Makes 8 buns

Total dough weight: 33 ounces, 4.10 ounces each

Ingredients
4 ounces water
3 tablespoons milk (1.25 ounces)
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar (1.60 ounces)
2 teaspoons salt (.40 ounces)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup mashed potato*  (about 2.5 ounces) (For the potato: Zap it in the microwave about 8 minutes, then peel and mash enough for ½ cup and set aside.)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (18 ounces), plus extra for sprinkling if needed
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

For the Topping

4 ounces rice flour

.5 ounces sugar

.11 ounces salt

.71 ounces instant yeast

.14 ounces vegetable oil

4 ounces warm water 

To Make the Dough

1. In a saucepan, combine water, milk, butter, sugar and salt and stir. Gently warm on low heat to about 120-130 degrees on a digital thermometer. Some of the butter will melt but not all, and that’s OK. It should feel warm to the touch. Place this milk mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.(If you took your eye off it and it boiled, cool it down a bit with a timeout in the fridge).

2. In a separate bowl, whisk flour with instant yeast, set aside. With the mixer running on speed 1 (low speed), add to the milk mixture the lightly beaten egg until incorporated, the mashed potato and then the flour mixture. Allow to mix a few minutes to combine. Raise the speed to 2 and allow the dough to knead about 7 minutes. The dough will be somewhat sticky; don’t worry. Add a few sprinkles of flour if it’s hopelessly wet, otherwise, it’s OK.

3. Remove dough and loosely shape into a ball, then place it in a clean bowl that’s lightly oiled. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place about 10 minutes. You won’t see a rise in the dough. 

4. While it’s resting, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Using a separate bowl, start the Dutch Crunch topping by placing all the dry ingredients – rice flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast – in the bowl. It’s OK to combine the oil and water in another bowl; just don’t mix wet and dry ingredients yet.

5. After the dough’s short rest, divide the dough into 8 pieces (about 4.1 ounces each). Now shape each piece into a ball by rounding and pulling the edges underneath, which helps to create a smooth tension on the surface. Cup your hand like a claw and gently roll the dough against your work surface to help smooth the final ball shape.

6. Arrange four balls per baking sheet, with plenty of room in between. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated with nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place about 45 minutes (It’s better to under-rise this dough). If you let it rise too much, you may see bubbles appear on the surface, and they won’t go away when you bake the buns.

For the Topping

7. Use this second rise time to focus on the topping. With a whisk, mix the water/oil with the dry ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise about 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 380 degrees, with the rack in the center. 

At the end of this 15-minute rise, using your hand, tap the bowl on the sides until the topping falls. It helps to rotate the bowl as you tap, and it’s OK to take the plastic wrap off while you do it. Allow the mixture to rise again for about 15 minutes, then tap it down again.

8. For best success getting the crackly effect on top, try filling a pastry bag with the topping and either cut a small hole at the end or use a small tip such as a Wilton No. 12. A spoon can also work. Remove the plastic from the buns and pipe dots over the surface of each bun. It’s OK to be messy and to allow topping to drip down the sides. 

9. At this point, you’ve got about 10-15 minutes of rise time left for the buns. Since they now have topping on them, leave the plastic off.

10. Right before baking, I like to add a sprinkle of kosher salt from on high - just a light touch but there. Bake the buns, turning sheet halfway through, until tops are golden brown, about 15-17 minutes. Transfer buns to a rack to cool completely.

Best eaten the same day, for burgers and fully loaded Dagwood sandwiches.

Special thanks to Chris Rominger, Wholesale Manager of Gayle's Bakery & Rosticceria, for guidance on the Dutch Crunch topping.

Please visit Gayle's Bakery if you're anywhere near Capitola. It's 90 miles south of San Francisco. The address is 504 Bay Avenue. Online, it's an easy trip.