Dutch Tiger Bread Recipe (Tijgerbrood)

Have you ever baked a loaf of bread with a beautifully cracked, patterned crust? Dutch tiger bread, also known as tijgerbrood, is a soft homemade bread covered with a rice flour topping that develops its distinctive mottled pattern as it bakes.

I first came across this bread in a German cooking group and was immediately intrigued by its unusual crust. Although it is often called tiger bread, I think the pattern looks more like a leopard's spots!

The secret is a simple mixture of rice flour, dried yeast, a little sugar and sesame oil. Sesame oil gives the crust a particularly interesting flavour, but sunflower oil works well too if that's what you have in your kitchen.

This is a lovely bread to make at home, and brushing the topping over the loaf is a fun step to share with children. The ingredients are simple, and the beautiful crust makes the finished loaf look much more elaborate than it really is.

Dutch Tiger Bread Recipe

Yield: 1 loaf (about 8 servings)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Rising Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 35–40 minutes
Total Time: About 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the bread

• 500 g strong bread flour

• 7 g dried yeast

• 30 g sugar

• 11 g fine salt

• 350 ml lukewarm water, added gradually

For the rice flour crust

• 90 g rice flour

• 4 g dried yeast

• ½ teaspoon fine salt

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• ½ tablespoon sesame oil or sunflower oil

• 90 ml lukewarm water

Instructions

1. Make the bread dough. Put the flour in a large bowl and add the sugar, salt and dried yeast. Pour in most of the lukewarm water and begin mixing by hand or with a stand mixer. Add the remaining water gradually, as needed, until you have a soft, workable dough.

2. Knead the dough. Knead for 8–10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

3. First rise. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film or a clean kitchen towel, and leave to rise for about 1 hour, or until noticeably increased in size.

4. Shape the loaf. Gently turn the dough out onto a work surface. Fold it over itself a few times, then shape it into an oval loaf. Place it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

5. Second rise. Cover the loaf with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rise for another 45 minutes.

6. Prepare the tiger bread topping. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). In a small bowl, combine the rice flour, dried yeast, salt, sugar, sesame oil and lukewarm water. Mix until you have a thick, spreadable paste, then leave it to rest for 5 minutes.

7. Brush the loaf. Using a pastry brush or small spatula, spread the rice flour mixture over the entire surface of the loaf. Make sure the coating is reasonably even so it can crack as the bread bakes.

8. Bake. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35–40 minutes, until the loaf is cooked through and the crust has developed its characteristic cracked pattern.

9. Cool before slicing. Transfer the bread to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before cutting into slices.

Tips for Perfect Tiger Bread

• Use sesame oil if possible. It adds a lovely savoury aroma to the crust. Sunflower oil is a good alternative if you prefer a more neutral flavour.

• Add the water gradually. Flour absorbs water differently depending on the brand and conditions in your kitchen, so you may not need all the water for the main dough.

• Don't skip the rice flour topping. It is responsible for the characteristic cracked appearance that makes tiger bread so distinctive.

• Let the loaf cool completely. Slicing bread while it is still hot can make the crumb gummy and difficult to cut cleanly.

Fire & Ash Bread: A Halloween Twist on Dutch Tiger Bread

For a fiery Halloween twist, turn your Dutch tiger bread into Fire & Ash Bread! With its vivid red crumb and black, cracked crust, this loaf looks like a glowing ember hidden beneath a layer of ash.

To make it, prepare the bread dough as described in the main recipe, adding red food colouring powder to the flour before mixing in the water. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to achieve a deep red colour.

For the black crust, prepare the rice flour topping as usual and add food-grade activated charcoal powder until it turns a deep black. Brush the mixture evenly over the shaped loaf, then bake according to the main recipe.

As the bread bakes, the crust develops its characteristic cracked pattern, revealing flashes of red beneath the black surface.

Serve Fire & Ash Bread at a Halloween dinner alongside hearty soups and stews, or let it take centre stage on your spooky autumn table.

A note on ingredients: Use food-grade colouring and activated charcoal intended for culinary use. Activated charcoal can interfere with the absorption of certain medicines, so it may not be suitable for everyone.