This type of bread (either buns or a loaf) is quite popular in Holland, USA, Canada and UK. It has a unique crackle pattern, that looks just like animal skin. That’s why it was named Tiger bread, but I personally think that the pattern looks more like giraffe or leopard skin 🙂
This bread has a crusty top with very soft and airy inside. It’s best the day it was made as the crust may get soft and not crunchy during storing.
The recipe makes 8 burger buns or you can make one big loaf instead.
For the buns:
- 1 T instant dry yeast
- 65 ml water, lukewarm
- 250 ml milk, lukewarm
- 20 g sugar
- 30 ml vegetable oil
- 9 g salt
- 450-520 g all-purpose flour
In a large deep bowl, mix the yeast, water, milk and sugar and set asite for 5-10 min, until bubbly.
Add oil, salt and 400 g of flour. Start kneading to form a sticky dough, then start adding more flour (1 T at a time) as you go until the dough stops sticking to the sides of the bowl. I used 450 g of flour.
Knead the dough for another 5 min until silky. Form a ball and put back in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with cling film and let it rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, 1-2 hrs.
Gently punch the dough down, releasing the gas. You may want to split the dough into 2 equal parts first and then divide each part into 4 equal parts. Or you may at once shape the dough into a disk and divide it into 8 rqual parts. Roll each part into a ball and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover the tray with cling film and let the buns rise at room temperature for about 1 hr.
Half an hour after the buns were formed, start making the tiger coat:
- 1 T instant dry yeast
- 125 ml lukewarm water
- 10 g sugar
- 15 ml vegetable oil
- 2 g salt
- 100 g rice flour
Mix all the ingredients with a whisk to have a consistency of royal icing. Leave the mixture at room temperature for 15 min. Preheat the oven to 200º.
After 15 min coat the risen buns all around with a thick layer of the tiger coat. It’s best done with your hands.
Bake the buns in the well-preheated oven at 200º for about half an hour. The crust must crack randomly all over and become golden brown. Remove the buns from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
The buns look super-awesome. They are crusty on the outside and very soft and spongy on the inside. They are great even on their own, or you may want to spread some cream cheese or butter and jam on accompanied by cuppa or a glass of milk 🙂
And of course these buns make great burgers.