Dutch Crunch Bread

Summary: Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. A visually delightful bread which is a common option at sandwich shops all over the Bay Area and is often one of the first breads to run out. 

Servings: 10-20 sandwich rolls / buns
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes, plus resting time
Ingredients:
Dutch Crunch Topping
2 tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm water2 tbsp sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ tsp salt
1½ cups rice flour

Soft White Roll
This recipe approximates the quintessential white sandwich roll found throughout the Bay Area. The recipe is simple, quick, and addictive. Should make 10-12 rolls.
Ingredients:
1½ tablespoon active dry yeast
¼ + 1/8 cup warm water, it should feel between lukewarm and hot to the touch
1 ½ cup warm milk, low fat
2 ¼ tbsp sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil plus additional for greasing bowl during rising
2¼ tsp salt
5 ½ cups, 750grams all purpose flour
2 tbsp vital gluten 

Directions:
Dutch Crunch Topping
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk; beat hard to combine. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing – spreadable, but not too runny. If you pull some up with your whisk, as shown below, it should drip off slowly. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let stand 15 minutes.

Coat the top of each loaf or roll with a thick layer of topping. We tried coating it with a brush but it worked better just to use fingers or a spoon and kind of spread it around. You should err on the side of applying too much topping – a thin layer will not crack properly.

You can place the rolls directly into the oven after applying the topping, or let them stand for 20 minutes. 

When baking, place pans on a rack in the center of the oven and bake your bread as you ordinarily would. The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color.

Soft White Rolls
In the bowl of an electric mixer or large mixing bowl, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes. The mixture should start to bubble or foam a bit and smell yeasty.

 Add in vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook attachment or a wooden spoon, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together. 

Add remaining flour a quarter cup at time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic. 

Thermomix:Place all ingredients in TM bowl. Mix at speed 6 for 7-8 seconds, and then knead for 2-3 minutes.

Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.
Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 10-12 equal portions or 2 equal portions if you’d like to make a loaf.

Shape each into a ball or loaf and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet try not to handle the dough too much at this point.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.

Coat the top of each roll or loaf with the topping as described above. While the original recipe recommends letting them stand for 20 minutes after applying the topping, I got equally good results by putting them directly into the oven, and by letting them stand for 20 minutes while the first batch baked.

Once you’ve applied the topping, bake in a preheated moderately hot 190°C for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating.