1-2 tablespoons (30 gm) sugar ( I use 1 tbsp, but if you don't mind the sweetness use 2tbsp)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon (3 gm) salt
1½ cups (200 gm/8½ oz) rice flour (white or brown; NOT sweet or glutinous rice flour) (increase by 40-50 gm or more for home-made rice flour)
Instructions
For the bread:
In a bowl combine the yeast, water and sugar. Stir to dissolves and let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly and foamy.
Add in the milk, oil, 2 cups flour and salt.
Using dough hook attachment or a wooden spoon mix at medium speed until the dough comes together.
Add the remaining flour. Turn the dough out from the bowl and knead for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and passes the window pane test.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until double in size.
Divide into 10-12 equal sized portions or if you want bigger buns then divide into 6 large portions. I generally get 11 medium sized buns each weighing 70-75 grams. You could also shape these into loaves, as per your preference.
Shape the dough balls, and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Let rise. Make you topping.
For the 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. If you want it to stand for longer, make the topping just at the end of your first rise, so that the topping gets 30 minutes to bubble up.
Final assembly :
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 usea 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.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Bake for 25- 30 minutes, keeping a close watch as to prevent the top from browning too much. If required reduce the temperature to 170°C.
The Dutch Crunch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown colour.
Recipe by The Novice Housewife at https://novicehousewife.com/2012/03/27/dutch-crunch-bread-recipe-tiger-bread-rolls/