I love tiger bread. As a kid, a highlight was going on the weekly shop and secretly munching on a tiger baguette while my mum frantically scanned the supermarket shelves in a panicked frenzy. The quizzical look on the cashier’s face as she scanned a half eaten baguette was always hilarious, especially as my definition of a ‘little nibble’ became hazier and hazier. Once, my siblings and I had finished the entire baguette by the time we had paid, and all the cashier had left to scan was the crumby plastic wrapping.
If the thug life glasses existed in 2008, you can bet I would be rocking those as I strutted out of Sainsbury’s, my squirrel-like cheeks bloated with bread.
So why is tiger bread so mindbogglingly good? Well, it’s a tale of two cities: the super soft, sweet and fluffy interior that literally melts in your mouth is enveloped in this wonderfully crunchy, salty, umami crust.
Without sounding too much like a pretentious obfuscating melon, this dichotomy is a delight for your senses and is probably one of the best things you’ll put in your mouth.
As for the logistics, this recipe is ridiculously easy to make. You can make it by hand, and in less than 2 hours with minimal kneading (yay!), you‘ll be surfeiting on tiger bread galore.
Tiger bread
Makes 1 baguette
Ingredients: Dough
180g of strong white bread flour
105ml of warm water
1/2 tsp of instant active dry yeast
1/2 tsp of fine salt
21g of softened unsalted butter, in small cubes.
1/2 tbsp of honey
Ingredients: Crust paste
15g of rice flour
1 tbsp of water
Pinch of salt
Heaped 1/2 tsp of sugar
1/8 tsp of yeast (large pinch)
1 tsp of sesame oil
Method
To make the dough, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl
Mix the water, yeast and honey until dissolved. Pour this into the flour and salt mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Once the ingredients have combined, throw in the softened butter and knead with your hands on a lightly floured surface until you have a smooth elastic dough with no butter chunks present. This should take around 8 minutes. Shape into a ball.
Lightly grease a large bowl and place your dough ball inside. Cover with cling film and leave to proof for 30 minutes.
After the first proof, roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to form a large rectangle approximately an inch thick. Shape according to the graphic below (credit: thekitchenwhisperer.net)
Cover the shaped roll with oiled clingfilm or a towel and leave to prove for 20 minutes. During this time, prepare the crust paste by combining all the ingredients together.
After the 20 minutes, brush on all the paste onto the surface of the dough. Don’t worry if it feels too liquidy or drips to the sides, it will solidify later.
Prove for a final 30 minutes and transfer to a non stick / greased baking tray.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (180°C fan) or 400°F for 30-35 minutes until the base of the bread feels hollow when tapped .
Let the bread cool for 5 minutes and enjoy! I love using this to make subs, tearing up chunks to dip in sauce and/or oil and vinegar or just a fun snack.
Hope you try this out! Noor xo
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