Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gstrong white flour
- 250 mlwarm milk
- 60 gbutter, softened
- 40 gsugar
- 1egg
- 10 ginstant yeast
- 1 tspsalt
Coating
- 300 gdark brown sugar, basterdsuiker if you can get it
- 2 tbspground cinnamon
Also
- 50 gbutter, melted, for rolling
Equipment
- a large baking tray, well lined
- a wide shallow dish for the sugar
To serve
- warm, upside down, with butter
Directions
- Use dark brown sugar, and Dutch basterdsuiker if you can get it. Dark muscovado or soft dark brown sugar is the substitute and works well, and white sugar gives a completely different and lesser result.
- Mix it with a great deal of cinnamon. It should be a distinctly spiced coating rather than a hint. Warm the milk to blood heat and mix it with the yeast and a spoonful of the sugar.
- Mix the flour, sugar and salt, add the milk and egg, and knead 5 minutes. Work in the softened butter a piece at a time and knead 10 minutes more.
- Add the butter after the gluten has begun to form, which is the rule for any enriched dough. Prove for about an hour until doubled. Roll each piece into a long thin rope, about 30 cm.
- Roll them thin. The coil should have several turns, and a short fat rope gives a bun with two turns and far less caramelised surface. Roll each rope in melted butter, then in the brown sugar and cinnamon until thickly coated. Press the sugar on generously. Press the coil down gently with your palm to flatten it.
- Use baking paper and be thorough. Prove them for a further 30 to 40 minutes. Bake at 220°C (430°F) for 10 to 12 minutes. Bake them hot and fast. The sugar needs to caramelise quickly, and a long moderate bake dries the bun out before it colours.
- Cool them slightly on a wire rack. Serve them warm, turned upside down, with butter spread on the sticky side. Butter on a sticky sweet bun sounds excessive and it is entirely standard in Zeeland.
Technique
- They are eaten upside down so the sticky side is against the tongue.
- The Sephardic origin is widely accepted rather than firmly documented.
- Coating the rope before coiling puts sugar between every turn.
Substitutions
- Dark muscovado in place of basterdsuiker.
- Any soft enriched bun dough.
Variations
- Made larger, as one sharing coil.
- With extra cinnamon.
- Served with butter, which is standard in Zeeland.
History
A Zeeland speciality thought to derive from Sephardic Jewish baking brought to the province.
Frequently asked questions
What is Zeeuwse bolus?
Zeeuwse bolus is a bread & pastry from Netherlands: coiled sticky bun rolled in brown sugar and cinnamon. A Zeeland speciality thought to derive from Sephardic Jewish baking brought to the province.
How long does Zeeuwse bolus take to make?
Zeeuwse bolus takes 40 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 buns. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Zeeuwse bolus?
Yes, within limits. Dark muscovado in place of basterdsuiker. Any soft enriched bun dough.
What is the most important thing to get right in Zeeuwse bolus?
Mix it with a great deal of cinnamon. It should be a distinctly spiced coating rather than a hint. Warm the milk to blood heat and mix it with the yeast and a spoonful of the sugar.
