Zeeuwse bolussen with coffee, you are and will remain a (childhood) favorite. What a delicious treat. These sticky sweet buns with caramelized cinnamon sugar. Eat them with a little butter and you won't be able to resist these treats. And with this recipe, you can easily make them yourself.
We used to always eat Zeeuwse bolussen, when I was young. My mother got them at the town market. Sweet buns that are all gooey. Eating and keeping clean hands is almost impossible. And these sweet rolls don't just taste good, the smell of these homebred buns is irresistible.
Where can you buy Zeeuwse bolussen?
The Zeeuwse bolus is, of course, available everywhere in Zeeland (a province in the South-West of the Netherlands). But beyond that, it's much harder to buy them. That's why I was looking for a tasty recipe. And after a lot of trying, baking and remaking, I now have the perfect recipe for you.
And do you love sweet rolls? Then these chocolate hazelnut turnovers, monkey bread muffins or easy cranberry cinnamon rolls are also a delicious choice!
This recipe is adapted from the blog mammatjevanalles (Dutch).
From now on you can make these sticky sweet Zeeland bolussen yourself quickly and easily. The taste is SUPER and your whole house smells wonderful! You will always make this yourself from now on!
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With cinnamon sugar
I made this recipe as I remember it with delicious cinnamon sugar. It melts in the hot oven and caramelizes and becomes nice and sticky. And that sticky layer glues all around the bun. Exactly as it should be.
🥘 Ingredients
A full list of ingredients can be found at the end of this blog.
- Yeast - This recipe uses ⅓ oz. (8 grams, 2 teaspoons) of instant yeast. If you prefer to use fresh yeast, you need ⅔ oz. (16 grams). If you use dry yeast, you also need ⅓ oz. (8 grams). Note: with both fresh yeast and dry yeast you must first dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk.
- Sugar and Cinnamon - By mixing these two you get a delicious cinnamon sugar that you can use to coat the outside of the buns. This caramelizes in the oven, making it gooey and deliciously sweet. Sometimes brown sugar is used, but because of the cinnamon, this is not necessary.
- Flour - Use regular or patent flour for these sandwiches.
🔪 Preparation
You can find a recipe that you can easily print at the bottom of this blog.
Step 1 - Prepare the Bolus dough
Mix milk, butter, egg, flour and yeast in a bowl and knead with a mixer with dough hooks. Because the dough is quite sticky, I recommend not to knead it by hand ;-). After 2 minutes, add the salt and mix for another 8 to 10 minutes until the dough feels elastic and soft.
Place the dough on a baking sheet and slide it into an oven that is turned off. Place a fireproof dish at the bottom of the oven and pour 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water into it. Close the oven door and let the dough rise for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the cinnamon with the sugar in a bowl and spread the cinnamon sugar on a plate.
Step 2 - Make rolls of dough
Divide the dough into 10 pieces. This is easiest by weighing the dough and dividing the total weight by ten. Each piece of dough should be that weight.
Roll out each piece into a tube of about 6 inches (15 cm) long. Roll each piece of dough through the cinnamon sugar plate. Place the rolls on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Put the baking sheet back in the oven. Empty the baking dish and refill with 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water. Close the oven door and let rise for 15 minutes.
Step 3 - Form the Dutch cinnamon rolls
Remove the dough from the oven and continue rolling out each strand until it is approximately 12 inches (30 cm) long. Roll for a second time in the sugar until well coated.
Form a Bolus by wrapping each dough roll around 3 fingers in a circle, and then pressing the last piece in the center.
Place back on the baking sheet. Empty the baking dish and refill it with 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water. Close the oven door and let rise for 35 minutes.
Step 4 - Bake the bolussen in the oven
Remove the boluses from the oven and place them under a tea towel. Leave the empty baking dish in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 480 °F (250 °C). Just before baking, pour 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water into the baking dish. After 20 minutes, bake the Zeeuwse bolussen for 6 minutes.
Take them out of the oven and turn them around immediately (while the sugar is still a little melted, you can still do that). Let them cool further.
Substitutions
- Lactose-free - Replace the butter with vegan margarine and the milk with soy milk. The taste will change slightly but is still very good.
Variations
- Stuffed bolussen - Let the bolussen cool to room temperature and cut horizontally in half. Pipe a delicious swirl of thickened vanilla pudding on the bottom half. Then put the cap back on the bolus. Here you will find a delicious recipe for homemade vanilla pudding.
- Currant bolussen - Soak 2 oz. (60 grams) of currants in hot water for 10 minutes and pat dry. Spread them on a plate. When the dough tubes have been rolled to 12 inches (30 cm), first cover them with cinnamon sugar and then press the rolls on the plate with currants. Form a bolus and continue with the recipe. This is a variant of the Ghent bolus.
- Ginger boluses - This variant resembles the Jewish ginger bolus. Grind 1 cup (150 grams) of white almonds finely with 1 cup (200 grams) of candied ginger, so that you get a nice ginger marzipan. Divide the ginger mixture into 10 pieces and roll out into a thin tube of about 10 inches (25 cm). When you have rolled out the tubes of dough to 12 inches (30 cm), flatten them with the rolling pin. Place a roll of ginger paste on it and fold the dough around it. Press the seam shut. Now form the dough into a bolus and continue with the recipe.
My favorite kitchen utensils
Thank you for reading this blog. I hope you found it helpful to make this recipe. Here are some tools that I used to prepare this. These are affiliate links, so if you decide to use any of them, I’ll earn a commission.
But, that being said, these are the tools that I use and that I recommend to everyone (even my own family).
- I can't live without a baking tray with a good non-stick coating. This baking tray has that. And you can clean it in the dishwasher. Ideal!
- For kneading dough, you need a hand mixer that has sufficient power. That is the case with this mixer.
- This time I don't use this oven dish to make the dish but to pour the boiling water into it so that the dough rises better. Because it is slightly larger, the vapor spreads better and the dough rises evenly.
Storage
- Room temperature - Store the boluses at room temperature for up to two days in an airtight box. The structure deteriorates quickly. TIP Just before you eat it, heat the bolus in the microwave for 20 seconds on full power.
- Freezer - Freeze them immediately after baking and pack them individually. You can keep them like this for up to a month. Let them thaw in the package at room temperature. Heat them in the microwave on full power for 20 seconds before eating them.
Top Tips
- You get the best Zeeuwse bolussen by letting them rise briefly in a moist environment.
- Then by heating the oven very hot and baking the bolus briefly in a humid environment. This caramelizes the sugar.
🥘 Other delicious recipes
Did you make this recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram. I really enjoy seeing what your creation looks like. Video recipes can be found on my YouTube channel. And don't forget to save the recipes on Pinterest so you can easily find them next time!
📖 Recipe
Zeeuwse bolussen (a Dutch traditional sweet bread)
Pas met de knoppen het aantal personen aan.
Equipment
- oven dish
Ingredients
- ⅞ cups milk lukewarm
- ¼ stick butter unsalted, room temperature
- 1 egg size M
- 2¾ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons yeast instant
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon grounded
Instructions
- Mix the milk, butter, egg, flour, and yeast in a bowl.⅞ cups milk, ¼ stick butter, 1 egg, 2¾ cups flour, 2 teaspoons yeast
- After 2 minutes of mixing add the salt and knead further (by hand or mixer) until you get a smooth and elastic dough (about 10 minutes).¾ teaspoon salt
- Place the dough on a baking tray and slide into the oven.
- Put a heatproof oven dish on the bottom of the oven and pour 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water into it. Close the oven door and leave the dough to rise for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and spread on a plate.1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and roll each piece into a string of about 6 inches (15 cm).
- Role that string through the sugar mixture and place back on the baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Put the baking tray back in the oven. Empty the oven dish and pour 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water into the oven dish. Place it again on the bottom of the oven.
- Close the oven door and leave the dough to rise again for 15 minutes.
- Remove the dough rolls from the oven and roll them out further until you have approximately 12 inches (30 cm) long strings.
- Roll the dough again through the sugar-cinnamon mixture.
- Shape each strand into a bolus form by rolling the dough around three fingers and secure in the middle.
- Place the boluses on the baking sheet.
- Put the baking sheet in the oven. Empty the oven dish and pour 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water in a bowl. Put the oven dish on the bottom of the oven.
- Place that bowl in the oven and shut the door.
- Let the bolus rise for 35 minutes.
- Remove the bolussen from the oven and place them under a tea towel while you preheat the oven to 480 °F (250 °C). Put the empty oven dish back into the bottom of the oven.
- After 20 minutes fill the oven dish with 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water.
- Bake the bolussen in the middle of the oven for six minutes.
- Take the sweet bread out and turn them right away. Let them cool further.
Notes
This recipe uses ⅓ oz. (8 grams, 2 teaspoons) of instant yeast. If you prefer to use fresh yeast, you need ⅔ oz. (16 grams). If you use dry yeast, you need ⅓ oz. (8 grams). Note: with both fresh yeast and dry yeast you must first dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk before adding it to your dough. 2. - Flour
Use regular flour or all-purpose flour for these sweetbreads. 3. - Oven
This recipe is made in a conventional oven with top and bottom heat. Because you place an oven dish with hot water at the bottom of the oven, you can also make this recipe in a convection oven (otherwise the boluses will dry out too much). Then lower the temperature by 35 °F (20 °C) to 445 °F (230 °C). 4. - Lactose-free
Replace the butter with vegan margarine and the milk with soy milk. The taste will change slightly but is still very good. 5. - Keep it moist
You get the best Zeeuwse bolussen by letting them rise and bake in a moist environment. You do this by placing a baking dish with boiling water in an oven. The steam keeps the dough moist. That really improves the taste and structure of the boluses! 6. - Storage
- Room temperature - Store the bolussen at room temperature for up to two days in an airtight container. The structure deteriorates quickly. TIP Just before you eat it, heat the bolus in the microwave for 20 seconds on full power.
- Freezer - Freeze the buns immediately after baking and pack them individually. You can store them like this for up to a month. Let them thaw in the package at room temperature. Heat them in the microwave on full power for 20 seconds before eating them.
The nutritional values shown are per bolus. The actual number of calories is slightly lower because the cinnamon sugar mixture is not used up. You make a little more so that you can roll the dough well in the mixture.
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