Currant buns (krentenbollen) are available almost anywhere in the Netherlands, everyone knows them and almost everybody loves them. They are soft buns/rolls made from enriched yeast dough and filled with currants and raisins. They perfectly fit into Dutch practicality: you can take currant buns with you, they are not messy to eat on the go, they don’t need anything on them (although some people do eat them with butter or Dutch cheese) and they are sweet but not too sweet (which would make them unhealthy and thus not suitable for breakfast and lunch).
Nowadays currant buns are almost always made with a mixture of raisins and currants, which technically makes them raisin-currant buns. This is also what they print on the back of the bags of currant buns you buy in the supermarket, but everyone just keeps calling them currant bun (krentenboll). Supermarket buns are not that tasty, as with all the supermarket bread, because they use all kinds of things to make the buns cheap and have a longer shelf life. Bakery buns can be very tasty, often, they are made with real butter and all, but tend to be quite expensive, and the thing I really don’t like: they are very big. That is why I made my homemade buns nice and small, the perfect snack size. I was very pleased to find out that making them is very easy, and they freeze very well (though I haven’t tried it yet myself) so you can make a big batch and freeze them. And they taste like store-bought buns, but better. They have more flavor, are a little bit denser (which improves the texture and makes them a bit more substantial) and have a delicious crust. So go and make these! They are perfect as easy take-with-you snacks, but are luxurious enough to serve at the weekend breakfast! 
Dutch Currant Buns
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
These sweet buns are perfect as a snack, but also delicious for breakfast or lunch, and luxurious enough for a weekend brunch!
Ingredients
- 250 ml milk
- 500 g flour (strong white flour works best)
- 75 g sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 7g sachet yeast
- 50 g butter, soft but not molten
- 1 egg
- 75 g raisins
- 50 g currants
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- Optional: zest of 1 lemon, 1 orange or a mixture of both
Instructions
- Warm the milk to hand temperature.
- Mix the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, butter and egg together in a bowl, then slowly add the warmed milk until it forms a soft, sticky dough.
- Tip the dough out of the bowl onto a surface, kneed for about 5 minutes.
- Add the sultanas, currants, cinnamon and zest (when you use it), then kneed for another 5 minutes.
- Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise for approximately one hour, or until doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 12 even pieces, and roll each piece into a smooth ball. Use your hand as a cage, pressing down the dough a little. In this way, the raisins and currants on the surface of the dough get covered by a thin layer of dough, which prevents burning.
- Arrange the buns on a baking tray lined with parchment, leaving enough space so that the buns just touch when they rise and expand. Set aside to prove for another hour.
- Heat the oven to 220C.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven. Cover with aluminum foil when they brown too fast.
- Leave to cool slightly before trying one. Serve warm or at room temp.
Notes
Serve plain, with butter (and sugar), or with Dutch cheese.
Prep and cooking time is without the 2x 1 hour proofing time.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
Good recipe, but oven is too hot or cooking time too long. Attempted 200 degrees for 15 mins and they were a bit burned on the bottom. Next time will try 190 degrees.
Hi there, sorry to hear they burned – yeah, ovens are finicky that way – and we will do a second testing of this recipe shortly in two different ovens to see if we need to modify the temperature. Thank you for the comment!
I used my bread maker to make the dough. This was an initially sticky dough that became silky and elastic with kneading without the need to add extra flour. I divided the dough into 14 portions as I prefer a smaller bun. The buns rose beautifully. My oven tends to be hot so I baked them at 200c for 15 mins, covering with foil at the halfway mark as they were browning quickly. The buns were soft and delicious and I will be making them again. Thank you for this lovely recipe.
My 3.5 year old came home from nursery singing about currant buns in a baker’s shop. I googled, found out what they were, and decided if would be fun to make them at home, to match the song!
This recipe is perfect. I used my kitchenaid, and had no trouble at all. Beautiful.
To make them “?currant buns with a cherry on top”, I added icing made with cinnamon and vanilla bean paste, and topped with a glacé cherry. My little man was happy as a clam!
Hi what does strong flour mean??? Thx
Bread Flour. ?
To answer a lot of questions in the comments:
– No, do not use self-rising flour. This is a yeast dough, not a soda bread. Use plain flour. The yeast will raise the dough.
– Yeast doughs take differing amounts of flour. It’s hard to give an absolutely exact measurement because flour weighs more or less depending on its moisture content, which depends on the weather, etc. That’s why some doughs might have been too sticky or too dry.
– Ovens are notoriously inaccurate. Get a thermometer to put in your oven. You’ll be surprised by how much the thermometer reading differs from the temperature you set on your oven. That might be why some buns were too dark.
– With modern dry yeast, there’s no need to dissolve it in liquid. It can be added directly to dry ingredients. If your dough doesn’t rise, it could be because your yeast is not fresh and is dead.
– Related to the last point, give the dough enough time during the first rise to double in volume. One hour is just an estimate. If your kitchen is warmer, it might take less than an hour; if it’s colder, it might take more than an hour—considerably more, perhaps 2 or even 3 hours. The initial rise is as important to the final texture of the buns as the second rise is. And the second rise might take longer or shorter than an hour too—again, proof until doubled in size. The type of yeast used can also affect rising time (active dry vs. quick rise or instant).
– Approximate imperial measurements of ingredients for US users (remember, yeast doughs don’t have to use precise measurements):
– 1 c. milk
– 4 c. flour (strong white flour works best)
– ¼ c. to ? c. sugar
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 packet (2¼ tsp) dry yeast
– ¼ c. (half a stick) butter, soft but not melted
– 1 egg
– ½ c. raisins
– ? c. currants
– ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
– Optional: zest of 1 lemon, 1 orange or a mixture of both
The question marks in my ingredient list are meant to be 1/3.
And when I said yeast doughs don’t use precise measurements, I meant that you should use your own judgment. If you think the dough is too sticky while kneading it, add a little bit more flour (a tablespoon at a time). If you think it’s too dry, add a little more liquid (a teaspoon at a time). Give time to incorporate the new ingredient and reassess the texture. Remember that a sticky dough will get smoother and more elastic—and less sticky—as you knead it and the gluten develops.
I found the quantities spot on, though like some others, I found these baked best no higher than 200. Seems to me that flour type is important for the texture and properly to support the rise: my dough was initially very sticky but after ten minutes of kneading, a rest, some stretching, and another rest (!) it was silky and strong. Took AGES to rise – about 2.5 hours, but I think the key is to be patient with that – if they’re not properly risen when the go in the oven they will come out dense and chewy.
I missed Amsterdam today and all krentenbollen that I ate there, so I decided to make them at home. Everything went well, even though I didn’t measure exact amount of ingredients and I trusted on my own senses, except this part that the buns even after being well cooked, they are sticking to the tooth. Anybody can tell me where is the problem? I mean they are tasty, pretty and lovely, but I want to reach that perfect krentenbol!!!
My buns didn’t rise well at all. I am assuming it is because there is an additional (unmentioned) step about dissolving the yeast before adding it?
Can i used sr/flour.
I made these today and they were my first attempt at currant buns although I usually make my own bread. I followed the recipe exactly but found difficulty in combining the fruit and grated orange into the dough. It was really hard so I put it it my magimix and I sung the dough hook i kneaded it for a few minutes.
At the next step I admit it took a little time to get the 12 rounds equal size but they rose ok. I timed the oven for 25 mi utes but by 18 they were burnt on top. I thought that I could cut them in half and eat the bottom half but they were horrible. Just rubbery! What did I do wrong?
I would love this recipe converted to imperial!
I made 12 making them.about 90g each. I. halved the salt and think I will cut the sugar down a bit as they were sweet enough to eat on their own but my.husbanf typically puts butter and jam on yeast products. I set the oven at 400 and they took about 20 mins to come out cooked and fluffy soft. A good recipe although like someone else I see no reason why the cinnamon couldn’t go in with the dry ingredients and the zest with the liquids both which would better mix them. Putting the cinnamon with the wet dough meant a lot of pummeling to get it distributed. Perhaps the originator of the recipe could comment but thanks for posting.
I am finally getting to trying this recipe today! So far the recipe seems good. The dough was incredibly sticky and I didnt wet the currents or the raisins so I am not sure whats up. I did however notice that it seemed to get less sticky after the total 10 minutes of kneading. The dough got WAY less sticky upon rising for one hour and it looks as well as smells lovely, silky. Keeping it to rise until the edges just touched each other is a perfect discription! I have read the comments and decided to lower the temperature a bit so I have it at 200degrees Celsius and its currently smelling amazing in the oven. Thanks for the recipe!