This recipe was born out of a dream. It all started with a plead by Food52 contributor Sarah Jampel in her article about dutch crunch. She requested for someone to create chocolate bread with a matcha dutch crunch crackle and that request got my wheels turning. I began to picture what this kind of loaf would actually look like. Understanding that a matcha dutch crunch topping would brown and diminish its vibrant green color, I then pictured a matcha bread with a chocolate dutch crunch topping instead. In my minds eye, I could envision this combo having an uncanny resemblance to a turtle. I got to developing the recipe and late that night I dreamt of shaping this matcha bread into little turtle rolls with a chocolate dutch crunch topping for their shell. I woke up Monday morning, May 23rd, to find out through Instagram that it just so happened to be World Turtle Day. Destiny had dawned – these little matcha milk bread turtles were meant to be and nothing was going to stop me from bringing them to life in time for them to be celebrated and make their world debut on #worldturtleday!
I have always been a huge dutch crunch fan. I went to high school down the street from a bakery that was infamous for its dutch crunch rolls (sadly the owners of this bakery have since retired & closed their doors). Many of my meager high school student lunches consisted of one of those famous dutch crunch rolls with a little pack of cream cheese. Considering my history with dutch crunch, I felt qualified to take on the challenge that Sarah Jampel had put out into the inter-webs. It was as if this matcha/chocolate dutch crunch torch had been placed directly in my hand and it was now my duty to bring her crazy request to life.
Adding matcha to milk bread dough and cocoa powder to the dutch crunch topping was not the simple answer to this creation, because both matcha and cocoa are naturally bitter and need good amounts of sweetener to counter their bitterness. Not to mention, it would not be good enough for these matcha milk bread turtles to only be seriously cute, they had to be seriously delicious!
The answer to making these rolls taste as good as they looked was white chocolate. Adding a filling of finely chopped white chocolate to the matcha milk bread turtles made all the difference that elevated these sweet rolls to greatness. After all, these rolls had to be something that the whole family could fall in love with. What kid wouldn’t want to enjoy one of these cute little turtles?! I’m 31 and I cannot get over how adorable they are!
A kitchen scale is key to this recipe, so I have included the ingredients in weighed measurements where it matters most. The scale especially comes in handy when it comes time to shape the turtles – ensuring all of your turtles are the same size will mean they cook evenly.
Shaping them into turtles was my absolute favorite part, I couldn’t help but think back to my childhood days of playing with play dough – and it felt good to feel like a kid again. That brings me to a good point – I believe one of the keys to success in the kitchen is having fun and when you’re having a good time, cooking does not feel like a chore, its a joy.
I think this is one of the happiest recipes I have ever developed. I mean, look at these turtles, you just can’t help but smile! They are kind of like puppies and babies, its difficult to be anything but happy around them. The added bonus here is that these matcha milk bread turtles are really delicious! If for nothing else but to make someone smile, you should have your hand at making them, even if that someone is you :)
To achieve the truly green turtles, we use organic culinary grade matcha from Encha. We have found this to be the highest of quality with the best flavor, color and value on the market (it is also available on Amazon Prime, which makes it super convenient too!)
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp (24g) flour
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
- 270g bread flour (we use King Arthur Organic)
- 100g sugar
- 12g matcha (we use Encha)
- 5g instant yeast we use Saf Instant Gold)
- 4g fine grain salt
- 4g non-fat dry milk powder (we use Now Foods Organic)
- 70g whole milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp (4g) vanilla extract
- 1 egg, room temperature & whisked
- 28g unsalted butter, melted & cooled
- 90g white chocolate, finely chopped
- 12 black sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp (3g) active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup (60ml) warm water
- 1 tbsp (12g) sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp (12.5g) vegetable oil (we used avocado oil)
- 1/2 tsp (2g) salt
- 1/3 cup (50g) rice flour (use white or brown rice flour- not Mochiko sticky rice flour)
- 1 tbsp (7.5g) cocoa powder
- sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the water, milk & flour - whisk until no lumps remain
- Heat this mixture over medium low heat, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken & streaks from your whisk will appear, this usually takes about 3-5 minutes
- Remove from the heat & transfer the mixture from the saucepan to a clean bowl - let cool to room temperature
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, matcha, instant yeast, salt & milk powder in the bowl of your stand mixer
- In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, egg & the cooled tangzhong
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients & with the dough hook knead blend for a few minutes until just combined (scraggy dough is okay)
- Add the melted butter & knead the dough for about 7-10 more minutes - it will feel elastic & slightly sticky
- Knead the dough into a ball shape & place into a greased bowl. Cover & place in a warm place to rise for 1 1/2 hours
- After dough is done rising, weigh your dough & divide it into 8 equally sized pieces (mine weighed about 72g each)
- Reserve 2 of the pieces for the heads & feet of the turtles
- Flatten each piece of dough into about a 4-5" circle & add 15g of chopped white chocolate to the flattened dough, pressing the chocolate into the dough. Fold the dough up & around the white chocolate, pressing the dough together to ensure it is well sealed
- Flip over the dough so the sealed side is facing down - repeat with the other 5 pieces of dough & the turtle bodies are done
- Place the turtle bodies on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 2" in between each turtle
- Take 1 of the reserved balls of dough & divide it into 6 equally sized pieces (mine weighed about 12g each) - Roll each piece into a sphere & gently pinch one end of the sphere, slip the pinched end under the turtle body & press the body down at their meeting point, repeat until all of the bodies have heads
- Take the other reserved ball of dough & divide it into 6 equally sized pieces (mine weighed about 12g each) & then divide each of these pieces into 4 small pieces (my small pieces weighed about 3g each) leaving you with 4 small balls of dough per turtle for the feet (24 total small pieces)
- Shape each of the 4 small balls of dough into an oval, pinching one end of each oval. Slip the pinched ends under the turtle body placing them where the turtle's feet need to be
- Once all turtles have heads & feet, make the eyes by taking 2 black sesame seeds & place them onto each head, gently pressing them into the dough with a toothpick
- Cover the completed turtle rolls with plastic wrap & put in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes
- While the turtles are rising make the dutch crunch
- In a small bowl whisk together the dutch crunch ingredients until smooth. Cover with plastic & leave to rise while the turtles are rising
- When turtles are done rising, pre-heat oven to 350F - Stir the dutch crunch topping until smooth & then coat the top of each turtle body with the dutch crunch topping, spreading it evenly with a spoon until all of the topping is used up
- Sprinkle the dutch crunch coating with sugar & then bake the rolls for 20 minutes
- Remove from oven & place turtles on a rack to cool for about 10-15 minutes
- Enjoy turtles while still warm from the oven - this is when they are at their best - otherwise, store in an airtight container & re-heat in the microwave for about 20 seconds
Just Pinned this to my KIDS board…adorable!
Awesome! You and your kids will love making them Maren!
This. is. GENIUS!! I love how cute these turtles ended up looking, and matcha milk bread is always a big plus! So creative :)
Aw, thank you so much Joleen! They were so fun to create!
These are the cutest bread ever. Period. I just want to squish them.
Haha! Thank you so much AiPing! They are super squishy too!
Thank you so much Bella for sharing ur recipe,
I will soon made it for my son’s potluck party at school.
You are so welcome Tan! I hope your son & his classmates enjoy them!
These look great!!!!!
Is the dry milk powder lactose allergy friendly? Or is there a lactose free alternative at all? :)
You could try using coconut milk in place of the milk, coconut oil in place of the butter and omitting the dry milk powder to keep them lactose free Alex. Let me know if you try it & how they turn out!
This are AMAZING! So creative, they are truly genius!
Thank you so much Carolyn, they were so fun to create and make!
Just made these. Adorable except my Dutch Crunch wasn’t paste-like. More doughish. Nevertheless, I punched off a ball, flattened it out and stuck it to the turtle back. It did not crackle like the images above, instead, braking into thirds or quarters. What could be the reason my Dutch crunch wasn’t spreadable?
I am not sure what could have gone wrong for you Shellie. I double checked the measurements just now and they are correct. All I can imagine is that maybe your rice flour was different than what I used. I used superfine white rice flour, but brown rice flour should have worked okay too. If you used sticky rice flour that could have been the problem. What type of rice flour did you use?
I used a new box of Mochiko. I wondered if maybe I flubbed the liquid/dry measurements since mine wasn’t spreadable. Just not sure. Making them again tonight so will do my best not to get distracted. In any case, thwey were still delicious, despite my wonky shells. Thank you!
Mochiko is definitely the wrong type of rice flour. Unfortunately its sticky nature will not work for the dutch crunch topping. You need to use white rice flour or brown rice flour for it to work! I hope your second try works out!
Aha! I switch out!
Thanks! I made it yesterday. Everyone said it was too cute to eate :)
Yay! That is wonderful, thank you for sharing!
what would be a good alternative to bread flour ?
I think the best alternative would be all purpose flour Angel, let me know how it goes!
Will I need to adjust the quantity of dry yeast and instant yeast?
And how about milk chocolate instead of white chocolate?
No, you shouldn’t need to adjust the yeast at all Angel. You can absolutely substitute the white chocolate for milk chocolate at the same measurements and it should be fine!
Hi, i Want to make These for my Little one’s 2nd Birthday but from Reading the ingtedients I felt That 1 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast Are a lot for just 1/3 Cup of flour? Or is this a very Special dough? Thank You! Anne
Hi Anne! It does seem like a lot, but it is for creating the special dutch crunch coating & it totally works! Hope everyone enjoys them at the party!
It looks so wonderful !
But do you have the recipe for the Dutch crunch in grams ? I’m french and I don’t know how to measure the ingrdients. Thanks ! ^^
Hello Mylene! I updated the recipe to have gram & ml measurements for the dutch crunch! Happy Baking!
very nice for a snack qualified child. surely all will like the shape of a turtle funny
Thank you so much!
Adorable!! I am a Grandma and my munchkin will love to eat a turtle!’
Thank you Sharon! I hope you guys have fun making & eating them!
Hello! These are so adorable! I would absolutely love to give these a go but I was just wondering, why do you use two different yeasts? Can they be used interchangeably and what is the difference between them?
Hi Karlie! The reason for 2 different yeasts is really just a matter of time savings & the two different applications. With the rolls themselves, using instant yeast makes for quicker rise times. As far as the dutch crunch goes, you want active dry yeast, because it rises & in this case spreads more slowly for the perfect crunchy topping. If you were to only choose one yeast, I would say to go with regular active dry yeast, the rise times for the bread dough will take longer and you will need to activate the yeast in warm water with a touch of sugar before mixing it into all of the other ingredients. Hope this helps!
I just saw this turtles on Pinterest and they look absolutely adorable! They are super cute and I bet they also taste delicious.
Hi Azu! Thank you so much! They are cute & tasty too!
These are so adorable. I love them!!
Aw thanks Katie! <3
Aw, thank you Katie! <3
SO great! Just one thing, the dutch crunch melted all over the legs of the turtle! Otherwise such a lovely recipe & concept! Loved it!
Hi Tina! Thank you! It sounds like your dutch crunch topping may have been too loose. I have made them repeatedly and never had that problem…also make sure that you leave some space between the dutch crunch topping & the turtle feet before you bake! So glad you enjoyed them! :D
Hello! I only have instant yeast on hand, would that be alright for the dutch crust? Would it stagnate the cracking process? Also, would the amount used be the same? Thanks a lot! Can’t wait to try this recipe! :)
For the tangzhong , did you use bread flour or just all-purpose flour? I read other recipes and they all seem to use bread flour so now I’m confused.
Hi Linh!
Whether you use bread flour or all purpose flour, the tzanzhong will work equally as well. Since the milk bread recipe calls for bread flour, using bread flour would be the easiest! But either way, it should turn out great! Hope that helps!
Hi!
When I saw the photo of these, I instantly bookmarked this recipe so I could make it and today was the day! Unfortunately, the dough and the dutch crunch were both much too runny for me. I’m not sure why. I ended up having to add a lot more flour to the dough and more rice flour to the dutch crunch so that they would turn out okay. Any ideas for why this might be? I’d love to fix these so I can make them without a hitch next time!
Thanks :)
Hi Flora! I am not sure what could have gone wrong…this is the first time I have heard someone struggle with the flour/liquid ratio. It is a very tested & trusted ratio as I developed this recipe over many tries. So, all I can think is that something may have gotten mixed up when you were measuring…let me ask, did you use a kitchen scale to measure?
I wonder n confuse,can i subtitute whole milk n butterr with another kind inggridients?,because whole milk is expensive in my country…
You could substitute a lighter milk Ami, if whole milk is difficult for you to purchase, as far as the butter goes, coconut oil, palm shortening & even margarine would probably all work just fine too! Let me know how your substitutions work out for you!
Hello! First off, I just wanted to say that I can’t get over how cute these are! I am so excited to try them out soon. Is it possible to freeze them after they have been cooked? I live alone, but I would love to keep them all for myself. :)
Thank you!
Thank you so much Maddie! Well, I have not tried freezing them yet, but I am sure if you wrapped them well & then re-heated them after defrosting that they would still taste great! Let me know how it works out for you!
Just made these for the second time and they turned out great! I added in sweet azuki beans instead of white chocolate and skipped the salt for the dutch crunch as they were a little saltier for my taste. I also added in a extra tablespoon of butter as they tend to dry out quickly in my home environment but super cute and fun! Thank you for the recipe!
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed them Megan! Azuki beans are a great filling choice! Thank you for sharing! :D
Can I use active dry yeast in the dough instead of instant yeast? How will that make a difference in the bread?
Hi Linh! You can use active dry yeast, however you will have to adjust your rising time as it will take longer…so just watch until the dough is doubled and you should be good!
hi! Do you think these could work without egg somehow? they look adorable and I’d like to try making these but I’m allergic to egg, so… would baking soda work or would it alter the taste too much?
Hi M! I have not tried making them without egg yet, but I would try a starch-based egg replacer (you can google search for egg-replacers online) – please let me know if you try it and it works out for you!
If you’re allergic to egg, maybe try applesauce? I think the ratio is 1/4 cup applesauce to 1 egg. The egg is a leavener for the dough and helps it rise and stick together so you need a similar substance, hence the applesauce.
Thank you for the suggestion Ry!
Made these for the first time today and they were great tasting, although I had a couple hiccups in the baking process. For me, the matcha dough and the dutch crunch topping were too loose. I ended up adding almost 1/2 cup more flour into the dough, and a couple tablespoons extra for the dutch crunch. The only difference I could account for was that it was humid today (raining) and the only dry milk powder I had available was instant nonfat dry milk. I believe the reconstitution conversion may be different for instant vs non-instant milk powder, so maybe my instant milk powder didn’t absorb enough liquid? But I’m mostly puzzled about the dutch crunch topping. It was very loose and if spread as it were, it would’ve dripped off the turtles. I was using a brand of non-glutinous rice flour I found from an Asian grocery store. Otherwise, the recipe was executed as written and ingredients measure by digital scale.
Hi Melissa! Typically in baking, humidity can have a huge affect on how much flour is ultimately needed in a recipe. I have tested this recipe thoroughly & have never had any issues. All I can think about the dutch crunch topping being loose is the type of rice flour you used. While I cannot be sure what went wrong for you, I can assure you that my recipe has been tested thoroughly – perhaps cutting back the liquid on the dutch crunch topping & adding a little bit at a time until the right texture is achieved. Let me know if you have any other questions! Happy baking!
I would LOVE (!!!) to have these at my wedding!!!! Would it be possible to freeze them once they are cooked for storage?! How long do they keep fresh if not?! thank you SO MUCH! For this wonderful idea!!!!! My fiancé loves turtles, and it’s going to be at a beach so I’m in love so unique!!!!
Thank you so much Catherine! I am so happy that you love them, they are a very special creation of mine! I believe another commenter did try freezing them with success, but if I were you I would test freezing them, thawing & then re-warming before you plan them for your wedding! (they taste best when they are slightly warm)
I’m a pure vegetarian as in I don’t eat even eggs. I’m perfect with milk though. Is there a way to exclude or substitute the eggs from this recipe?
I would suggest looking into a vegan milk bread recipe and adapting from there, here is a link to what looks like a good one: http://www.marystestkitchen.com/vegan-milk-bread-recipe/
Hi. I just love the idea of these adorable turtles. I note that you wrote that they are best served and eaten soon after being baked. Do you think that if I made them and transported them unbaked they would be okay — shaped in advance and transported on a tray about 2 hours before being baked?
Hi Amara! I think as long as they were served the same day they would be great…they would benefit from gentle re-warming right before serving! happy baking!
I love these! So cute! Thanks for the recipe!
Aw thanks Janette! You are so welcome!
Aw thanks Janette! You are so welcome!
Aw thanks Janette! You are so welcome!
veri nice
Thank you!
look awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
You are so welcome!
I love this idea! Can I leave the matcha out without affecting anything but the color?
Yes you can! They will still taste great!
I would LOVE to try these, but the weight/measurements of the ingredient list are incredibly muddled between metric and American weights and measures, and the conversion tables I have come out badly for the American version of correct measurements. Could someone add a version that sticks to either metric or US measurements?
Hi Naomi! I updated the recipe to make sure every ingredient has a weighted measurement. I hope this helps! I recommend using weighted measurements as it is the most accurate :)
I love the shape of this turtle, it’s really like turtle…
Thank you so much! Happy you like it!
I am so in LOVE. These turtles are so cute, I’d be satisfied just making it my wallpaper. THANK YOU! I feel so inspired.
Yay! That makes me so happy! Thank you Birdie!
Love this!!
Thank you!
What is the oven temperature for 20 min?
350f degrees
hello!
this idea is very good .
how does it goes if i replace bread flour with all purpose flour?
thankyou
Hi Ika! I have not tried it with all purpose flour, but I think that they would turn out just fine!
Hello! I tried making these and the dough disn’t turn into dough at all! It was far too runny… More like cake batter than dough.
I am in Florida so the humidity is terrible. I tries adding more flour, but I got to where I had added almost 4 times as much flour than the recipe called for, and it was still far too sticky to knead.
Does anyone have any idea as to why these happened/tips to keep it from happening again?
Thanks!
Hi Kyra! I am so sorry that you had trouble with the recipe. While humidity could have definitely been a factor, I have a feeling that something else must have gone wrong. I have tested this recipe several times over and it has been made successfully by many many people, so all I can think is that perhaps a liquid measurement may have been off and resulted in the problems you had. I hope you are able to give it a go again, and I would highly recommend using a kitchen scale if you can to ensure things turn out better next time!
Hello Bella! My name is Ika.
Actually, i have been pinning this idea since 2016 because of this is a new way to bake a bread and I dreamed that I could realize to make it. So fortunately today I just tried to make this. There some ingredients that I subtitute with other ingredients according to availability in my house/area.
One of them, I substituted matcha with pandan flavoring & colouring . (Pandan is a famous flavouring from pandan leaves in my country and around southeast Asia ). Also more add butter 1 tbsp. I didn’t shaped into turtle for accentuate successful in this recipe so only shaped in round.
For the result was amazing but not perfectly. Dutch crunch has more liquid so I just can coat it thiny (I got some fault) .For me it is too sweet (probably because of not using matcha ) but it quite satisfactory. My mom and my husband like these *thumbs up* . I have their photos but I can’t attach here.
Thank you for the recipe and thank you for sharing. <3
(Sorry for my poor english)
Awwww…that is SO awesome! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed making them and it sounds like your substitutions worked out okay! We love pandan! I have never made these with pandan, but I love that you were willing to take a risk and experiment yourself! Thank you for sharing your experience!
Hi Bella, can any other type of flour be replaced with rice flour for the Dutch crunch?
From my experience rice flour is the only flour that can be used for dutch crunch