If you want to make Dutch doughnuts at home, choose dough or a suitable mix and add separate currants and raisins if you like. Ready-made currant buns are not a substitute. Albert Heijn Allerhande’s recipes describe currant buns as oven-baked bread rolls, while the Netherlands Nutrition Centre describes Dutch doughnuts as deep-fried. Choose packaged currant buns when you want to eat or serve bread rolls, and check the label and storage instructions for the product you choose.
You’re looking for dough or a suitable mix, and perhaps separate currants and raisins—not a bread roll that’s already been baked. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre describes deep-frying Dutch doughnuts; Albert Heijn Allerhande’s currant bun recipe uses an oven.
You want ready-made bread rolls, so you check the number of rolls, the ingredients and the storage instructions on the packaging.
You want to know which allergens a product lists before buying, or check whether its storage instructions suit when you plan to eat the currant buns.
Choose this if: you want to make deep-fried Dutch doughnuts and add your own currants or raisins to the dough.
Bear in mind: preparing the dough and deep-frying take time, and working with hot oil requires care.
Choose this if: you want to eat or serve bread rolls with currants or raisins without baking them yourself.
Bear in mind: the filling and quantity are fixed for a packaged product; a currant bun is no substitute for Dutch doughnut dough.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| The right type of product | Check whether you’re buying dough or a Dutch doughnut mix, or a bread roll that’s already been baked. | If I want to make Dutch doughnuts, I don’t want to come home with bread rolls instead of dough. For around 40% of consumers, having the right baking base would be the main consideration. |
| Ready to serve | For ready-made currant buns, compare the number of rolls, the ingredients and the use-by date. | If you want to serve bread rolls without kneading or deep-frying, you’re looking for something that’s ready to eat. For around 30% of consumers, convenience would come first. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Check the current packaging for the allergens the product contains and any warnings about possible traces. | If I need to avoid certain ingredients, I want to be able to check the label on the exact pack I’m buying. For around 20% of consumers, this would be the first priority. |
| Quantity and storage | Compare the number of rolls and follow the freezing and storage instructions for the specific product. | In a small household, I want to be able to store bread rolls without buying more than I need. For roughly 10% of consumers, a suitable quantity and clear storage instructions would come first. |
A ready-made currant bun has already been baked. It can’t replace the dough you need to deep-fry Dutch doughnuts.
To make Dutch doughnuts at home, choose dough or a suitable mix. Buy currants or raisins separately if you want to use them as a filling.
The name ‘currant bun’ doesn’t tell you which ingredients, allergens or storage instructions apply to the pack you’re holding.
Read the current label before buying or serving the product, especially if its ingredients matter to your choice.
A fresh bun that you freeze at home may have different storage instructions from one sold frozen.
Follow the instructions on your pack and, if you freeze the buns yourself, make a note of the date.
Jumbo lists packs of six raisin and currant buns, as well as a separate In2bake currant bun mix.
PLUS lists packaged currant buns, including an eight-pack sold under the name ‘lekker lang lekker’.
Albert Heijn Allerhande has a recipe for oven-baked currant buns. Albert Heijn has also listed a six-pack frozen variety.
Not as a substitute for Dutch doughnut dough: ready-made currant buns are bread rolls that have already been baked. Albert Heijn Allerhande describes baking currant buns in the oven, while the Netherlands Nutrition Centre describes Dutch doughnuts as deep-fried. Choose dough or a suitable mix for Dutch doughnuts, and add separate currants and raisins if you like.
Check the label on the pack you’re buying. The Jumbo and PLUS currant buns described list wheat and milk; product information may also include warnings about possible traces of other allergens. Don’t assume that every variety has the same ingredients.
No, that doesn’t follow from the type of product. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority states that iodine compounds may only be added to bread, bread substitutes and other bakery products via baker’s salt, at a maximum of 65 mg of iodine per kg of salt. This condition doesn’t mean every currant bun contains iodised salt; check the ingredients list for the product you choose.
Yes, if the instructions for the specific product allow it. PLUS says to freeze its ‘lekker lang lekker’ variety on the day of purchase and use it within one month. The Albert Heijn frozen variety described has different instructions: store at −18 °C and do not refreeze once thawed.
