Don’t use pancake mix as your standard base for Dutch doughnuts (oliebollen) at a stall without a recipe you’ve tested first. Koopmans Pannenkoeken Origineel is a pancake product, while the professional oliebollen mix offered by Bidfood comes with proving and frying instructions. Choose an oliebollen mix if you want to work to a set method; choose your own batter made with an active sourdough starter if you can manage the extra preparation and recipe testing. If you sell unpackaged products, you’ll also need to provide allergen information and follow food-safe working practices.
If you need to make fresh batter throughout busy periods, clear instructions for proving and frying are important. The professional oliebollen mix offered by Bidfood includes these instructions and contains dried baker’s yeast.
If you want to develop a fermented flavour profile, you’ll need to set aside time to build, feed and monitor a starter. Albert Heijn lists sourdough starter as an ingredient for oliebollen batter; for stall production, you’ll need to test the complete recipe yourself.
Whichever batter route you choose, you’ll need to keep track of the allergens in each variety and follow food-safe working practices. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority provides guidance on unpackaged foods and selling at markets and events.
First, choose between a mix with oliebollen instructions and a sourdough batter you develop yourself. Then consider which preparation, ingredients and stall processes you can manage. Without testing your own recipe, pancake mix is not a like-for-like alternative to either option.
Choose this if: you want to follow set proving and frying instructions; Bidfood describes a 5 kg Koopmans mix containing dried baker’s yeast.
Bear in mind: a yeast mix is not the same as a batter made with an active sourdough starter.
Choose this if: you can develop your own oliebollen recipe and build and maintain the starter in advance.
Bear in mind: Albert Heijn mentions using starter in oliebollen batter, but a starter on its own is not a complete recipe or production method.
Consider this only: for test batches using your own recipe, which you trial before selling regularly.
Bear in mind: Koopmans Pannenkoeken Origineel is designed for pancakes; getting a good pancake result tells you nothing about how the batter will turn out when fried.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Production for each frying batch | Check the quantities and proving and frying instructions for your chosen oliebollen mix. | If I’m frying fresh batches throughout busy periods, I want a method I can follow for each batch; production continuity is the top priority for around 36% of consumers. |
| Sourdough flavour profile | Decide whether you can maintain an active starter and an oliebollen recipe you’ve tested in advance. | Anyone looking to develop their own fermented flavour profile will also need to make time for the starter; this profile matters most to around 29% of consumers. |
| Allergens and stall hygiene | Check the current ingredients for each variety and make sure your preparation method follows your food safety plan. | If I sell unpackaged oliebollen, I want to be able to explain which allergens each recipe contains and how I work safely; this is the main consideration for around 21% of consumers. |
| Preparation and ingredients | Compare the extra ingredients you’ll need alongside the mix and how much preparation the recipe involves. | With little time to prepare, I want to keep extra ingredients and steps to a minimum; around 14% of consumers prioritise simplicity. |
Koopmans describes Pannenkoeken Origineel as a pancake product. The professional Koopmans oliebollen mix offered by Bidfood, on the other hand, comes with proving and frying instructions. These products are designed for different uses, so a pancake recipe is not a ready-to-use recipe for your stall.
For regular sales, use a mix with oliebollen instructions, or test your adapted recipe in full frying batches beforehand and write down the method.
Adapting pancake mix means extra test batches and possibly additional ingredients.
A sourdough starter needs time to develop and be fed. Albert Heijn’s starter recipe says it can be used from day five; that doesn’t guarantee that every starter will be ready for your batter on the same day.
Allow plenty of time to build the starter before you start selling, and check that it shows enough activity for your recipe. Test the complete oliebollen batter in advance, too.
If you sell unpackaged oliebollen, you must be able to give customers information about allergens. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority lists 14 allergens; using a different mix, filling or topping may change the information for each variety.
Keep the current packaging details and recipe for each variety, and update your allergen information whenever ingredients or suppliers change.
Your choice of batter also affects which ingredients you need to store and handle. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority requires food to be prepared and sold at markets and events using safe working practices and an HACCP food safety plan.
Before settling on a recipe, check that your stall can support the required hand hygiene, cleaning and storage for the ingredients you’ve chosen.
Koopmans offers both a pancake mix and a professional oliebollen mix. Choose according to the intended use, not just the brand name.
Baktotaal lists Royal Steensma Oliebollenmix Speciaal as an oliebollen mix in a 20 kg pack, a size worth considering for higher production volumes.
Baktotaal lists Molen de Hoop Oliebollenmix met gist in a 1 kg pack.
Not without your own recipe, tested in advance. Koopmans Pannenkoeken Origineel is designed for pancakes, while the professional oliebollen mix offered by Bidfood comes with proving and frying instructions. For regular stall production, a mix specifically designed for oliebollen is a clearer starting point.
Yes. Albert Heijn lists sourdough starter as an ingredient for oliebollen batter. For stall production, you’ll also need a complete recipe, an active starter and frying batches you’ve tested in advance; the starter alone doesn’t determine how to make the batter.
Yes. In the Netherlands, you must be able to give customers information about allergens in unpackaged foods. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority lists 14 allergens. Keep the information for each oliebollen variety up to date if you use a different mix, filling or topping.
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority requires food prepared and sold at markets and events to be handled in line with an HACCP food safety plan. Adapt your preparation methods, hand hygiene, cleaning and storage to the ingredients you actually use.
