What is the Zuidlaren bun?

Women were baking bread long before our era, usually in round forms and made of various grain types that were ground into flour between stones. Long before the middle ages craftsman were setting up small bread baking companies. At the time of the crusaders the expeditions discovered that loaves of bread were being baked with a filling of dried grapes. The dried grapes were known as currants. A couple of shrewd generals decided to take this delicacy back to Europe. The bread bakers tried to bake a type of bread with the currants, and their efforts met with success. This is when the currant bun first saw the light of day. It was not until much later that the discovery was made that grapes were also grown and dried in Greece, and known as raisins.

At this point we take a step forward in time. When the grandfather of Joop Hovius got the idea of starting his own business he was still a baker's assistant in Eext. He started his company at De Groeve, close to Zuidlaren. Buns were already being baked at that time, but Hovius made a special recipe and called his bun the True Zuidlaren bun. In 1934 Kees Hovius took over the company from his father and continued baking the Zuidlaren buns.

During the war ingredients were scarce and it was not possible to bake buns with currants and raisins for the Zuidlaren market, so chopped dates were used instead. Joop Hovius still remembers the many evenings spent stoning and chopping dates. Later, when currants were again available, all of the crates had to be turned upside down on the worktop and sorted out: there were many stones and twigs among them at that time.

The substantial bread that consists mainly of rye flour forms the ideal 'lining for the stomach' for farmers, burghers and horsemen, who travelled from far and wide to sell their cattle in Zuidlaren. Bread used to be baked with water, flour and yeast and other than that there wasn't much choice: the bread quickly dried out, but its heavy filling of currants, raisins and candied peel ensured that the bun kept its flavour for a long time. The bun of today has been adapted somewhat to modern-day standards, which means that it stays soft for longer and has a better flavour and texture. But the specific ingredients remain the same as those used fifty years ago.

Since 1946 Hovius has been located at De Brink in Zuidlaren, where Kees Hovius took over the bakery from the Bouwman family. Joop Hovius took the business over from his father, and in 1994 he transferred the recipe to the Ligthart family.

The word 'bun' may be a bit misleading, as the bread is not completely round but has a flattened form. In 1996 the Hovius bakers baked the millionth Zuidlaren bun.

And as the old saying goes:

WHEN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER COMES
YOU'LL THINK OF ZUIDLAREN MARKET FOR SURE
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE BEST OF BUNS
YOU'LL KNOCK ON THE HOVIUS BAKERY'S DOOR

So if you have no other plans for the third Tuesday in October, the Zuidlaren market is certainly worth a visit. And for the only True Zuidlaren bun you'll be sure to find us at De Brink.