Sourdough Hagelslag (Bread with chocolate sprinkles) 

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Sourdough hagelslag is twist on the Dutch tradition of buttered bread and chocolate sprinkles. Enjoyed cold, this treat is a quick breakfast, snack or dessert recipe loved by all ages.

One of the funnier breakfasts my husband introduced me to was Hagelslag (pronounced ‘haa-gal-slahk’). Hagelslag is bread with cold butter and chocolate sprinkles. His grandparents made him these for him growing up as a tradition from their Dutch heritage. 

My husbands’ grandpa commonly ate Hagelslag for breakfast in the Netherlands. However their name is a bit funnier- a muisjes sandwich- due to the appearance of the sandwich. 

Muisjes, pronounced “my-sha-s” is translated from Dutch to English as as “small mice”. “Muizenstrontjes” translates to “mouse droppings”. The chocolate sprinkles can look like “mouse droppings”. 

Though no correlation between a mouse and a sandwich whatsoever, the name has stuck and is a part of Dutch happiness. After all, what kid wouldn’t want to eat bread with chocolate sprinkles?!

The preparation of this sandwich is what makes it a winner in our household. A traditional hagelslag is made with white bread, but we use sourdough! Simply place cold butter and chocolate sprinkles on top of bread.

No heating of the bread is necessary. Though if you have a particular toddler like we do, you might want to cut off the crust of the bread first before serving.

Ingredients for Dutch Hagelslag (on sourdough bread)

• Sourdough bread 
  • Of course our version of this recipe uses sourdough bread. As someone who was formerly gluten free and now enjoys all things sourdough, I have found sourdough bread to be more flavorful and moist than other bread options.
• Butter
  • Our favorite butter to make this sourdough Hagelslag is Kerrygold butter. Both salted and unsalted butter work well within this recipe, though we like it best with salted butter
• Chocolate sprinkles 
  • A good quality chocolate sprinkle is the key to this recipe. We love the brand De Ruijter which contain 32 percent cocoa compared to the American brands. Do yourself a favor and buy the real thing.
  • The De Ruijter brand of dutch chocolate sprinkles are available in milk chocolate, dark chocolate and extra dark chocolate flavors. The Hagelslag sprinkles are in the “world market” aisle of grocery stores or online.
  • The flavor and texture of these chocolate sprinkles is superb. They are creamy and sweet, without feeling like you will get a toothache from the sugar. 
  • Betty Crocker and Aldi also have chocolate sprinkles, though we have found the texture and flavor is not as good as the De Ruijter brand. If you can not find chocolate sprinkles, chocolate chips work in a pinch – however I argue it is just not the same thing!

How to make a Sourdough Dutch Hagelslag

The preparation for making a Hagelslag sandwich is easy. Enjoy the sourdough Hagelslag open face style and cold. The bread and butter are both cold, not hot. 

Start by selecting your favorite slice of sourdough bread (or on sourdough english muffin bread or sourdough english muffins for something different). Spread cold butter across the slice of bread. Adorn with chocolate sprinkles, measuring with your heart!

Eat the slice of bread open face. Smile and enjoy this delicious treat! 

Note, the Hagelslag sprinkles can melt when exposed to heat. To reheat frozen sourdough bread, toast until room temperature. The sprinkles may melt slightly if the bread is served hot.

Dutch Hagelslag Variations

There are a handful of variations of Hagelslag sandwiches from fruit sprinkles, dark chocolate sprinkles, milk chocolate sprinkles, white chocolate sprinkles and assorted color sprinkles. The variety of flavors provides different ways to serve the same treat.

Fruit sprinkles aka ‘vruchtenhagel’

These dutch sprinkles are various colors and include flavors like apple and lemon 

Aniseed sprinkles

Aniseed sprinkles can come in pink or blue color. This variation is commonly served in the Dutch community upon the arrival of a new baby to coordinate with the gender.

Assorted (dye free) sprinkles (aka fairy bread or unicorn bread)

This variation is commonly enjoyed at Easter

How to store Dutch Hagelslag

If you are sending a Hagelslag sandwich to lunch with your child, consider buttering the bread and sending along the chocolate sprinkles in a separate container.

Pouring the sprinkles into the bread is an easy final touch and ensures they will not fall off in the bag when moved around in a lunch bag.

This sandwich should not get soggy because the butter does not seep into the bread unless melted when spread on the bread.

What is a breakfast tradition you have from your childhood or what is one you make for your children now? Let us know in the comments below!