The tulen of the fair

The fair at Hippolytushoef begins on the last Thursday in July. That first day is called tuledag, or the tulemerrekt. In the old days the church council and the magistrates sat in the pews at ten o'clock. To the sound of the organ anyone who wished came in by the side door, walked a circuit and went out again under the tower. There the bakers stood with their kriel, the bread basket. Everyone received a tuul: a small, square white roll with little crust.

Originally the tithe lord handed them out. On that Thursday the farmers paid their rent, a tenth of the harvest, and anyone who had paid received a tuul at the door. In 1895 the tithes were bought off. The handing-out in that form stopped. A later version says the mayor gave the tulen to the children.

At fair time the baker still calls: "De tulen benne gaar!" (The tulen are done). In the Hippolytuskerk he hands them out, with butter and ham. At home you cut the top off. The tuul is supposed to be still warm enough for the butter to melt. Bakkerij Dunselman on the Hoofdstraat bakes them, as Edwin Bellis did before him. There is no recipe for home.