Adventures in Brioche

[Panaderia Canadiense]

ooOOoooo.... Next time I've got brioche dough overage, I'm totally making those. They look like a simple triple fold, sliced into individual breads?

[LindaK]

ooOOoooo.... Next time I've got brioche dough overage, I'm totally making those. They look like a simple triple fold, sliced into individual breads?

Exactly. I cut them into 2 inch slices and gave them a final rise, then added the topping before baking The topping recipe I followed, from Joanne Chang's Flour cookbook, was a slurry of beaten egg, sugar, and sliced almonds, and the proportions made a topping that was too runny, I had to sop up the excess after I'd heaped some on each pastry. Next time I'll make it thicker (maybe adding some almond meal?). But don't skip the topping, it balances the slightly bitter candied oranges beautifully.

[janeer]

ooOOoooo.... Next time I've got brioche dough overage, I'm totally making those. They look like a simple triple fold, sliced into individual breads?

Exactly. I cut them into 2 inch slices and gave them a final rise, then added the topping before baking The topping recipe I followed, from Joanne Chang's Flour cookbook, was a slurry of beaten egg, sugar, and sliced almonds, and the proportions made a topping that was too runny, I had to sop up the excess after I'd heaped some on each pastry. Next time I'll make it thicker (maybe adding some almond meal?). But don't skip the topping, it balances the slightly bitter candied oranges beautifully.

Linda, what recipe are using for these and the marble brioche? My mouth is watering.

[LindaK]

As my basic brioche, I’ve adopted a recipe from Linda Dannenberg’s Paris Boulangerie-Patisserie. The book includes several brioche recipes, I like the one from Ganachaud. The idea and technique for the marbled loaf comes from Nick Malgieri’s The Modern Baker. They are delicious!

[DianaM]

In honor of today's Fête Nationale in France and Marie Antoinette's famous pronouncement "qu'ils mangent de la brioche" (let them eat brioche), I tried my hand at the marbled chocolate brioche. Aside from leaving it the oven a bit too long, it turned out well--it was quite delicious.

Both the brioche and the craqueline look amazing, Linda. I am now eyeing the Dannenberg book on amazon, but in the meantime, I think I will try Peter Reinhart's from his apprentice book.

[janeer]

As my basic brioche, I’ve adopted a recipe from Linda Dannenberg’s Paris Boulangerie-Patisserie. The book includes several brioche recipes, I like the one from Ganachaud. The idea and technique for the marbled loaf comes from Nick Malgieri’s The Modern Baker. They are delicious!

Thank you, Linda. I have Modern Baker, and have just ordered the Dannenberg. Your personal tweaks welcome!

[Justin Pinkney]

These all look fantastic! The brioche recipe in 'the modern cafe' has been tempting me for a long time. There is also a recipe for laminated brioche, i. e. Brioche dough laminated with butter in case there wasn't already enough fat in there for you, sounds amazing though!

Also there are some crazy Danish recipes in that book which I am trying to muster the courage to try, would be very interested to know if anyone here has made any of them.

[Almondmeal]

Hi, I am currently doing my apprenticeship for patisserie at a new place and I have got to say that they make one of the brioche that I have ever tasted. At work, the make this scrumptious blueberry with creme patisserie and topped with coconut crumble brioche rectAngles and oh my god, they are so good. I have been keeping myself a fresh baked ones every morning with a comlimentary coffee! It's an absolute delight!

[janeer]

These all look fantastic! The brioche recipe in 'the modern cafe' has been tempting me for a long time. There is also a recipe for laminated brioche, i. e. Brioche dough laminated with butter in case there wasn't already enough fat in there for you, sounds amazing though!

Also there are some crazy Danish recipes in that book which I am trying to muster the courage to try, would be very interested to know if anyone here has made any of them.

Sherry Yard also has a laminated brioche recipe I've been meaning to try, and danish. I love danish. I am making brioche as we speak from yet another recipe, will post results.

[janeer]

So I made Helen Fletcher's brioche recipe--it is made in the food processor, and it is a high-fat (like Reinhart's "rich man's brioche) recipe. My individual brioche molds seem to have gone missing in my recent move, so I made brioche a tete in my big brioche pan. Thought I had the topknot well-seated but it slid to one side on rising. True, decadant,melting brioche flavor and texture. Pic toasted and buttered. I cut it a little warm. Have a hard time with the bread-cooling thing.

My Dannenberg arrived today so I look forward to reading that

Sorry, can't seem to upload my pix--too big. will have to figure that out, haven't had problems before.

[janeer]

Used a conversion program, so here the photos are. Helen Fletcher rich brioche, toasted for breakfast.

[LindaK]

Here's a variation to consider: polenta brioche. I saw it in a cookbook on Venetian cuisine. It's a standard rich brioche recipe with a small amount of coarse-ground polenta added for flavor and texture. Think of it as the most luxurious corn bread you'll ever make.

The real reason I made it, though, is because the cookbook recommended it for a brioche bread pudding. Once I had that thought in my head, there was nothing to do but make one so I didn't spend all day thinking about it. So half the loaf was sliced for toast and jam. The next day, I cut the remaining brioche into fingers and layered them with berries in a small souffle dish. Soaked everything with eggs, cream, and a bit of vanilla and cinammon for good measure. It puffed up beautifully and the berries bubbled. Because it was so rich, it was plenty for two.

Because the polenta cuts through the sweetness of the bread, it would be really good in a savory bread pudding too. I'm thinking about mushrooms...

[janeer]

Here's a variation to consider: polenta brioche. I saw it in a cookbook on Venetian cuisine. It's a standard rich brioche recipe with a small amount of coarse-ground polenta added for flavor and texture. Think of it as the most luxurious corn bread you'll ever make.

The real reason I made it, though, is because the cookbook recommended it for a brioche bread pudding. Once I had that thought in my head, there was nothing to do but make one so I didn't spend all day thinking about it. So half the loaf was sliced for toast and jam. The next day, I cut the remaining brioche into fingers and layered them with berries in a small souffle dish. Soaked everything with eggs, cream, and a bit of vanilla and cinammon for good measure. It puffed up beautifully and the berries bubbled. Because it was so rich, it was plenty for two.

Because the polenta cuts through the sweetness of the bread, it would be really good in a savory bread pudding too. I'm thinking about mushrooms...

Being a corn person, this appeals to me. What is the proportion of polenta meal to flour?

[LindaK]

Being a corn person, this appeals to me. What is the proportion of polenta meal to flour?

The recipe (for 2 loaves) called for 1/3 cup (125 g) coarse-grained polenta w/ up to 5 cups (625 g) flour.

The polenta was soaked before using it--the recipe calls for adding the yeast to warm cream with a bit of sugar, then after it begins to froth, adding the polenta and letting the mixture sit for a while before proceeding with the recipe.

[janeer]

Being a corn person, this appeals to me. What is the proportion of polenta meal to flour?

The recipe (for 2 loaves) called for 1/3 cup (125 g) coarse-grained polenta w/ up to 5 cups (625 g) flour.

The polenta was soaked before using it--the recipe calls for adding the yeast to warm cream with a bit of sugar, then after it begins to froth, adding the polenta and letting the mixture sit for a while before proceeding with the recipe.

Thanks, Interesting.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Under the heading "adventures in laminated brioche" - here's a different take on Pain au Chocolate. Instead of using butter to create poofy croissant type creatures, I used whiskey creme ganache and kept folding until it threatened to break through the layers of dough. For the curious, I'm using a 1-egg, 1/4 lb of butter, 25% quinua brioche dough, which is my go-to brioche these days (I have difficulty eating the higher-egg versions, so basically I'm a purveyor of Brioche de Povre).

They were flatter than I'd have hoped, but the flavour and texture are fabulous.

[Kerry Beal]

Under the heading "adventures in laminated brioche" - here's a different take on Pain au Chocolate. Instead of using butter to create poofy croissant type creatures, I used whiskey creme ganache and kept folding until it threatened to break through the layers of dough. For the curious, I'm using a 1-egg, 1/4 lb of butter, 25% quinua brioche dough, which is my go-to brioche these days (I have difficulty eating the higher-egg versions, so basically I'm a purveyor of Brioche de Povre).

They were flatter than I'd have hoped, but the flavour and texture are fabulous.

Oops - I see you have told us more!

[LindaK]

PanCan, that looks really good. I had no idea brioche could be rolled so thinly. Whisky creme ganache, inspired!

As it happens, I had a similar thought yesterday for a savory brioche as a way to use up a small piece of extra brioche dough as well as some leftover caramelized onions. I layered the dough with the onions and a little grated gruyere cheese, though I only folded it three times. I took a picture when it came out of the oven:

This was delicious but oh so rich. Luckily the rest of dinner was just a simple soup.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Linda, you really have to butter both your silpat and your rolling pin, and work with cool to cold dough, but it can be done (with patience!)

The ganache was less inspired, though, as it was "oh crud, if I use tempered cooled chocolate in this, it's going to harden and crack and be horrible when I take the dough out of its first chill-down. What do I have that's still supple at cool temps? Oh, hey, look! There's a tub of ganache at the back of the baking fridge!"

[LindaK]

Bostock. Created as a way to use stale brioche. Thick sliced are topped with a butter/egg/ground almond mixture, with some sliced almonds for good measure. Bake. The brioche absorbs the topping and it comes out of the oven as a slightly puffy, crunchy-edged marvel of deliciousness.

This is the first time I've made bostock at home. Easy. The only problem is that now I have a good idea of just how many calories are in a slice...

[Jmahl]

Latest incarnation of brioch. Folded in chocolate, raisins, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon.

[LindaK]

Beautiful texture in that brioche. It looks like you used grated or chopped chocolate, rather than make a chocolate dough, yes?

[Jmahl]

Yes. Rolled the dough in two layers to try to get even distributation of filling. Thanks for comment.

[LindaK]

Braided brioche filled with sweetened creme fraiche and berries. Freeform loaf, nothing fancy, but very nice.

[LindaK]

After holiday excesses, it’s been no hardship to stay away from rich food and baked goods. No temptation, until I saw Paula Wolfert’s recipe for le gatis, brioche stuffed with two cheeses. Roquefort cheese is a great weakness of mine, and this called not only for Roquefort but also Cantal, a nutty cheddar-like cheese.

Wolfert calls for covering a small round of brioche with crumbled Roquefort and Cantal, then topping that with small, flattened balls of brioche dough to make a top crust. I’ll need to use a few more next time, as you can see the top wasn’t covered quite enough.

A wedge with a side salad for lunch, served warm so the cheese was still melting. Very delicious and very, very rich.

Leftovers cut into smaller pieces, destined to accompany vegetable soup tomorrow night.

If you love Roquefort, the pairing of the salty cheese with the buttery, slightly sweet bread will make you swoon.