My Name is Brioche….

Yes, I was so lucky growing up with Homemade and Fresh food everyday. My mother was and still is, as you know, a fantastic Cook and Baker. From fantastic fruits tarts, delicate appetizers, jams, Eclairs, Savarin, Vol au vent, Stews, coq au vin, Tarte tatin, Crepes, Pot au feu, Couscous, Tarte aux poireaux….she knows how to make everything from scratch. Because in France we still do not bake from boxes, we bake our own patisseries from scratch.  As a kid, whenever my mum used to bake a brioche (during Winter when our fireplace was on, my mother would placed near it a Brioche dough) I loved to hang out in the house, never going too far,to be able to watch the steps involved in her making of the brioche. I would sneak in to smell it,  lifting the towel covering the dough discreetly so as to check the puffiness of the doughI remember  It was a long process, it was taking hours for the Brioche to raise, then you deflated it few times. I still remember this delicious aroma in the whole house, this unique sweet and buttery smell. Time to time I feel homesick and the best way to feel better is to cook, make and bake what my mom used to male for us. So I decided to make my own brioche. Since we live in California no need to have a working fireplace or the heat on. The heat,  is inside and outside the house. So last weekend I gave it a try and so instead of making only one brioche, I baked two!!

We had Brioche every single day  for one week… how more luxurious can it be?

Brioche

recipe from Dorie Greenspan, ” From my home to yours”

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1/3 cup warm milk
• 2 envelopes active dry yeast
• 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks, 12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
• Egg wash:1 egg, beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water

Method

1. Place 1/3 cup warm water, warm milk and yeast in the bowl of a standing heavy-duty mixer; stir until yeast dissolves and let proof for 10 minutes.
2. Add flour and salt, mix on low speed just until flour is moistened, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the eggs on low speed, then add sugar.
4. On medium speed, beat until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes.
5. Reduce speed to low. Add butter, two tablespoons at a time, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding next.
6. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes.
7. Transfer the dough into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
8. Punch the dough down to deflate it every 30 minutes until it stops rising (it will take 2 hours in total). Cover bowl with plastic and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
9. The next day, butter and flour 2 large loaf pans (8 1/2*4 1/2 inches). Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Cut each dough half into 4 logs. Arrange logs crosswise in bottom of each prepared loaf pan. Place loaf pans on baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 2 hours.
10. Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush the brioches with the egg wash (be careful not to deflate, be gentle) and bake until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30-35 minutes.
11. Let cool to room temperature, then run a knife around the side of the pans and turn the loaves out onto a rack.
12. The loaves can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.

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