Brioche Bread

This classic French favorite is sort of a cross between pastry and savory. The recipe dates back to the 15th century with first appearances in 1404. It is believed to have originated in Normandy and quickly became a symbol of wealth because of the large amounts of butter and eggs, which were not readily available to the masses (Remember Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France…Let them eat cake…or bread!). Although she was a ruthless Queen, that phrase has not been directly attributed to her and many scholars believe there is no evidence to support she ever said that, but Brioche is rich, a little sweet and has a very tender, almost crumbly crumb or interior.

Last week my husband celebrated his 81st birthday and keeping with my tradition of treating him with FOOD I decided to make this French Brioche, which became his birthday breakfast as Stuffed French Toast.

Brioche can be formed a number of different ways, but I decided to go with the traditional square loaf, plus I wanted to christen my new brioche pan.

I’ve made a lot of different breads over the years, but never one just like this. Start by proofing the yeast. I’ve never had a yeast fail, but still proof it every time I make bread to ensure the yeast is not ‘dead’. Mix the yeast (I packet) with 1/4 cup lukewarm milk and a couple of tablespoons of sugar. Let it sit for 5 minutes. If it doesn’t foam up, your yeast is ‘dead’ and you need to start over with new yeast.

In the bowl of a stand mixer add 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp. salt and 3 eggs. Once the yeast mixture foams up, add it to the bowl and combine well using the dough hook on the stand mixer. The dough starts out shaggy, but once you add the butter comes together.

Add in one stick of butter cut into pieces and ‘knead’ using the mixer for another 15 minutes at level 2 speed.

Once mixed, the dough will be sticky, but should easily come away from the bowl.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp linen towel and let it rise at room temperature for one hour.

The recipe I found online next says to place the risen dough, covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 16 hours. I placed it in the fridge, but we were on our way out to dinner and opera so my dough stayed chilled until the next morning.

I really thought I had killed the dough. It was flat, felt tough and I did not believe would ever rise again. I kneaded it a few times on a lightly floured surface to get it back into shape and then, with fingers crossed, formed it into a loaf and placed inside my new brioche baking pan.

It should, once again, at least double in size (1 1/2 to 2 hours), but because of the deep chill my dough experienced it took more like 3 hours, but it did rise eventually to the top of the cover!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Once at temp, reduce heat to 375 and place the bread in the covered pan to bake for 30 to 35 minutes until nicely browned. Allow the Brioche to cool down on a cooling rack before slicing.

Voila!

And now just a quick word about the Stuffed French Toast. I used blueberry preserves, but choose whatever jam is your favorite. Whisk about 3 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup of half and half, pinch of salt, dash of cinnamon and a tablespoon of sugar. Let the bread slices soak for at least a minute on each side or until you see that the egg bath had saturated the slices.

Get a heavy bottomed skillet very hot with 3 tablespoons of butter. Brown one side and then flip and add a generous amount of cream cheese on half of the portions and blueberry jam on the other portions. I sprinkled a little sugar and cinnamon on the cream cheese and then finished cooking. Serve with lots of maple syrup and fresh blueberries.

I guarantee there will be more Brioche Bread in our future!

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Brioche Bread

Rich, a little sweet and very tender. Perfect for sandwiches or French Toast!

Ingredients

• 1 packet Active dry yeast.
• 1/4 cup Milk, heated to lukewarm
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar
• 3 large Eggs, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups Flour, all-purpose
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 cup Butter, chilled and cut into small cubes That's one stick.

Instructions

• Mix the yeast, lukewarm milk and sugar and let it sit for 5 minutes until it foams up.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment, add flour, salt and eggs. Once the yeast mixture is foamy add to the flour mixture. Mix to combine well. The dough will start out shaggy, but quickly comes together once you start adding in the butter.
• Add the butter, a few pieces at a time, and 'knead' in the mixer for another 15 minutes at Level 2 speed. The dough becomes quite sticky as the butter is mixed in and should easily come free from the bowl.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp linen towel and let it rise at room temperature for one hour or double in size. Refrigerate for 4 to 16 hours. This is what makes the Brioche super soft.
• Take the dough from the fridge, place on a lightly floured surface and form into a loaf. Place it into a bread pan or brioche pan and let rise another 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until double in size.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Once up to temp, reduce heat to 375 and bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Allow to cool on a rack before slicing.