Tidbits & Nuggets

Brioche is Not That Hard

I've had the pans for years. They come out of the cabinet for many holidays and I eye them and consider actually using them. This Easter I finally did it. I've read how wonderful good brioche is and figured that since I have a bread maker most of the work could be done for me. Being a purist is not something I worry about. So, here's the recipe I used from Taste and Tell. The original instructions are very, very long and detailed but I just proofed the yeast and then dumped everything in the breadmaker. Of course I set it on manual because I wasn't baking it in the breadmaker. One thing that is important is to let the bread rise over night - which I did. The brioche came out great and I got lots of compliments. I left the "heads" off for simplicity's sake. I took some advice from Askville on this.

During my search for info on brioche I discovered Once Upon a Plate.blogspot. The photography is seriously gorgeous.

Rich Man's Brioche from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart

Sponge
1/2 cup unbleached bread flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm whole milk

Dough
5 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 egg, whisked until frothy, for egg wash