Sunday, December 2, 2007

Let them eat brioche!

Ok... with the help of an actual brioche pan, I made a much nicer brioche last week. This time I made 'middle class' brioche, with about half the butter (still a full cup though). Same deal letting it rise overnight in the fridge, then shape and let rise for a couple more hours.
Brush with an egg wash & sprinkle with a little salt & sugar before baking. Et voila:

Very pretty, and quite yummy too. The long rise gives it a good yeasty developed flavor, oh so soft & rich with all that butter. I brought it to the office, and it was well received. I was surprised that some of my coworkers didn't know what a brioche was (not as surprised by a former coworker who thought that bagels were 'new' but still). My boss asked if it was a bread or a cake... and actually that's a good question. It's kinda like a pastry or a coffee cake, simple but delicious. In theory it would be great with a little jam, but I just eat it plain. Would be nice for brunch or an afternoon snack with a nice hot cup of tea.

Next up on the holiday baking menu is Stollen. The fruits are soaking in brandy as I type.

*BTW there's no credible record of Marie Antoinette ever saying "Let them eat cake." or "Let them eat brioche" or anything of the sort, just a little fun fact for the day.

11 comments:

Mag said...

Tres bien! beautiful brioche. I haven't had any brioche since I went to Caf' Casino in Scottsdale, AZ about 30 years ago.

(Caf' Casino was a French cafeteria style restaurant that was really from France. They opened one in my home town back in the '70s. I had all my first French foods there. Napoleon, brioche, onion soup, Boeuf Bourguignon etc...)

Marie Antoinette was the victim of a smear campaign. I wonder if any of Karl Rove's ancestors were French? ;-)

marissa said...

bagels are new...just like cilantro! ;)

Mag said...

Oh, one more thing...

... you know that brioche looks like a boob, right? ;)

T is said...

MMMMMMM!!! looks tasty!

Anonymous said...

Sure does look good. And nice correction of the French history!

Michael5000 said...

Yeah, well, I've seen the word "brioche" before, but I've just kind of blipped over it. Now I've got a visual.

It seems to me like bagels (and cilantro) kind of happened in the mid 1980s, but that's also when I left the isolated small town I grew up in, so it could be that too.

Rebel said...

While I personally didn't encounter cilantro until I moved to California I certainly didn't think it was 'new'. And as for bagels... thanks to growing up in New Jersey they were a sunday treat for as long as I can remember. It's really hard to find authentic east-coast style bagels on the west coast... same with pizza, but I digress. I think it's funny when people think that something that's new to them is new to the world.

Batty said...

I love brioche. Yum!

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Graphics said...
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Graphics said...

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