BRIOCHE By: Jamie Min, Eddie Ciemniecki, Shane LaValla

BRIOCHE  Brioche is a highly enriched French pastry, whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It is "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs" It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust, frequently accentuated by an egg wash applied after proofing.

ORIGINS  The first recorded use of the word in French dates from  It is much like American Danish.  In France it developed as "a sort of bread improved since antiquity by generations of bakers, then of pastry-makers... with some butter, some eggs, sugar coming later... it developed from the blessed bread of the church which gradually became of better quality, more and more costly, less and less bread; until becoming savory brioche".

A LITTLE ABOUT THE BREAD ITSELF  'Qu'ils mangent de la brioche', i.e. 'Let them eat brioche‘  Queen Marie-Antoinette is thought to have uttered this phrase  Can be baked into loaves or into muffins  The recipe and the bread itself has not changed much since the advent of the pastry.  It is often accompanied by butter or jam (or Nutella).

INGREDIENTS  The following: 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F) 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 4 eggs 1 cup butter, softened Nutella (Optional)

PROCEDURE  In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour sugar and salt. Make a well in center of the bowl and mix in the eggs and yeast mixture. Beat well until the dough has pulled together, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.  Flatten the dough and spread it with one third of the butter. Knead this well. Repeat this twice to incorporate the remaining butter. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes between additions of butter. This process may take 20 minutes or so. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

PROCEDURE (CONT)  Deflate the dough, cover and refrigerate until completely cool; about 30 minutes. At this point the dough can be left in the refrigerator for up to eight hours, in fact, the longer you leave it, the more workable it becomes.  Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into two equal pieces, form into loaves and place into two lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 60 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Bake in preheated oven about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let the loaves cool in the pans for 10 minutes before moving them to wire racks to completely cool.

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