Tag: brioche

Gateau battu

The gateau battu is a local specialty from the Somme area. Apparently it originated from the township of Abbeville, a place not far from where I grew up.  My mother always said that it was a good cake to use the extra eggs you may have. Assuming you have hens and up and downs of egg supplies!

The gateau battu tastes a little bit like a brioche, not as sweet and not as buttery.  It is great for mid afternoon tea (especially for the kids!) or at breakfast, toasted or not with a little jam. This cake is much less work than a brioche and quite easy to do. You will need a special tin for it.

The cake’s name has been translated to “whipped cake”.  As you will see on my photos, I cut slices, while traditionally it is to be cut from top to bottom.

Preparation time: about 20 minutes, rising : up to 2 hours, cooking : 20 minutes

Ingredients:
  •  4 egg yolks
  • 1 egg white
  • 150 g flour
  • 25 g white caster sugar
  • 15 g of fresh yeast or 7 g of dry yeast
  • 100 g of butter
  • 1/4 glass of cognac (or milk)
Method:

If you have a dough mixer, use it, it is always easier. If not, use a large bowl.

  1. Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle (i.e. a hole). If using dry yeast, add it and mix it to the flour now (then make the well).
  2. Add in the well, the melted butter, sugar, cognac or milk, and a pinch of salt (omit is using salted butter)
  3. Dilute the fresh yeast in warmlike water and add to the well.
  4. Add the egg yolks
  5. Mix the dough slightly for a minute or so.
  6. Beat the white to snow and add the eggwhite to the mix.  If using the dough mixer, mix until the dough forms a smooth dough and separate from the wall of the bowl.  If mixing by hand either use a “pull the dough and punch in the middle technique” or pour the dough on the work bench and knead it for about 10 minutes or until it forms a nice smooth dough which doesn’t stick to your fingers.
    Tip: it is quite a wet dough and will not have the strength a brioche dough would have.
  7. Butter and flour the tin.  Place the dough in it and allow to rise until it reaches the top (a bit more than double).
  8. Heat the oven to 170°C. Brush the top with egg yolk wash (a yolk beaten with a tablespoon of water).

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Breads

 

pile of baguettes

Sourdough Baguettes

Pizza!

Brioche torsadee

Star brioche

Sourdough Bread

Star brioche

This star brioche can be made with chocolate (Nutella) but also as a savory brioche with vegemite and mozzarella.  There are endless combination of options for flavor such as adding nuts, using lemon curd, etc.  This recipe comes from a cooking class I attended.

Ingredients

500 g of bakers flour (in the shops in France, I think it is T45 flour), this is important
290 g of eggs (i.e. weight without the shells), you may have to use part of an egg to get to that number (keep the rest for egg wash)
50 g of milk
95 g of white sugar
10 g in salt
12 g of instant yeast
290 g of unsalted butter at room temperature

Method
  1. Mix all ingredients except sugar and butter on low for 4 minutes. This is important, sugar and butter are added later to enable the flour to hydrate otherwise sugar and butter would coat the granules of flour.
  2. Then increase to medium speed for 2-3 minutes (the dough will develop) and slowly add in the sugar over the next 5 minutes.  The dough will then be intensely developed which correspond to the gluten strands having taken a developed structure.  You may know about the window stretch, which is often used for yeasted dough, you can do it here.  If you take a walnut size of dough and gently pull it into a square, it should stretch easily, not tear and you should see through.  By hand it will take a bit of time and you may want to use a dough cutter/scrapper.  In any case, be mindful not to keep adding flour as you will then change the recipe.
  3. Then add the soft (not melted!) butter a little at the time still while mixing until the dough cleans the side of the bowl.
  4. Cover with cell wrap but not too tight so the dough can grow in size and leave in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (overnight is fine).
  5. This is where you get the dough divided in the parts that will be put together to make the desired shape. In the case of the brioche star, I divided it in 4 balls the same weight (weight of total dough, divided by 4).
  6. Preshape: gently spread in a rectangle by pushing and pulling with your fingers each ball onto the counter, perform 2 envelop turns (fold left third towards the middle then right third to join, turn the dough 90° and repeat).  Then bring in the corners to the centre, turn around and using both hands move the ball on the counter until it takes a nice round shape. It will stick to the counter a bit, this is fine. Scoop the ball with both hands pulling towards you and place on a tray. repeat for each ball. Don’t overwork it. Cover with cell wrap.  Place the tray in the fridge 20 min minimum or so.
  7. Get you baking tray out, line with baking paper. With a rolling pin, roll the first ball into a circle a bit smaller than the width of your tray. Place on the tray. Cover with Nutella (you may want to mix it first to make sure it is quite easy to use). Repeat for the next balls.  The last ball does not get any Nutella topping. Placea glass at the centre of your brioche, this will be the centre of the star and will not be cut in the coming process.  Using a dough cutter or sharp large knive cut in quarter from the edge to the external part of the glass, subdivide each quarter further in 3.
  8. With 2 hands seize one wage in each hand and fold both towards you twice (left hand turns clockwise, right hand counter clockwise), tuck together the ends. Repeat until you have gone all around.
  9. Eggwash avoiding the chocolate areas (not to smear it everywhere).
  10. Allow for a final proofing, at least 20-30 minutes at room temperature (22-25°C), it may take longer is colder.
  11. Preheat oven at 180-200°C.  Bake for 15-30 minutes (depending on your oven) until golden brown.

Brioche, puff pastry and viennoiseries

Brioche, puff pastry and viennoiseries

This weekend was my third and last session (unfortunately) of a baking class on brioche, puff pastry and viennoiseries I took out at  The Essential Ingredient.  The class was taught by Jessica Pedemont, pastry chef and chocolate master.  I was not going to write much about this, but my sister, who got forwarded the above photo of my brioche by my Mum, insisted on having the recipe. I may as well share it with you all.  The recipe is from the class I took, you can use it for many applications, one of my next use will certainly be small brioches parisiennes (the ones with the little head on top). If you want to put chocolate, it is better to used Nutella (as in the recipe) as the dark cooking chocolate tends to “burn” a bit.

Best if you have a stand mixer for those recipes, especially for the brioche as the dough will be very sticky and needs a fair bit of work.

Here are some photos of my puff pastry (at home) production and viennoiseries products (at the class).  I am yet to use some of my puff pastry for a millefeuille (vanilla slice), at the moment there is a batch of chocolate chip cookies (for lunch boxes treats) and a left over lemon tart to go through, plus some amazing strawberries from the market.

Puff pastry sheeting and rolls with cheese and tapenade – home

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A range of small size viennoiseries on the day of the class

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Lemon and lime tart and choc chip cookies

The lemon tart is from Julie Goodwin, I like the mixed lime and lemon flavors in it. I served it with homemade vanilla ice cream.  For the tart process, it is a bit like a quiche, i.e. you do a “tarte aux cailloux” / “stone pie” as we call it in my family, which is a blind bake, then bake it with the filling.    There was not much left by the time I manage to secure a photo . Also, it is a bit darker on the edge than I would like (not burnt though) my mistake for leaving it a few minutes too many while blind-baking.  As opposed to the recipe instructions, I find that if you roll the pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper you can actually manage to put it in your tray at once.

Lemon tart

These cookies I am speaking about are a real treat, so good and so easy. I will type in the recipe as soon as I can. I am now at my daughter’s gym class and running out of battery.

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