Brioche in Three Hours

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Hello Bakers,

Yesterday, my demo - Brioche in Three Hours was cut short. My demo was part of the Women Chef's and Restaurateurs Conference that was held here in Los Angeles this weekend.
I was demoing with Chef Jack Mancino from Hudson River Valley Foie Gras and 45 minutes was not nearly long enough. His foie demo was amazing. Since brioche is perfect with foie gras - that was my contribution.
Well, time ran out and I could not finish my demo so I promised the attendees that my next blog post would be all about how to make brioche in three hours.
.
Usually, making brioche is a long process that involves bulk fermenting the dough in the refrigerator overnight. But before that the butter  is emulsified into the dough. This is fine and classic but it leaves a dough so soft that it has to be refrigerated overnight. It is next to impossible to shape without chilling.
A few years back when brioche hamburger buns were all the rage, the student cafe at the Art Institute often ran out - this is never good.  So I worked on changing the mixing method so that the buns could be made quickly and there would always be enough.
By using creaming method in the beginning, I was able to avoid adding the butter at the end.
Also, the dough could be shaped after a mere hour of bulk fermentation at room temperature.
The students mastered the technique quickly and the little cafe never ran out of buns.

Brioche can be shaped many ways. It can be shaped as an a tete if you have any a tete molds hanging around, as buns or as a loaf - loaves are often called "Nanterre". Larger loaves will take longer to proof and bake.

I hope I have aroused your curiosity, bakers, and that you will try this brioche. It's quick and easy - no gimmicks or rapid yeast - just the same ingredients but mixed differently.
This recipe belongs to my good friend and amazing bread baker, Michael Kalanty. If you have not purchased his first book "How to Bake Bread" please do so now. And his second book "How to Make More Bread" will be available soon. First book

Please try this brioche bakers and tell me what you think.
Also if you have questions, please ask, I am here to help.

Happy Baking!
Colette


Three Hour Brioche
A Baking with Colette Tutorial

Adapted from How to Bake Bread by Michael Kalanty
The ingredients in paranthesees yield a small batch.
SPONGE METHOD
9 (4.5) ounces water
1 ½ (3/4) ounces fresh yeast or ½ (1/4) ounce instant
12(6) ounces bread flour

1.    Combine well in a bowl – cover and let sit, covered, at room temperature for 45 minutes
Final Dough
11 ounces butter (5.5 ounces)
3(1.5) ounces of sugar
6 (3) eggs

1 # (pound) 8 ounces (12 ounces) bread flour
7/8 ounce of salt (22g) (11g)



                                                                                            mise en place
                                                                       

Demo Notes
1.   Dissolve the yeast in the water, add flour and mix until smooth.
2.   Let sit, covered, 45 minutes at room temperature.
                                                                              after 45 minutes
3.   In a mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – 6 minutes. 
4.   Add the eggs 2 at a time – mix each addition in well before adding the next. It will look broken, that's ok.
     

                                                                     It looks broken, that's ok
5.   Add the sponge mixture – mix until smooth.
      
                                  Add yeast paste
6.   Remove the paddle and attach the dough hook add the flour and the salt mix on speed 1 until it achieves “clean up” stage.
      
7.   This takes about 4 minutes. Then mix for another 2 minutes on speed 2 until smooth.
8.   Bulk ferment the dough in a buttered bowl, covered, for 1 hour until dough has doubled in size.
      
9.   Degas and shape as desired. Dough can also be overnight fermented.
     
                          two ounce portions
           Proofing in XL Ziploc bags with hot water
10.                Proof, egg wash, bake at 350 until golden brown, has an internal temperature of 205-210 and feels light.  If the brioche feels heavy return it to the oven for 5-7 minutes. The oven temperature can be reduced 25 degrees so that the brioche do not get too dark.
      Brioche freezes well.
                                                                                             So delicious 












St. Patrick's Day Irish Soda Bread-Louise's Recipe

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Hello Bakers.
    Thursday is Saint Patrick's Day. That means corned beef and cabbage, green beer (maybe)
and Irish Soda Bread.
For years,  wherever I was working I would start to make my usual Irish Soda Bread a week before Saint Patrick's Day. It was always popular and a great way to tease the holiday.
It's a perfectly good Irish American soda bread recipe. In fact it is delicious. I hear your question, gentle reader, the soda bread we make here in the states is often sweeter then the soda bread made in Ireland.
    Recently one of my colleagues at Sur La Table, Louise, gave me her soda bread recipe. In fact, she gave me a packet of her recipes. I was thrilled.
Louise is a natural and talented baker and she held pastry chef and baking positions in several Los Angeles tea rooms and bakeries.
For ten years she was the pastry chef at Chado Tea Room. Now she works with us at Sur La Table and helps prep out recipes before class . She doesn't mind when I pepper her with questions. She is my link to a Los Angeles I wasn't here to bake or cook in. We are always so happy when she is with us in the kitchen at SLT, Farmer's Market.
     Now, here is where we come to the little did they know part....Louise, now retired and living quietly, had been in the past, a frequent contributor to many magazines and newspapers. Her recipes were everywhere.
Now back then in order for your recipe to printed and for you to be sought out to write recipes for Sunset Magazine and the Los Angeles Times you had to know what you were doing.
Magazines and newspapers had test kitchens staffed with expert bakers and cooks. Recipes were tested an average of three times before they went in to print. 
This is a huge contrast to today where very little testing is done. And recipes are vetted by reviews more then anything else.
     For this blog post we are returning to an earlier time - when you could cut a recipe out of a magazine and confidently make whatever it was without wasting time trolling through reviews.
   When I was a young cook, Thursday was food section day. That was always exciting.
I was clipping recipes out of the Chicago Tribune food pages at 12. The pink notebook that I glued my recipes into is still on the bookshelf.
The only time a recipe from a magazine or newspaper didn't work was when I screwed it up. 
And yes, I remember every time I did.

     In honor of Louise and Saint Patrick's Day, I encourage you to make this delicious Irish Soda Bread recipe.
I modernized it just a bit - the ingredients are by weight and yes, bakers percents. 

  Let me know what you are baking for Saint Patrick's Day, I would love to hear from you.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day.
Stay safe and of course,
Happy Baking!

 Irish Soda Bread:
Louise's original recipe was published by Sunset magazine in March of 1992.
Serves 10-12

 Equipment
Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl
Spatula or wooden spoon
10" oven proof skillet, fry pan - cast iron, greased
or a 10" cake pan, grease and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
bowl for soaking raisins
strainer

 Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) (170g) currants, dark or golden raisins
1 tea bag (black tea, preferably Irish breakfast)
Boiling water to cover raisins

 3 cups (13.5 ounces) (383g) Unbleached all purpose flour (I used King Arthur) (100%)
1/2 cup sugar (3.5 ounces) (99g) Granulated sugar (26%)
1 Tablespoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

 2 Eggs (3.4 ounces) (96g) (27%)
1 1/2 cup (12 ounces) (340g) Buttermilk (96%) ***if you don't have buttermilk combine 11 1/2 ounces milk with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons Melted butter (1.5 ounces) (43g) (11%)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Oven: 350 degrees

 1. Cover currants or raisins with boiling water, add teabag to bowl and submerge.
Let sit for 5 minutes and then strain out the tea. Blot raisins dry with a paper towel.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Place in mixer bowl or large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla.

 4. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until evenly moistened.
By hand this will take about 20 strokes.

 If using the mixer, mix on low speed about 1 1/2 minutes.
The mixture will look quite wet - that's ok.
5. Place in prepared pan. Smooth surface with bowl scraper. Brush with extra buttermilk
and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
6. Using a serrated knife, score the surface of the loaf with an "X".

 7. Bake at 350 degrees.
8. Start checking in 45 minutes. Irish soda bread is done when a cake tester or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Leftover Irish soda bread will keep a day or two, well wrapped, at room temperature or frozen up to one month.