Author Notes: I am addicted….to ‘Artisan breads in 5 minutes’ from Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. As it would happen, my copy of Healthy bread in 5 arrived last Friday and I had set my heart on trying the brioche. This week. And so when I saw the challenge this week, it was fairly obvious what had to be done. I must confess that this has to be my favourite food52 challenge (yet!). I have modified the recipe, swapping maple syrup for honey, using wholegrain flour as opposed to white wholewheat! Here it goes! —Kitchen Butterfly
Serves: …..at least one!
Ingredients
-
2
cups (white) wholewheat flour
-
1 1/2
cups all purpose flour
-
3/4
teaspoon yeast, fresh or granulated
-
1
cup vital wheat gluten
-
1/2
teaspoon kosher/sea salt
-
1
cup lukewarm water
-
1/4
cup
2 tablespoons oil/melted butter -
1/4
cup
2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup -
3
eggs
-
50 – 75g
feta cheese, crumbled
-
10
chopped candied blood orange or 2 tablespoons zest of blood orange
-
2
tablespoons caster sugar
-
2
tablespoons Fresh mint leaves
-
Egg wash made with 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Directions
- Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt and vital wheat gluten in a large bowl.
- Combine the water, oil, maple syrup/honey and eggs together. Mix into the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon, the dough attachment on your food processor or a stand-mixer with paddle, without kneading.
- The dough will be loose but should firm up when chilled. Cover dough and allow to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses, about 2 hours
- If ready to use, grease a brioche pan or an 81/2 X 41/2 inch non stick loaf and cut off half the dough you made. lightly dust with some flour and add the feta and candied blood orange chunks. Quickly shape into a ball and place in the pan, allowing it to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap for about 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then make mint sugar by combining the fresh mint leaves and the sugar and crushing (with circular motions) in a mortar.
- With a brush, ‘eggwash’ the top of the loaf and sprinkle the mint sugar all over the top.
- Place in the oven and bake for 40 – 45 minutes, till the bread is golden.
- Remove from the pan after ten minutes and place on a rack so it cools down properly.
- Slice…and eat.
- The bread was soft and lovely and while the technique is brioche, because I used wholegrain flour, it wasn’t overly sweet. The best part for me was the sugared mint crust, which caramelized but hardens a bit and tastes superb! I know what’s going with me to work tomorrow!!!!!!!
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