Orange Scented Brioche

08.12.2008

Working with yeast is really a hit, or, if in my case you tend to be challenged in the yeast department, a serious miss! My breads are always dense, bricks rather than loaves of brioche and strange lumpy buns and rolls that always fail to rise. Really, yeast doesn’t like me! Maybe I use the wrong kind, and if I do I manage to kill it, erasing all forms of life and any ability it has to rise along with it. Whatever my problem is I am pleased to say that my bad luck, “the baker’s black touch of death” is no more!!

The proof: these F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C mini brioches! They were extraordinarily light and fluffy, sweet and familiar. Though they do take some time they are more than well worth it. Trust me just try them. Point made.

This recipe hails from the genius that is delicious days, as an In the kitchen with... feature on DesignSponge, so really I couldn’t go wrong! I adapted the recipe from Sunny Saffron Brioches, because I didn’t have any saffron and also because I love orange zest. I could see these buns taking on any number of different flavours, though orange is a traditional flavour for french brioches. Actually, you could turn these into my favourite french easter brioche, La Gache or Brioche Vendéenne, which is slightly different in texture but in taste is orange flower water or eau de vie,

Orange Scented Brioche

adapted from delicious days & DesignSponge*

500g flour

7g dry active yeast (I used the rapid variety, also that is approx. 1/2 Tbsp)

7oz milk, warm (original suggests 200g, but I don’t tend to weigh my liquids)

75g sugar

zest of 1 orange, 1 - 2 Tbsp mashed with 1 tsp sugar to make a paste

2 eggs

75g butter, soft

Let everything warm to room temperature before you start, very important! (If you forget, microwave your butter until just before it melts and place your eggs warm water until they get up to room temp.)

Warm the milk anyway you choose, add the orange zest paste and stir.

In a large bowl sieve the flour into a mound, hollow out the centre and add the dry yeast and warm milk-zest mixture, allow this to activate for 10 to 17 minutes until bubbly and the scent of yeast has filled the kitchen.

Add the rest of the ingredients, sugar salt, butter and eggs, knead well until elastic and smooth. If the brioche is too sticky add flour 1/8 cup at a time just until it hardly sticks to the board (not entirely, that means that it will turn out like little rock cakes! I’ve done it, trust me!!), but is still manageable. With a little melted butter or spray of oil, lightly grease the top of the brioche and the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise for at minimum one hour, or until it has doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 390F and grease a muffin tin with butter. Knead the dough once again and cut into 12 equal pieces with enough dough set aside to make 12 bobbles to top the brioche. Fill each muffin cup with the ball of brioche and with a finger or end of a wooden spoon poke a hole for the bobble bit to sit on top. Melt a little butter and brush the brioches. Cover and let the brioches rise a final time for 30 minutes.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and sound hollow when tapped. If they brown too quickly se the parchment paper trick and cover them while they bake. Remove them from the oven once they are done and unmould them from the tin. Let cool slightly - I didn’t, they were steaming and delicious when I ate mine!!

Enjoy!!