Brioche. — Put about 4oz. of sifted flour on the pastry
board (or, better still, if at hand, the pastry slab), make a
hollow in the centre and pour into this loz. of German yeast
dissolved in a little tepid water ; work it together, adding,
if necessary, a little more warm water to get it just to a soft
mass. Be careful to use as little water as possible. Now
knead it all up into a ball and put it into a delicately clean
pan capable of holding at least three times as much, cover
the lid down closely, and set it in a moderately warm place
to rise. It does not need to be hot, in fact, in ordinary
summer weather it may stand anywhere in the kitchen
out of the draught, except close to the fire. Mean-
while, put 12oz. of flour on the board, hollow it
out as before, and into this hollow put about a
teaspoonful each of salt and sugar, and dissolve it
with two tablespoonfuls of water; now mix in lOoz. of
butter and six eggs✪ Brioche (three at a time), working it well with
both hands to get it thoroughly mixed. There is a knack
in mixing brioche paste, which, though easy enough to
acquire if seen, is rather difficult to describe. You should
work it with both fists pressed flat on the slab, working it
back and forth, gathering the dough together closely
with both hands, and slapping it down on the slab till there
are no lumps in the dough, and the paste is as elastic and
yielding as a lump of indiarubber. By this time the sponge
(he., the flour and yeast ball) should have risen to about
three times its first size, so lift it out and spread it on the
mass of worked dough (it should look like a piece of sponge,
whence its name), and work the two mixtures well but
154 BREAD, CAKES, AND BISCUITS.
lightly together. Now spread a clean cloth in a basin, dust
it with Hour, lay in the ball of paste, dust this also with flour,
fold the ends of the cloth over it all, and set it in a cool place
this time, but one free from any draughts, and leave it till
the next morning. Next day flour your pastry board, turn
out the brioche on to it, dust more flour over it, and fold
the paste over five or six times, always pressing it down
again each time with your knuckles. Now put it back into
the cloth, fold the latter over it, and leave it for three
hours, when the kneading and knuckling should be
repeated. Then butter a mould or a baking sheet, and
either half fill the former, or shape the dough into little
rolls and set them on the latter, brush them well over with
egg, and make a little round hole in the top of each, then
bake twenty to twenty-five minutes for the small things,
and about an hour for the mould. If the dough is rightly
made it will look full of little air bubbles, and will resist a
touch as a lump of indiarubber would. A very nice savoury
may be made of this by working into the paste at the
last about 4oz. grated Parmesan, and baking it in little
rolls, which are served sprinkled with freshly grated cheese,
minced parsley, and coralline pepper. If these rolls are
made very small they make also a delicious garnish for
soup.
Page 98 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Brioche. — Put about 4oz. of sifted flour on the pastry board (or, better still, if at hand, the pastry slab), make a hollow in the centre and pour into this loz. of German yeast dissolved in a little tepid water ; work it together, adding, if necessary, a little more warm water to get it just to a soft mass. Be careful to use as little water as possible. Now knead it all up into a ball and put it into a delicately clean pan capable of holding at least three times as much, cover the lid down closely, and set it in a moderately warm place to rise. It does not need to be hot, in fact, in ordinary summer weather it may stand anywhere in the kitchen out of the draught, except close to the fire. Meanwhile, put 12oz. of flour on the board, hollow it out as before, and into this hollow put about a teaspoonful each of salt and sugar, and dissolve it with two tablespoonfuls of water; now mix in lOoz. of butter and six eggs (three at a time), working it well with both hands to get it thoroughly mixed. There is a knack in mixing brioche paste, which, though easy enough to acquire if seen, is rather difficult to describe. You should work it with both fists pressed flat on the slab, working it back and forth, gathering the dough together closely with both hands, and slapping it down on the slab till there are no lumps in the dough, and the paste is as elastic and yielding as a lump of indiarubber. By this time the sponge (he., the flour and yeast ball) should have risen to about three times its first size, so lift it out and spread it on the mass of worked dough (it should look like a piece of sponge, whence its name), and work the two mixtures well but
lightly together. Now spread a clean cloth in a basin, dust it with Hour, lay in the ball of paste, dust this also with flour, fold the ends of the cloth over it all, and set it in a cool place this time, but one free from any draughts, and leave it till the next morning. Next day flour your pastry board, turn out the brioche on to it, dust more flour over it, and fold the paste over five or six times, always pressing it down again each time with your knuckles. Now put it back into the cloth, fold the latter over it, and leave it for three hours, when the kneading and knuckling should be repeated. Then butter a mould or a baking sheet, and either half fill the former, or shape the dough into little rolls and set them on the latter, brush them well over with egg, and make a little round hole in the top of each, then bake twenty to twenty-five minutes for the small things, and about an hour for the mould. If the dough is rightly made it will look full of little air bubbles, and will resist a touch as a lump of indiarubber would. A very nice savoury may be made of this by working into the paste at the last about 4oz. grated Parmesan, and baking it in little rolls, which are served sprinkled with freshly grated cheese, minced parsley, and coralline pepper. If these rolls are made very small they make also a delicious garnish for soup.
Records on this page
Brioche