Brioche Paste

Ingredients

• a pound (weighing sixteen ounces) of dried and sifted flour
• half an ounce of German yeast
• a spoonful or two of warm water
• a quarter of an ounce of salt
• half an ounce of powdered sugar
• ten ounces of butter
• four eggs
• three more eggs

Method

1. 1

   Divide the flour into four parts.

2. 2

   Make leaven with one part by mixing it with dissolved yeast and warm water to form a soft paste.

3. 3

   Let it rise for 20 minutes.

4. 4

   In another bowl, mix the remaining flour with salt, sugar, butter, and eggs.

5. 5

   Combine the leaven with this mixture, knead, and let it rise overnight.

6. 6

   Knead again in the morning and let it rise for 2 more hours before baking.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Cassell's dictionary of cookery (1892) by Cassell & Company, page 1103. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Brioche paste is best made on the evening of the day before it is wanted, as it requires to lie in a cool place for some hours before it is baked. Though delicious, it is considered rather indigestible. It must be i baked in a well-heated oven. The quantity I only which will be wanted for immediate use should be made at one time, as brioche paste 1 will not keep. When properly prepared it is 1 light and springy to the touch before it is ' baked, and it ought to rise in the sponge to fully t-wice its original size. It is made as follows: — Take a pound (weighing sixteen ounces) of dried and sifted flour. Divide it into four parts, and with one of these parts make the leaven. To do this, put the flour into a bowl, make a hollow in the middle of it, and pour into this hollow half an ounce of German yeast dissolved in a spoonful or two of warm water. Add as much water as is required to make the whole into a soft smooth paste, gather it into a ball, and put it into a bowl large enough to contain three times its quantity. Score the paste lightly across the top with the blunt side of a knife, cover with a cloth, and put it in a warm place to rise; it will be ready in about twenty minutes. Whilst it is rising take the remaining three parts of the flour. Make a hole in the centre, and put into this hole a quarter of an ounce of salt, half an ounce of powdered sugar dissolved in two table-spoonfuls of tepid water, ten ounces of butter, which has been washed in two or three waters, squeezed in a cloth to free it from moisture, and broken into small pieces, and four eggs freed from the specks. Work all gently together with the fingers, and add one by one three more eggs

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.