Brioche French Toast

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Sometimes only something sweet and salty will do at breakfast and that's when I cook up some french toast and bacon with maple syrup.

You can use normal white bread for this but I prefer it with brioche. It's great if you have bread that's a few days old as it works better and is less likely to fall apart.

I have a sliced loaf of homemade brioche in the freezer and pick out a slice whenever I fancy ( or a guest orders french toast )

My daughter is also a great french toast aficionado but finishes her by dipping it in a bowl of caster sugar......

Ingredients

1 thick slice of brioche
1 egg
2tbs milk ( preferably full cream )
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp caster sugar
A large knob of butter
a few drops of sunflower oil

Beat together the egg, milk, vanilla and sugar in a wide shallow bowl. Dip the bread in for a couple of minutes on each side until soaked.

Add the butter and few drops of oil to a frying pan ( the oil has higher burning temperature and will stop the butter from burning ). Heat to a medium to medium /high heat then put in the toast. It'll need a couple of minutes on each side but keep an eye on it as it can burn very quickly.

Fleur D'Oranger Brioche Buns

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We've just returned from a weeks holiday in the South West of France and very nice it was too. As usual I returned armed with a load of recipe cards and a recipe book - my first one in French. My O Level French isn't quite up to translating these cards so I've been getting some help from @KateDeCamont on Twitter. Kate runs a culinary retreat in Gascony and I've added a visit there to my bucket list!

I had a go at making a Fougasse, which is a sweet brioche type loaf. It was OK for a first attempt but needs more practise. The recipe included a mystery ingredient Fleur D'Oranger. With Kate's help I worked out this was the same as the Essence of Orange Water that you can buy quite readily in delis & some supermarkets in the UK ( If you're in Shropshire I got mine in Broad Bean in Ludlow but I think I have also seen it in Tuffins )

As I didn't have much time one evening I decided to return to my tried & tested brioche recipe. This is the recipe from the Panasonic Breadmaker book with my own adjustments. Brioche is quite a difficult dough to work with as it's quite wet, so it's ideal to do the mixing, kneading & rising in the breadmaker. I use the dough setting then form into rolls or a loaf, leave to rise overnight in the fridge and then bake in the morning. This is perfect for getting that fresh baked smell for your guests without having to get up at 4 in the morning.

You could, of course, make it in a mixer or by hand. Once the mix is kneaded to a soft dough, leave to rise for 1.5 to 2 hours then knock down and make into rolls as below.

Because brioche is such a soft dough it's usually made in a mould. I have traditional brioche moulds but they can stick, so I cheat and use a 6 hole silicon muffin tin ( or if I'm making a loaf, a 1lb loaf tin with a paper liner ) - works perfectly.

When I make a loaf I slice into thick slices then put in the freezer. Brioche is perfect for making French Toast. I also serve it toasted and topped with roast tomatoes & halloumi as a breakfast special. Just be careful when you toast it as it has a high sugar content and so toasts more quickly then normal bread.

A warm brioche roll with some homemade apricot preserve & freshly brewed coffee is one of my favourite breakfasts.

1 tsp Fast Action Yeast
250g Strong White Flour
3 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
75g soft butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp essence of orange blossom water ( or the grated rind of a washed orange also works very well )
1 egg to glaze

Put all the ingredients into the breadmaker in the order specified by your machine makers and put on the dough setting ( or mix together the dry ingredients, rub in the butter. Beat together the eggs & milk, add to the dry and mix together, then knead till you get a soft dough. Leave in an oiled covered bowl for 1.5-2 hours to rise )

Put the dough onto a well floured surface and knock out the air. Split into 6 balls and put into a 6 hole muffin tin ( Silicon doesn't require greasing or you can use a tin one with muffin cases ). Leave to rise till doubled in size - about 45 minutes in a warm place or overnight in the fridge.

If I rise them overnight I bring them out of the fridge to get them back up to room temperature before baking.

Put the oven on to about 200 degrees. Brush the buns with beaten egg and bake for about 15 minutes till they're very golden brown. If you're making a loaf this will about 20 minutes.

Apricot Preserve

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There's a point in June when I start making regular trips to Ludlow to see if they have apricots in stock. Apricots are probably my favourite fruit & apricot preserve, my favourite jam.

However there are apricots and there are apricots! The first ones to appear, and the ones you get in most supermarkets, are small & a bit pale looking with very firm flesh. However the "right" apricots are large and sweet and delicious, a very dark orange colour with a red tinge.

I will happily eat a whole bag straight off and I also love them in apricot tart ( but please no almonds or amaretto ! Just apricot, custard & puff pastry )

This is Delia's apricot preserve recipe but slightly adapted. She puts the kernels from the apricot stones into the preserve - no thank you Delia.

Apricots are high in pectin so you just need normal sugar not jam sugar as with strawberry jam. You also need to start the prep the night before.

1 kg apricots
1 kg sugar
juice of one large lemon
knob of butter

Halve the apricots and put in a large pan, layering with the sugar and lemon juice. Put on a lid & leave overnight.

In the morning, take the lid off and put the pan on a low heat. Heat until all the sugar has dissolved which takes about 15 minutes.

Increase the heat and bringing to boiling point, adding the knob of butter. Boil for 10 minutes ( stirring occasionally to stop it sticking ) then test for a set. The easiest way to do this is with a jam thermometer otherwise have some saucers in the freezer. Take the saucer from the freezer and put a teaspoon of jam on it. If after a minute it forms a wrinkly skin when you draw your finger across it you have a set. If not then reboil for 5 minutes and repeat the test.

Leave the jam for 15 minutes, then skim off any scum. Then pour into hot sterilised jars ( I sterilise my jars by putting through a hot dishwasher then put them in a low oven to dry & keep hot ).

This makes about 4 lbs.

Buttermilk Scones

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I made the first strawberry jam of the season at the weekend and I can never make strawberry jam without also making scones.

Scones are one of the easiest things to cook provided you treat them with care. They need a gentle touch & not too much mixing. Saying that I'm a lazy cook and will use my mixer whenever I can.

8oz self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1.5 oz soft butter
1oz sugar
1 egg
1/4 pint buttermilk

Preheat oven to about 200 degrees C for a fan oven.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Put the flour, baking powder & sugar into the mixer and mix together. Add the butter and mix again until you have a mixture resembling fine breadcrumbs.

Beat together the egg & buttermilk.

With the mixer running gradually add the egg & buttermilk mixture till it just forms a very soft, slightly sticky dough. This is the point you shouldn't overmix. You probably won't use all of the egg & buttermilk mixture. Keep this aside, don't chuck it yet!

Roll out the dough on a floured surface till it's about 2cm thick. Cut out using a 5cm pastry cutter. Combine any leftover bits and roll out again, cutting scones till you've used all the dough.

You'll get about 8 scones. Put these on the baking sheet and brush with the remaining egg/buttermilk mixture.

Bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Eat straight away with strawberry jam & clotted cream ( though double cream is just as good ), whilst arguing whether it should be cream first, then jam or vice versa.

Strawberry Jam

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I have 2 favourite preserves - strawberry jam & apricot preserve. Neither are particularly cheap to make unless you have a surplus of strawberries & apricots but I think homemade is wonderful compared to the stuff you buy in the shops.

To set a jam or jelly or marmalade you need pectin. Some fruits are naturally very high in pectin but for strawberries you need to add pectin. You can make your own pectin from apples or you can buy pectin in the shops in the baking aisle ( look for Certo ). I cheat & use jam sugar.

Jam sugar has added pectin so it makes it very quick to make a quick tasy jam.

You need to sterilise the jars & lids. I do this by running them through a hot dishwasher. I then put them on a baking tray and put them in a low oven to dry them & make sure they are warm when you put the jam in.

You need a couple of punnets of strawberries ( 900g ) & 1kg of jam sugar. Prepare the fruit by taking the stalk off, then wash. I don't like whole fruit in my strawberry jam so I put them all in the blender and chop quickly till I have a lumpy blend.

Put the strawberries and sugar in a large pan and heat on a gentle heat till all of the sugar has dissolved. Don't boil until all the sugar has dissolved or you'll end up with sugar crystals in the jam.

Then bring to the boil, adding a knob of butter ( this reduces the amount of scum that forms on top of the jam ). When boiling, boil for exactly 4 minutes.

As soon as the timer pings, take the pan off the heat & skim off any froth ( scum ) on top.

Quickly decant into warm jars ( it will make about 4 x 1lb jars ), screw on the lids and you're finished.

Honey Oat Bread

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I make no apologies for using a bread machine as there are days when I don't have time to make the amount of bread I need at the B&B by hand. However I don't bake it in the bread machine but, instead, use the dough setting, form the dough into 2 loaves and bake in the oven. I think this makes a better shaped loaf and gives me 2 loaves for 550g flour.

This is a lovely dense loaf perfect for eating warm from the oven with soup, rather than to be used for toasting at breakfast.

1.25 tsp yeast
100g rolled oats
350g granary bread flour ( I really like Wessex Mill Six Seed Bread Flour )
100g strong white bread flour
2tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp thick set local honey
1.5 tsp salt
320 ml water

2 x 1lb loaf tins, which I grease with butter and sprinkle with flour

Place the ingredients in your breadmaker and place on the dough setting. ( Or mix by hand or use the dough hook on a mixer to knead till elastic, put in an oiled bowl and leave somewhere warm to rise till double in size - about 2 hours )

When the dough is ready, knock it down & split into 2 equal portions. Roll each piece of dough and put into the prepared loaf tins.

Place a damp tea towel or some cling film over the the tins and put in a warm place to double in size which takes about 30-45 minutes ( or you can put in the fridge overnight to rise slowly and bake in the morning ).

When it's risen you can split the top using a very sharp knife and sprinkle with oats.

Bake in an oven at 200 degrees C for about 20 minutes.

Eggs Benedict

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This is a very popular special at the B&B; my husband's favourite. It's quite convenient to make because there's no real last minute cooking - it's just a case of warming through and assembling.

You'll need the recipes from earlier in the blog on poaching eggs, making hollandaise and, if you're planning to make your own, baking English Muffins.

If you're cooking for a few people then I suggest you pre cook the poached eggs and make up the hollandaise and put it in a warmed thermos flask. Then you're only reheating & assembling ingredients

For 1 eggs Benedict you'll need

1 poached egg
1 or 2 tablespoons of hollandaise
2 slices of grilled bacon ( or thick slices of ham )
1 toasted English Muffin buttered

And that's it really! Put the half an english muffin on a warm plate, top with the bacon ( or ham ), put the poached egg on top and spoon the hollandaise over.