Brioche in the morning

The refrigerator has decided to work like gangbusters; maybe it had some gripe with the previous tenents and finally noticed they were gone. It's being replaced on Friday anyway, and I feel sorry for it, now that it's trying so hard. Poor fridge.

Yesterday I worked at home all day and found that, even in the middle of a pile of unshelved books and cardboard boxes, it is really not so unpleasant when there are not also several people stomping around your apartment banging on the walls and installing molding with a huge nail gun. While I wrote in blessed quietude, I also made an enormous batch of brioche dough. Brioche isn't difficult, it just takes a lot of time (though very little attention for most of that time) and a stand mixer, making it the perfect occupation for a hungry graduate student in possession of a Kitchenaid and some eggs, butter, and flour.

The recipe in Baking With Julia, courtesy of Nancy Silverton, makes enough for three big loaves. This is a lot of dough, enough to keep us in luxurious fresh morning brioche for over a week. Here's how it works: I divided the dough into eight parts after the second, long rise. Each is wrapped in plastic and frozen. Then in the morning, I put a piece in the refrigerator to thaw. Before bed, I take it out, divide it in two, form it into little round loaves, and tuck them into buttered ramekins. They go back into the refrigerator, covered, while we sleep. In the morning, I take them out and set them on the counter while the oven preheats to 375° F. While all that sorts itself out, I shower. By the time that's done, they're ready to go into the oven. They bake for fifteen to twenty minutes, only a little longer than the time it takes to get the coffee ready and roust Snark from his golden slumber. And then -- unspeakably glorious! -- we sit at a table with hot coffee and hot brioche, maybe with a little butter and jam, and know that there isn't even anything unpleasant to wash up.

Posted by redfox at September 26, 2002 07:26 PM (etcetera)

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