It started with the pan & a trip to San Francisco.🌉

 Thanks to a tip from a favorite blogger 101cookbooks  on where to go to find a few special finds for the kitchen.  I am not talking your everyday williams&sonoma or sur la table not that I don't love those as well but this place is unique, vintage, old and just down right a find.  

I had something else when I read about this shop specifically a vinegar pot with the perfect spout, still hunting for that (another story for another day) but nonetheless I was rewarded on my treasure hunt to this beautiful brioche pan.

I say Hunt because that is what you have to do at Cookin' it is a treasure for cooks looking to find that perfect something.  Yelp reviews were all over the board on this place and it was unique to say the least.  The owner was gone in Paris I believe shopping for more finds, although not sure how she could honestly fit anything else in the place but to each his own.  And better for those of us not visiting France on a yearly visit.

 The man who read the paper and glanced up as I asked questions occasionally seemed to also know the shop like the back of his hand.  It would have made for a great mystery novel.  Shopper enters store and finds a body under stacks of Le creuset pots that have not moved in about 10 years or something along those lines.  I have been binge watching Hercules Poirot way to often.

- I digress.

So after about two hours of scouring,

I found the pan,

and another pan 

and well way too much to discuss in one blog.

Deciding upon the brioche pan didn't take long but the real question was how do I make brioche?

I have never made it before.  I have a friend who loves it and a husband who says "aah, it's okay" when I flaunt my discovery at him later that day.  It seemed like a challenge for the baker in the kitchen and I wanted to be that or maybe I just wanted to use the gorgeous mold and say I DID IT.  Either way, it's done and frozen and will be coming back into something else again soon. 

Bread Pudding?

Croutons?

French toast?

I think the list will continue onward but until that happens I leave you with the perfect Brioche recipe from Thomas Keller's Book Bouchon.  

You can't go wrong and I should know it was my first attempt:) Score!

Tips:

• Start this dough the day before you want to make it, as it so needs to rest

• Use a thermometer to test the bread you want the inside to be 190 degrees

• If getting too golden on top lightly cover with foil until done baking.

• Spray a little water in the oven to get that perfect golden crust.

Recipe from Thomas Keller's book Bouchon

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup water (110-115 degrees Fahrenheit)

• One 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast

• 10 1/2 ounces (2 cups) All-Purpose Flour

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 2 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

• 6 large eggs, at room temperature

• 20 tablespoons (10 oz) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, at room temperature, plus butter for the pan

Step 1

Combine the water and yeast in a small bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes, then stir until the yeast is completely dissolved. Set aside.

Step 2

Sift together the flours, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the eggs and beat for 1 minute at low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.  Slowly add the dissolved yeast and continue beating at low speed for 5 minutes. Stop the machine, scrape any dough off the hook, and beat for another 5 minutes.

Step 3

Add about one-quarter of the butter cubes at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition. Once all the butter has been added, beat for 10 minutes more.

Step 4

Place the dough in a large bowl dusted with flour and cover with plastic wrap. Set the dough aside in a warm place until doubled in size, about 3 hours.

Step 5

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface and gently work the air bubbles out by folding the dough over several times while lightly pressing down on it.  Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

NEXT DAY

Step 6

The dough is now ready to shape. Generously butter your brioche pans or if you don't have one a 8 1/2-by-4 1/2 inch loaf pans.

Step 7

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, divide the dough in half and shape it into two rectangles that fit into the pan or shape to fit in your brioche pans.  Check out this video on how to shape the head for brioche pans. Place the dough in the pans.

Step 8

Let the dough rise uncovered in a warm place until it is about 1/2 inch thick above the top of the pans, about 3 hours.

Step 9

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit

Step 10

Bake the brioche in the center of the oven until it is well browned on top and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, 35- 40 minutes.  Mine took closer to an hour as I did not divide the dough but remember just use the thermometer to check the temp inside. Remove the brioche from the oven and immediately turn out onto a wire rack.

Step 11

If serving immediately, let the breads cool for 10 minutes, then slice.

If serving within a few hours, wrap the hot bread in aluminum foil and set aside at room temperature until ready to use. To freeze wrap the hot bread in foil and promptly freeze. The bread can be frozen for up to 1 month; when ready to use, reheat (without thawing and still wrapped in foil) in a 250 degree oven until heated through about 20-25 minutes.

Happy Baking & Bon Appètit!