I went out to brunch at this little hidden spot called KTCHN 105 in downtown Los Angeles. While there, I had a brioche bun for the first time (that I’m aware of). They served it with a small serving of blueberry jam, and I was HOOKED. It was all I could think about for the rest of the week.
So.. I did what any reasonable person would do. Spend hours researching brioche recipes and ways to make blueberry jam. Well, actually, a reasonable person would just go and just buy some buns and jam from a good local bakery. So to rephrase, I did what any crazy and obsessive person would do.
I ended up using a recipe from the Flour Bakery cookbook. I first heard of them from the Sticky Buns throwdown on Food Network. The book had a lot of great reviews on Amazon, and I can see why. The recipes are written very clearly, and also have a lot of great advice and tips. My favorite aspect of the book is that it tells you when you can freeze the dough, and how to thaw it out and proceed with the baking process.
For the blueberry jam, I felt inundated with all the different methods of making jam/jelly/preserves; as well as the different methods of canning.
Huh?
Exactly. I decided to just make a simple freezer style jam; i.e. boiling together blueberries, sugar, and lemon zest until it became thick. Simple and easy.
The brioche is easy as well, but can be time consuming. Luckily, your mixer will do all the work (it will be running for probably 30 minutes straight). Sit back with a cocktail or a cup of coffee and a book while your machine thinks mean thoughts about you. You also need to let it sit overnight in the fridge, as well as let it rise again for a few hours before baking.
Basic Brioche recipe from the Flour Bakery & Cafe cookbook
(my observations will be italicized and in quotes)
- 2 1/4 cups (315 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups (340 grams) bread flour
- 1 1/2 packages (3 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp (82 grams) sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) cold water
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup + 6 tbsp (310 grams) room temperature unsalted butter, cut into 10 or 12 pieces
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the all purpose flour, bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and 5 of the eggs. Beat together on low speed for 3-4 minutes using the dough hook until all the ingredients have come together. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Once all the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients, beat for another 3-4 minutes. The dough will look dry and feel stiff.
At low speed, add the butter one piece at a time, waiting until each piece disappears into the dough before adding the next.
Once all the butter has been added, continue to beat the dough for about 10 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Once the butter is completely incorporated, turn up the speed to medium and beat for another 15 minutes. The dough will look slightly shiny, be soft and sticky. (this step will take a long time. you will probably need to keep poking the butter into the dough for it to incorporate better)
Once the dough is smooth and shiny, beat on medium high for one minute. You can hear the dough slapping against the sides of the bowl. You should be able to pull at the dough and it will be stretchy. If it seems too wet, add a few tablespoons of flour. If its not stretchy and breaks, continue to beat the dough for a few more minutes and test it again. (it will take awhile for the dough to become smooth and shiny. it will look ugly and rough for a long time, but eventually, eventually the dough will smooth out)
Place the dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Press the plastic wrap against the dough.
Let the dough proof in the fridge overnight, or for at least 6 hours.
After proofing, remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 24 pieces and place into brioche baking cups. (the dough will be cold and feel like “clammy Play-Doh”)
Let the dough rest for another 2-3 hours until it doubles in volume.
Whisk the last egg, and brush it over the top of the proofed dough.
Bake the buns in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. The top of the buns will be completely golden brown.
Posted in Vegan? Me? Blasphemy!
I love using butter and milk and all those delicious items when I bake. However, there are those who, through either allergies or choice, are restricted from eating certain foods. A friend of mine is allergic to eggs (sadly), and so this year I looked for another vegan cupcake recipe (since they do not contain any eggs, or dairy, come to think of it).
Los Angeles has been hit with a heat wave lately, so I wasn’t really feeling a heavy, chocolate-y style cupcake. Luckily, neither was he since he requested something “light and refreshing”. I also wanted to try a different combination of flavors beyond just vanilla and lemon, so I thought a pina colada cupcake would be an interesting and unexpected flavor.
I used a recipe found from a blog called “Love like a Vegan“. Instead of making full size cupcakes, I decided to make mini cupcakes to make it more “party friendly”. I think it was actually a good decision to make them mini. The cupcakes were moist, yet slightly dense. If they were full size I think it would have been a little TOO dense and heavy for my preference. Using cream cheese frosting adds a bit of additional “tang” to the cupcake, and the toasted coconut emphasizes the coconut flavor.
Vegan Pina Colada Cupcakes
makes 48 mini cupcakes
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp coconut extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
Puree together the crushed pineapple, coconut milk, oil, sugar, and extracts.
Fold in the puree into the flour mixture.
Fill the liners 2/3 to 3/4 full.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until a toothpick entered into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting and topping with toasted coconut.
Hi everybody!
I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging lately, but I have a bunch of recipes that I’m eager to test out, so hopefully you’ll be seeing more posts from me soon.
I had a call from one of my girlfriends asking about customized cupcakes for a bridal shower. She wanted something simple, so I decided on a plain monogram design with a hint of sparkle from some tiny dragees and luster dust. Flavor-wise she wanted red velvet (her favorite) and vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd filling.
I hope you enjoy!
