More Cheese More Chocolate

I made brioche from Tartine Bread at the end of December, and before I forget everything about it, I wanted to write down my thoughts.

• Nine eggs and a pound of butter are the secret to seriously decadent yet still light and fluffy bread. The bowl of rising dough had the heft of a small child, but as evidenced by the last picture in this post, three was enough air trapped inside to form nice little pockets in the crumb.
• I might try using something like five or seven eggs next time instead of nine. I’m not all that familiar with brioche so I don’t have much to compare this to, but I felt like it was almost too eggy when eaten plain.
• Lightly beating the eggs and slowly incorporating the eggs and milk into the dough will probably lead to more even egg distribution and less milk splashing everywhere.
• Brioche egg sandwich: yum. Buttered, toasted brioche: slight overkill, but yum. Brioche French toast: excellent maple syrup vehicle; don’t slice too thick or the center will be dry. Brioche spinach strata: booyah.
• The recipe makes enough for at least four loaves, but it bakes nicely in a variety of pans if you don’t own four loaf pans.
• Extra loaves are best shared with friendly neighbors. Unfriendly neighbors will get nothing. Ever.
• I’m happy that I didn’t impulsively use a kitchen store credit for brioche pans and bought a much more practical grater instead – my favorite one yet.
• Next up: brioche doughnuts or chocolate chip brioche pretzels (whoa…definitely making these)
• I really like the word “brioche.”