BRIOCHE NANTERRE

Most of you have tasted Brioche Bread. For those who haven’t ….because of the copious amounts of egg and butter, it is an incredibly rich and very tender bread. Almost cake-like. Nanterre refers to the form of this bread. Often baked in rolls, it can be baked in a regular loaf. Nanterre is where balls of the dough are put in a loaf pan, to eventually form a solid loaf that can be sliced or torn off in chunks. This is how it SHOULD look…..

The dough consists of yeast, eggs, milk, sugar, butter and flour. It’s a very sticky, soft, dough that needs refrigeration just to form it into balls. After proofing, the top is brushed with an egg yolk wash to make it shiny. THAT is where mine failed. The loaf rose just fine, but once I brushed the risen dough with the egg, it fell, and did not rise much after that. Here’s how mine turned out…

The dough balls definitely melded into each other! But I have to say…the texture was divine. Soft, and rich, and just slightly sweet. Almost like a Hawaiian bread . The next recipe I am attempting calls for day-old slices of Brioche, and I am sure it will be tasty using this bread.