Breaking Bread

We live in a world today that everything should be fast. The more quick it is to access the better. One of the things that are always compromised is the food we eat. An hour seems to fly so quickly to grab lunch. Cause that hour is not only the time we consume our food but also the time to get there, to wait in line to order, to pay, to wait for the food while its being prepared and than the actual eating. So we usually opt to get fast food. I admit, I love those transfat-almost-not beef burgers and greasy fries all nestled in a paper bag just waiting to eat your arteries in a span of maybe a year or a decade.

I'm all in for the fast food. But sometimes, i think its just great to just let it all go, take the pace slow. And my what better way to do it but by baking bread. Baking is much more than just mixing ingredients and shoving it in the oven. The process of baking bread can be intimidating, but all you need really is patience and the ability to wash so many dishes after! Baking bread takes me to a calm state. from the weighing of the ingredients, putting all the ingredients in each separate bowls and aligning them (if you are that obsessive compulsive), seeing things react to one another (like the yeast when it reacts to the liquid and sugar, always my favourite part).. each and every step may take a while but its all therapeutic. guess it just my way to relax. i love it! This recipe is my Lemon Brioche. I just love this bread, its tanginess, not too dense and not too fluffy and you can adjust the saltiness to your liking. i like mine not sweet or salty because i like spreading butter on mine or jam. But if ate alone its better to crank up the sweet and saltiness.

So you'll be needing:

For the dough:

225 ml Milk
1 Tablespoon or 15g Instant Yeast
50g Sugar
10g Salt
320g Bread Flour
1 piece Egg
Lemon Zest of 1 Whole Lemon
30 g Unsalted Butter

For the egg wash:
1 egg yolk
20 ml Milk

12 muffin tin

First scald your milk. Its just a fancy way of saying flash boiling your milk. If you do it the McGuyver way you'd just have to microwave it for a minute and its done!

Fresh Milk

Scalded Milk

let it cool until you can dip your hand in it without pain! (i know crazy method but you will know eventually!) it should be luke warm. Dissolve the 25 grams of sugar in the milk while it's hot.

While waiting for the milk to cool down, you can weigh out the other ingredients!

Lemon Zest. I dont have a microplane/zester so I just used a cheese grater.

Bread Flour. I added the remaining sugar here and the Salt.

This is the instant dry yeast i used! available in any grocery!

Once the milk is at the right temperature, you can now dissolve the yeast in the milk. There will be lumps just let it do its things! This is my favourite part! I actually love this part! I watch the yeast activate, thats how nerdy I am!

Lumpy Yeast

After a few minutes it will rise like this! I'm always amazed!!

In your mixer, add the flour and the egg. make sure to use the dough attachment

Add the milk mixture next. you can scrape the sides if necessary

*This is a super easy recipe! But requires patience!

then add the lemon zest and the butter.

just mix everything until everything is incorporated until you get a nice intact ball.

on floured surface put the dough and need until quite smooth. It doesnt have to be as smooth as to like making a baguette. just enough to let the gluten in the flour wake up!

And please, don't copy me and knead dough with nail polish! ;)

It should like this. its not too sticky and forms a nice ball. Test of patience right here! Place it in a bowl and let it ferment for 40 minutes until doubled in size.

before fermenting

20 minutes in the fermenting process

45 Minutes in the fermenting process

After 45 minutes, take the dough out and punch the dough to release all the trapped air. Start needing again to produce more gluten and elasticity.

Make 12 pieces of dough weighing 50 grams and 12 pieces of dough weighing 5 grams.

Roll your dough and pinch the loose end to make a tight ball.

dont forget the small ball!

Place the small ball on top of the big ball. if it doesnt stick you can add a little egg wash.

it should look like this.

Now let this rest for another 25 minutes under a damp/moistened cloth to keep the dough from drying and to let it rise well. the proofing stage is what will make your bread light yet with substance.