French Brioche from Nantes - Fouace Nantaise

By MJH

The dough is perfumed with orange flower water and baked in the shape of a flower.
Perfect and moist for the first day or two, use this brioche when slightly stale (or even fresh!) for wonderful pain perdu (French toast, of course) or a decadent bread pudding.

Ingredients

• How to Make Your Own Orange Flower Water:
• 1 lb (500 g) flour, divided, plus more for kneading
• 2 1/4 tsp (15 g) active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup (115 ml) milk, warmed to body temperature
• large pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
• 7 Tbs (100 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 small juice or wine glass of rum, about 3 oz (90 ml)
• 1 Tbs fleur d’oranger (orange flower water)
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 additional egg for egg wash, lightly beaten
• Dozen orange flower blossoms
• 1/2 cup distilled water
• clear jar

Details

Adapted from lifesafeast.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place 1 cup (125 g) of the flour in a medium-sized mixing bowl with the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar.

Add the warm milk and stir briefly just to wet all of the dry ingredients.

Allow to proof for 20 – 40 minutes or until doubled in size, puffy and bubbly.

While the yeast mixture is proofing, place the rest of the flour into a large mixing bowl with a large pinch of salt (about ½ teaspoon), the remaining sugar, the softened butter, the glass of rum, the fleur d’oranger and the 4 lightly beaten eggs.

Stir with a wooden spoon until all of the dry ingredients have been moistened and the mixture is well blended. Add the proofed yeast mixture and stir the together until well blended.

It will be very sticky, too sticky to handle.

Scrape the dough onto a well-floured work surface.

Knead the dough, adding enough extra flour until the dough is no longer sticky and it is soft, smooth and homogenous.

Carefully divide the dough into 5 or 6 equal parts, form into balls and place one in the center of a parchment-lined baking/cookie tray.

Place the other balls of dough around the outside of the center ball to form a star shape.

Don’t worry if there are gaps between the balls of dough.

Cover lightly with a piece of plastic wrap then a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Brush the dough with the beaten egg and bake for 40 minutes.

The fouace will have risen and be a deep golden brown.

The “branches” of the star will have started to pull away from the center ball of brioche.

How to Make Your Own Orange Flower Water:
You must first gather the blossoms. For safety purposes, only use flowers that are free from pesticides and other chemicals.

Rinse the orange blossoms in cold water to remove any traces of dirt. Discard blossoms and petals that have been chewed through or are rotten or dry. Lay them in the sun or on a paper towel to dry for an hour or so.

Pick the petals off the blossom and grind them using a mortar and pestle. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can improvise with a blunt tool and a bowl. The point is to crush the petals into a paste. This will help allow the essential oils to release into the water.

Fill a glass jar with distilled water and add the petals. The amount of water you will use depends on how many blossoms are available to you. A good rule of thumb is to use 1/2 cup of water for every dozen blossoms. When in doubt, use less water. If the orange flower water ends up being too strong, you can always add distilled water later. Let the jar sit in the sun for about a month.

Strain the blossom water into a bowl using a cheese cloth. You can then transfer the liquid into a smaller sterilized container using a funnel. Clear jars or empty bottles of vanilla and almond extract work well. If you store the orange flower water in the cabinet it should last for a year. When stored in the refrigerator, the essential oil will be usable for up to three years.