Breakfast,  French,  Sweet

Spelt brioche and a water-locked house

brioche
We had almost as much rainfall overnight as we usually have during May and June combined. Here it doesn’t rain, but it pours; the house was surrounded by an impressive moat this morning that I don’t recall being there when we signed on the dotted line. We now also boast a second river, which sounds fine in theory, but is not so practical in reality as we’re not very well-equipped boat-wise. Hugo took one look outside this morning and went back to bed, sighing heavily, the hens are developing webbed feet and learning to swim and I was out early drying off the horses with my hairdryer. All-in-all an appropriate morning for brioche.
Ingredients
300g spelt flour (or plain flour if you prefer)
100g butter, melted
100g coconut oil, melted (you can substitute this for a further 100g of butter)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1½ teaspoons dry bakers’ yeast
2 tablespoons cold water
4 eggs, beaten
40g  cane sugar
Dilute the dry yeast in 2 tablespoons’ luke-warm water and set aside for 10 minutes. Mix the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, beaten eggs, melted butter and oil. Either knead by hand or beat in a mixer (better if you’re lazy). The dough must stay elastic in consistency so add a drop more water, if necessary. Leave the dough to rise in the mixing bowl for about an hour at a temperature of between 25-30°C (it should double in volume). Beat and knead the dough and leave to rise for a further hour. Beat and knead again and put the dough in the loaf tin. Leave to rise one last time. Preheat the oven to 200°C and cook for 25 minutes.

15 Comments

  • annelifaiers

    What a lovely recipe and your bread looks just perfect! Poor you being so waterlogged! It is utterly ridiculous isn’t it? I am off to Mennorca later this week to seek out some long forgotten sunshine. #thisisnotwhatisignedupfor xx

    • The Healthy Epicurean

      Thanks Anneli – it is deliciously light. This weather is getting beyond a joke. We usually start swimming in the pool at the beginning of April – it’s mid-June and we haven’t been in once yet this year. Good idea going off to find sun elsewhere – I hope the weather’s good there because in Northern Spain at least, it isn’t…

  • Fig & Quince

    A moat? I want to chuckle but I feel for you and the damp state of life at the moment. Brioche sounds perfect. Lap up your writing – you say so much in just one little paragraph – and by the way I am assuming you’re kidding about drying horses with hair dryer. It is a joke … right?

    • The Healthy Epicurean

      That’s OK – feel free to giggle – I’ve found my waders 😉 Re the horses, let’s just say that I really really wanted to; poor darlings, they were like drowned rats, but having already exploded the jet-wash this week, I thought I’d better step away from using the hairdryer outside in the rain. The mind boggles at the potential consequences!

  • apuginthekitchen

    Wow, thats a lot of rain, I can just see Hugo taking one look and going back to bed. The pugs won’t go out if the ground is wet, spoiled brats. Your bread is amazing. I would love for you and Hugo to do a guest post on my blog, would you be interested? You pick the recipe love your GF creations.

  • andreamynard

    Blimey, sounds as if the best thing to do is stay in your kitchen baking. That brioche looks wonderfully comforting too – love the idea of making rich, decadent treat food healthier. Just made the more-fruit-than-cake-cake from Little Leon book at the weekend and it has lots of figs & red wine but spelt flour and honey rather than sugar, so I can kid myself I’m eating myself healthier while scoffing with my coffee!

  • Katy

    I saw this recipe on Foodgawker, and wanted to look into it as it was labeled as “gluten-free” and “spelt”…I am not gluten-free, but I work in a bakery where we grind our own flours, spelt being included. **Spelt Flour is NOT gluten-free.**

  • Jessie

    Oh gosh, I hope it’s dried out a little at your place. A moat? Looks like a boat may be in order 😉
    I love a good brioche, and this looks like a fantastic one! Thanks for sharing!

  • Autism United

    You poor things, too much rain for sure. I did have to laugh about the chickens getting web feet though, sorry.
    Lovely looking recipe, haven’t had since I was a child and my grand mother would make for us.

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