ORANGE BLOSSOM BRIOCHE

It might be that I had a very challenging week, and I'm just going to name a few happenings to give you the picture, such as blocked-off roads, car crashes, buses dropping me off twenty kilometres from my destination (let me get to work will you?), next-door buildings on fire, fifteen million leaving parties on school-nights, and some good old drama, but I was on a roll already. So I thought I might as well face the challenge of yeast once again, this time going the brioche way. Because, to make up for all the apocalyptic incidents of the past 6 days, this week we also booked our Eurostar tickets for a quick trip to Paris in August. Celebratory yummy brioche in my belly. 

ORANGE BLOSSOM BRIOCHE

Adapted from In Vegetables We Trust

60ml (1/4 cup) lukewarm soya milk or other non-dairy milk

2 tablespoons plain flour

1 tablespoon dried quick yeast

1 tablespoon orange blossom water

60ml (1/4 cup) soya milk or other non-dairy milk

150g (1 ¼ cup) plain flour

30g (1/4 cup) soya flour

50g (scant ¼ cup) caster sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

90g (6 tablespoons) vegan margarine

Glaze:

1 tablespoon soya milk

2 teaspoons orange blossom water

Whisk together the lukewarm soya milk, the 2 tablespoons of plain flour and the yeast and set aside for a few minutes until the mixture starts to bubble slightly. Then sift in the plain and soy flour and add the orange blossom water, soya milk, caster sugar and salt. Stir together until well combined then add the margarine, 2 tablespoons at a time, until everything is well incorporated. Knead for about 2 minutes in the bowl, then leave to rise for 2 hours on the counter. Cover the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge to rise for about 8-20 hours (or overnight).

Just before you take the dough out of the fridge, grease your brioche tins (or muffin tins). Take the dough out and roll into a ball, then separate the dough into 8 even pieces. Roll each piece into a larger ball of dough, which you will place on the bottom of the tin, and a smaller ball of dough to place on top. Cover the tins with a tea towel and leave to prove for 1 ½ hours in a warm place. Before placing in the oven, brush with a mixture of soya milk and more orange blossom water, and decorate with sugar sprinkles if you like. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes or until the buns turn dark golden brown on top.