My first attempt at something from the Cheese Board cookbook... basically brioche dough with large hunks of bittersweet chocolate folded in. What could be bad? I made a batch so I could bring some over to Leah & Juston's new apartment. As Leah said, "a little taste of Berkeley!" Truth be told, I remember the idea of them more than the exact taste of them, so I'm not sure how these compared to the real deal. Josh definitely thought there was not enough chocolate, and I'd agree that although it looked like a whole lot as I was chopping it, each Thing did not have as many chunks as I'd've liked. (Josh complained his only had ONE chunk - can you imagine the injustice?) Also, I thought by day 2, they were kind of dry. Not stale, but like they'd benefit from a nice cup of coffee, if I drank coffee. I'm not sure if I need to do something differently to make them lighter, or if it's just the recipe.
Regardless, I was very happy with the results, and I did a little step-by-step with the pictures to show you how they went. They were quite easy to put together, and though a little time-consuming (because of the two rise periods), the active time wasn't very long. Probably 30ish minutes of the approximately 3 1/2 hours total.
Heat the cream and buttermilk, cool slightly, then whisk in the yeast until dissolved and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Add flour, salt, sugar, butter and egg. I don't know any other recipes where you beat everything together like that, but it worked fine.
Beat for a couple of minutes, and if the dough is still too wet (not starting to come together around the beater in a ball), add flour a tablespoon at a time. I think I ultimately added about another half-cup. (In hindsight, maybe that's why they were a little dry?)
See how different the consistency is? Knead with the dough hook for about 7 minutes, until it's smooth and elastic, then quickly knead in the chocolate (not too much or the dough will get discolored, like mine did in some sections as the chocolate bits get worked in).
Then place in an oiled bowl, turn dough to coat, cover, and let rise 1 hour.
Roll out the dough into a 10x12" rectangle. Brush one long end with beaten egg, then roll up jellyroll-style, using the strip with egg to glue the dough together. Cut into 12- 1" pieces, place them on a cookie sheet cut side up, cover with a floured towel, and let rise another hour. Then brush top and sides with egg and bake about 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. These are ready to go into the oven.
And these just came out!
Mmm... but not enough chocolate for some!
Still, pretty good for a first try!
Regardless, I was very happy with the results, and I did a little step-by-step with the pictures to show you how they went. They were quite easy to put together, and though a little time-consuming (because of the two rise periods), the active time wasn't very long. Probably 30ish minutes of the approximately 3 1/2 hours total.
Heat the cream and buttermilk, cool slightly, then whisk in the yeast until dissolved and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Add flour, salt, sugar, butter and egg. I don't know any other recipes where you beat everything together like that, but it worked fine.
Beat for a couple of minutes, and if the dough is still too wet (not starting to come together around the beater in a ball), add flour a tablespoon at a time. I think I ultimately added about another half-cup. (In hindsight, maybe that's why they were a little dry?)
See how different the consistency is? Knead with the dough hook for about 7 minutes, until it's smooth and elastic, then quickly knead in the chocolate (not too much or the dough will get discolored, like mine did in some sections as the chocolate bits get worked in).
Then place in an oiled bowl, turn dough to coat, cover, and let rise 1 hour.
Roll out the dough into a 10x12" rectangle. Brush one long end with beaten egg, then roll up jellyroll-style, using the strip with egg to glue the dough together. Cut into 12- 1" pieces, place them on a cookie sheet cut side up, cover with a floured towel, and let rise another hour. Then brush top and sides with egg and bake about 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. These are ready to go into the oven.
And these just came out!
Mmm... but not enough chocolate for some!
Still, pretty good for a first try!
Comments
And I love the title--"cheese board chocolate things," haha!