Recipe no. 444 from Jean-Baptiste Reboul's La Cuisinière provençale (1909), page 205.
Ingredients
- Flour, 500 grams
- Baker's yeast, 10 grams
- Lukewarm water, half a glass
- Butter, 350 grams
- Eggs, 2 then 6
- Salt, 15 grams
- Sugar, 50 grams
- Rum, a small glass
Preparation
- Preparing the starterTake a quarter of the flour, arrange it into a well, dissolve the yeast in it with the lukewarm water, work it in to obtain a soft dough, shape it and let it rise in a bowl at a mild temperature.
- Kneading the base doughSpread out the rest of the flour, put in the middle the butter and two eggs, work it in, then add the six other eggs one at a time, working the dough with the strength of the arms.
- Seasoning and letting the starter riseAdd the salt, the sugar and the rum, work until the starter is ready, that is to say has doubled in volume.
- Mixing and letting riseMix the starter into the dough without working it too much, put it in a bowl and let it double in volume at a mild temperature, then work it with a wooden spoon and keep it in a cool place.
- Shaping the briochesPour the dough onto the floured table, flatten it, roll the brioches, put them in moulds or on a baking sheet, and press into the middle a piece of dough rolled and elongated.
- Letting rise and glazingLet rise for one hour, glaze with beaten egg and cut the head with three knife strokes.
- BakingBake in a lively oven for ten to twelve minutes.
Reboul's text
Put 500 grams of flour on the table, take a quarter of it aside to make the starter, arrange it into a well; dissolve, with half a glass of lukewarm water, 10 grams of baker's yeast, pour it into the middle of the well and work it into the flour; you should obtain a soft dough. Shape it and put it in a bowl to let it rise at a mild temperature. Spread out the rest of the flour separately, put in the middle 350 grams of butter and 2 eggs; work well into the flour; add 6 more eggs, but one after another, as the dough gains body. It must be worked with the strength of the arms. Add 15 grams of salt, 50 grams of sugar and a small glass of rum, keep working until the starter is ready; it must be double its original volume; mix it then into the dough without working it too much. Put the dough in a bowl and keep it at a mild temperature until it has doubled in volume; work it with a wooden spoon and keep it in a cool place until ready to use. In summer it is essential to keep it on ice.
When shaping the brioches, pour your dough onto the floured table, dust with flour and flatten it with the palm of the hand. Roll your brioches to whatever size you like, put them in buttered moulds or on a baking sheet, press into the middle, pushing down with the finger, a piece of dough a third of its size. This piece of dough should be rolled and elongated on one side only, and it is by that side that you apply it; let rise for one hour. Then glaze with beaten egg, give three little cuts with the point of the knife around the head of the brioche and bake in a lively oven, that is to say fairly hot; 10 to 12 minutes of baking are enough.
Small Provençal glossary for this recipe
Reboul writes in French: no Provençal word appears in this recipe, apart from the dish's name itself. The table below gives the Provençal equivalents of the words used, in mistralian spelling, translated by Lingua Nostra. Each form is attested in our Provençal-English dictionary; click to open the entry.
| Provençal | English |
|---|---|
| farino | flour |
| levaduro | yeast |
| burre | butter |
| iòu | eggs |
| sau | salt |
| sucre | sugar |
| roum | rum |
| font | well |
| four | oven |
Source: Jean-Baptiste Reboul, La Cuisinière provençale, Marseille, 1909, recipe no. 444, page 205. Public domain. Transcription, formatting and Provençal glossary by Lingua Nostra.