Hey, I'm so happy to be back here. I hope your family celebrations went well and that you were all spoiled. As for me, I can't complain even though these celebrations were a bit rock'n roll with everyone's germs (I myself was knocked out by a nasty cold that messed up my late December schedule...). Anyway, now that things are getting better, I'm proposing a little cozy breakfast recipe for you: the snowflake brioche!
I think this recipe is great and not very complicated for a breakfast that impresses. I had already explained the brioche-making process to you in detail, and I even tested Pascal Weeks' recipe. But you can use any recipe you're comfortable with, and the result will always be elegant with minimum effort (it's even almost less complicated than making nice regular balls to build a Nanterre brioche).
I won't go back over the brioche-making process, just know that whatever recipe you use, you'll need a base of 500g flour and 300g liquid (but most recipes are on these proportions, it's hard to dose with fewer ingredients).
The snowflake brioche recipes I had found (particularly at C'est Maman qui l'a fait and Rose and Cook) featured spread as a filling. I personally opted for a dark chocolate/milk chocolate ganache (you know, the one I finished with a small spoon when making my Devil's cake). I stand by it, it's really killer!
To make the snowflake, once the brioche dough is made and has had its first chill, you simply need to make stacked brioche discs (I went with 30 cm diameter) and cover with ganache.
Assembly tip: I recommend rolling out the dough to a diameter larger than your ring, then placing it on the baking sheet, and then cutting to the right dimensions. Otherwise, the dough tends to shrink and the result isn't very regular.
Next, place a glass in the middle of the dough to clearly mark the center (which we won't touch).
Then cut into 4 equal parts:
Then into eight:
Then into sixteen:
Next, take two strands side by side, give them one twist toward the outside (the strand on the left will twist to the left and the strand on the right to the right). Then just glue the ends of these two strands together (pressing firmly) and you're done! Do this for all 16 strands and here's the result:
Let the brioche rise for 2 hours in a turned-off oven with a bowl of boiling water and all that's left is to brush with beaten egg and bake for 40 minutes at 180°.
If you're making this snowflake brioche for breakfast, you can also shape it the night before, brush it and let it gently rise in a turned-off oven overnight. If you program your oven, the brioche will be cooked and warm when you wake up!
