DC's in the house jump jump and rejoice
There's a party over here
a party over there
Wave your hands in the air
Shake the deriere
These three words mean you're gettin' busy
Whoomp there it is
whoomp there it is...
Ahhhh what a great party song. I'm afraid that true hip hop is dying but there are always the great classics to look back on. For me it's Whoomp there is it by Tag Team.
Oh yea I almost forgot I was going to talk about party food. You should always have an arsenal of party recipes ready to refer to, whether it's an easy 10 minute recipe or a real show stopper. I'm sure everyone goes to potluck parties every now and then so I thought I'd share some party food ideas.
Recently, I was invited to my friend's house for Easter dinner. The theme was Middle Eastern but I thought appetizers could be anything. I had my mind made that I was going to bake something from my bread book but I wasn't sure what. I thought it would be a cute idea to bake some sort of Easter bread but after checking out a 6 hour rising time I decided to go with something simpler. That's when I came up with Brie in Brioche. Not to pat myself on the back but it was pretty good considering I made if for the first time.
The great thing about this bread is that you can make the dough ahead of time and it can be frozen for up to two weeks so you can just defrost and use it when you need to. Also, if you bake too much and it gets a little stale, it's great for French toast. Ahhh I love brioche. It's a cross between a cake and bread with a buttery and sweet flavor. I'm sure there's a long history of brioche, I think I read somewhere that the croissant was derived from brioche but I'm not sure. Regardless, it's a rich and delicious bread reserved for all occasions. The brie in brioche is great for parties served as an hors d'oeuvre. My brother had baked brie at his wedding which was served during the cocktail hour and it was deeeelicious. I'm not sure if it was baked in brioche though.
Brioche Ingredients
4 (1/2) cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon of active dry yeast
1/4 cup of sugar
2 Tablespoons of salt
1/2 cup of hot water (120 F)
6 large eggs at room temp
1 cup (2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temp cut into small pieces and softened)
1 egg for the glaze (You can also use just the yoke for a more golden finish)
1)If you have a standing mixers I recommend using that unfortunately I had to do it by hand. I'll write the directions for both since not everyone has the standing mixer. In a large bowl or mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the four, sugar and salt. In a small bowl, mix the warm water with the yeast and dissolve. It's important to make sure the water is 120 degrees because if the water is too cold it won't activate the yeast and if it's too hot it will kill the yeast. Yeast is so weird. My friend described it best when she said they are like little aliens. Anyway add the dissolved yeast and water to the dry ingredients and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes with an electric mixer or until smooth by hand. Use the paddle attachment if using a mixer.
2) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add 2 more cups of flour. When well blended add the butter a few pieces at a time. Beat until completely incorporated, about 30 seconds with a mixer. Gradually add the remaining 1(1/2) cups of flour at low speed. Beat until thoroughly blended and creamy in consistency, about another 30 seconds. The dough will be soft and have a batter-like consistency.
3) Using a spatula, scrape the dough into a greased bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at a cool room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 3 hours. (At least it's half the time of the Easter Bread).
4)Gently deflate the dough with a spatula, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.
5) Turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. You'll only need about 1/3 of the dough and the rest you can bake into small braided loaves, 2 large loaves or freeze it for another day.
6) Form the dough into a round ball using the flat part of your hand. Slowly roll out the dough as to not crack the edges and stop to reform it. If your Brie wheel is 5 inches, which I find to be the standard size, then the dough should be double the size at 10 inches and no less than 1/4 inch thick. Don't use the brie cut into wedges because the cheese will met out into a big mess. The wheel is protected by the rind and that's why this works.
7) Trim away the excess dough and reshape it to decorate the top. Place the brie wheel in the center of the dough and fold in a circle starting at one end and working your way around. Press the edges together to seal it and flip the entire thing so the fold side is down.
8) Grease or parchment-line a large baking sheet. Put the cheese on the baking sheet and brush with a beaten egg. This will give it a beautiful glaze. Poke a hole at the top so the steam can escape. Decorate with leaves or a nice grape pattern or fun design. Brush design with egg also.
9)Preheat the oven to 375 twenty minutes before baking. Let the loaf stand at room temperature for 15 minutes if refrigerated. Place the baking sheet in the center of the rack and bake for about 40 minutes or until golden and puffy.
10) Cool on a rack or serve warm.
After rolling out the dough and covering the brie wheel you should have something that looks like this:
Cooled and ready to eat!
Braided brioche treats great for tea, breakfast bread or as a snack.
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