Cranberry, Clementine and Rosemary Brioche
Two loaves
Note – Winter clementines are lovely – use them whole!
Holiday Mix:
5 clementines, seedless
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves pulled from the stems
4 cups bread flour (you want the extra gluten)
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp ground allspice
4 Tbsp granulated sugar
¾ cup whole milk, warmed to just above body temperature
3 ½ tsp dried yeast
5 large eggs, room temperature
16 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 16 pieces
1) Prepare the “holiday mix.” Cut each of the clementines into eight chunks (check to remove any surprise seeds). In a food processor, pulse together the clementines, cranberries and rosemary leaves. Leave the mix chunky – do not process to a paste. Scrape into a bowl and set aside.
2) Proof the yeast in the slightly warm milk (I also add ½ tsp sugar just to encourage the yeast).
3) In a standing mixer, mix together the flour, salt, allspice and 4 Tbsp sugar. Switch to the dough hook and mix in the eggs and the milk yeast mixture. Mix on a medium speed to form a soft, elastic dough.
4) With the mixer going, add in the butter, one piece at a time, mixing into a shiny smooth dough. Add about 1 cup of the “holiday mix,” and mix until uniformly combined. Save the rest of the “holiday mix” to add to biscuits or scones. Turn the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic and set aside to double in size – about two hours.
5) Grease two loaf pans and start to preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and layer each loaf pan with eight balls on the bottom topped by eight more on top. Lightly cover the pans with plastic and set aside to proof again until the dough comes up to just above the rim of the pan – about 30 minutes.
6) Bake the loaves for roughly 30 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Let the loaves cool 10 minutes in the pan before turning them out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
