Brioche

“Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!”

“Qu‚ils mangent de la brioche!“ or, in a not quite correct translation, “Let them eat cake!“. A famous phrase, perhaps wrongly attributed to Marie Antoinette, who uttered it after being alerted to the fact that her subjects were suffering from a lack of bread due to crop failure. There is no doubt that brioche has deep roots in the French baking tradition, with its first mention dating back to the 15th century.

What makes brioche so special? First of all, it is made with quality ingredients such as eggs, milk (some recipes do not use it at all, the dough is hydrated exclusively with eggs) and above all butter, which give it its exceptional texture and taste. The traditional recipe doesn't contain too much sugar, so brioche offers a real variety of ways to eat it – or on its own as part of breakfast, like French toast. But it's also great with raisins and candied fruit. It is worth remembering the inseparable combination of brioche and foie gras, which has a firm place in French cuisine.