My fascination with this bread was very sudden, and it seemed to come out of nowhere. I’m not really concerned with the origin of my fascination; I’m happy that it hit me over the head that fateful day, because it is now one of my favorite breads. It’s great on its own with a little jam and a steaming mug of coffee, or as a weekend breakfast of French toast, or even as croutons or bread pudding to use up stale bread. Of course, due to the richness of the bread, it’s not one I make often, but it is such a treat to have now and then.
When I first made brioche, I didn’t have a stand mixer. I tried making the dough with my hand-held mixer. As I started adding that third cup of flour, the motor began to smoke, and the mixer managed to inhale bread dough before it sputtered and died.
