The Cheese Board (16 page)

If making by hand,
add the salt and orange sugar to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter or 2 dinner knives until it is the size of small peas. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. With a few strokes of the spoon, gently combine, taking care not to overmix the batter. Gently fold in the berries.

With an ice cream scoop or large soup spoon, fill the prepared muffin cups until the batter just peeks over the top of the pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown, firm, and springy. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Unmold the muffins onto a wire rack to cool.

 

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We never know quite how to explain why this pastry is called a brioche. It isn’t related to a French brioche at all; in fact, it is more like your grandmother’s yeasted cinnamon knot. Tying hundreds of these pastries is mesmerizing work in the dark hours of a morning shift. You can make the dough the evening before and refrigerate it overnight to make the brioches for brunch. The aroma of cinnamon is your first indication that the brioches are almost done and it’s time to brew your coffee.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream and buttermilk over low heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl. Let cool until just warm, then whisk in the yeast until dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes.

If using a stand mixer,
add the flour, butter, sugar, 1 of the eggs, and the salt to the bowl. With the paddle attachment on medium speed, mix until the ingredients are combined, about 2 minutes. If the dough is too soupy, add extra flour by the tablespoonful until the dough forms a loose ball around the paddle. Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed for 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, silky, and elastic. Add the raisins and knead just long enough to incorporate them.

If making by hand,
add the flour, butter, sugar, 1 of the eggs, and the salt to the bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are combined. If the dough is too soupy, add extra flour by the tablespoonful. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until it is smooth, silky, and elastic. Gently flatten the dough and sprinkle the raisins over the surface. Fold the dough over and continue kneading just long enough to incorporate the raisins.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a large oiled bowl. Turn the dough over to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Or, refrigerate the dough to rise slowly overnight. The next morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand in a warm place for at least 1 hour.

In a wide, shallow bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar together.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Let rest for 5 minutes. Using your palms, roll each piece into a 10-inch-long length with slightly tapered ends (
fig. A
).

Toss the lengths in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place one end of the length over the other, creating a loop with 2 tails (
fig. B
).

Grasp the bottom tail and thread it through the loop from top to bottom (
fig. C
).

Fold both tails underneath the knot and push them gently up into the center while using your thumbs to pull down on the outside edge of the roll (
fig. D
).

Place the brioches on the prepared pan about 2 inches apart. Cover them with a floured kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour, or until increased in size by one-third.

Fifteen minutes prior to baking, preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops and sides of each brioche with the beaten egg. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the brioches to a wire rack to cool.

 

A Chocolate Thing is a puffy, rounded bun created solely as a vehicle for chocolate. The surrounding dough is luxuriously buttery. It can be difficult to keep all the pieces of chocolate incorporated into the dough, but the chocolate must be added last so that it remains in large, discrete pieces. You can eat these while the chocolate is warm and meltingly smooth, or wait until later for it to become firm.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream and buttermilk over low heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl. Let cool until just warm, then whisk in the yeast until dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes.

If using a stand mixer,
add the flour, butter, sugar, 1 of the eggs, and the salt to the bowl. With the paddle attachment on medium speed, mix until the ingredients are combined, about 2 minutes. If the dough is too soupy, add extra flour by the tablespoonful until the dough forms a loose ball around the paddle. Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed for 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, silky, and elastic. Add the chocolate and knead just long enough to incorporate it (do this step as quickly as possible, as overmixing will result in broken pieces of chocolate and a discolored dough).