I’m not exactly sure why, but I’ve been on a bread baking kick lately. From simple White Bread (made with milk and brushed with butter before baking for optimum yumminess) to the loaves and loaves of Brioche I made tonight, our house smells absolutely heavenly.

Speaking of Brioche: apparently, this is what Marie Antoinette actually said in her infamous line. Not Let them eat cake, but Let them eat brioche- so what she actually meant was, let them eat sweet eggy bread made with tons of butter.

Let them eat Brioche Recipe
Recipe from Bon Appetit

1/4 cup warm water (110°F to 115°F)
1/4 cup warm whole milk (110°F to 115°F)
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Combine 1/4 cup warm water and warm milk in bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Sprinkle yeast over and stir to moisten evenly. Let stand until yeast dissolves, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add flour and salt to yeast mixture. Blend at medium-low speed until shaggy lumps form, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in sugar. Increase mixer speed to medium; beat until dough is smooth, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until blended after each addition, about 4 minutes (dough will be soft and silky). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and climbs paddle, 8 to 9 minutes.

Lightly butter a large bowl. Scrape dough into bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.

Gently deflate dough by lifting around edges, then letting dough fall back into bowl, turning bowl and repeating as needed. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill, deflating dough in same way every 30 minutes until dough stops rising, about 2 hours. Chill overnight.

Butter 12 standard (1/3-cup) muffin cups. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces; cut each piece into thirds. Roll each small piece between palms into ball. Place 3 balls in each prepared cup (dough will fill cup). Place muffin pan in warm draft-free area; lay sheet of waxed paper over. Let dough rise until light and almost doubled (dough will rise 1/2 inch to 1 inch above top rim of muffin cups), 50 to 60 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Place muffin pan on rimmed baking sheet. Gently brush egg glaze over risen dough, being careful that glaze does not drip between dough and pan (which can prevent full expansion in oven). Bake brioches until golden brown, covering with foil if browning too quickly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Cool 10 minutes. Remove brioches from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Interested in making your own puff pastry? Here is a complete guide with step by step instructions and even recipes.

Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced into strips
2 red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 (1 pound) loaf focaccia bread

What’s next
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Brush eggplant and red bell peppers with 1 tablespoon olive oil; use more if necessary, depending on sizes of vegetables. Place on a baking sheet and roast in preheated oven. Roast eggplant until tender, about 25 minutes; roast peppers until blackened. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute mushrooms until tender. Stir crushed garlic into mayonnaise. Slice focaccia in half lengthwise. Spread mayonnaise mixture on one or both halves.
Peel cooled peppers, core and slice. Arrange eggplant, peppers and mushrooms on focaccia. Wrap sandwich in plastic wrap; place a cutting board on top of it and weight it down with some canned foods. Allow sandwich to sit for 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Homemade pizza tastes so much better than the storebought variety. It’s also pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Just follow this simple video from the people behind Pizza Therapy.

Nothing beats freshly baked bread — but most of us shy away from the task of having to knead it. However, there is a new method that involves absolutely no kneading.

You get a loaf with a crispy crust and lots of holes in the inside. Definitely much better than the store bought variety but admittedly a little short of the traditional bread. Anyway — at least you didn’t have to sweat!