New Year’s Brioche

Hope everyone had a nice New Year’s eve and day. I went to bed before midnight (hey, I’m old), but we did enjoy the eve by watching the Poseidon Adventure. Peter has been wanting to watch that on NY’s eve for years, and I finally got it. It’s amazing how all the scenes came flooding back into my memory as we watched it.
So anyway, today I made some not-really-brioches-but-they’re-called-brioches brioches from the Cheese Board cookbook (I found it at the library! Score! And yay for public libraries!). I made the dough last night, and I had to do the yeast thing twice, because the first time I was not feeling very confident about the yeast activation. I wasn’t feeling very confident the second time, either, but I thought, eh, just go ahead. Well, I’m glad I did, because these little boogers are TASTY.

BRIOCHES (the cookbook says that these are really more like a yeasted cinnamon knot and have no relation to the French brioche)
Makes 12 brioches
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup golden raisins (OR you can substitute dried cranberries or hey, how about a combo? Mmmmm)
For the topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Put the cream and the buttermilk into a small saucepan and heat over low heat until little bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer). Let cool slightly until it is warm and add the yeast and whisk until dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Add the flour, butter, sugar, one egg, and salt to the bowl. If you’re using a stand mixer, use the paddle and mix for about 2 minutes on medium speed. Add flour by the tablespoonful if the dough is too liquidy. Change to the dough hook and knead on medium for about 7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add the raisins and knead until incorporated. If you’re brave and doing this by hand, mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon until combined, then turn out onto a floured board and knead for about 10 minutes. Knead in raisins.
Okay, so take the ball of dough and put it into a large oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and either refrigerate it overnight or let it rise for about an hour in a warm spot. If you choose to refrigerate it, let it sit at room temp for at least an hour before you start forming the brioches.
Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a wide, shallow bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and divide into 12 pieces. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Roll each piece into a 10″-long rope. Dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Form a loop (kind of looks like a breast cancer awareness ribbon). Take the bottom section and bring it up and through the hole. Then take both of the tails and kind of push them up the center to form kind of a knot. Place the brioches 2″ apart on the baking sheet. Cover with a lightly floured towel and allow to rise about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Which the remaning egg in a small bowl and brush the tops and sides of each brioche with the egg. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown (mine took about 25 minutes). Cool on a wire rack and ENJOY.