First let me explain. I have a new book (thanks to a Christmas gift card) entitled “French Boulangerie: Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts”. Written by chefs at Ferrandi Paris, it “delves into the world of breads and viennoiserie”. It is chock full of classic techniques for creating breads, laminated pastries and so much more.

One of my projects was a laminated brioche loaf that didn’t turn out as expected. Hence the question - now what?? I certainly didn’t want to waste the end result since it did have a lovely flaky texture and buttery flavor (I used Kerry Gold for this one).

I’m not going to bore you with all the sordid details, but I had adjusted the recipe by portioning the finished dough to fit my longer, narrower loaf pan. The rolling and shaping process was interesting - cutting the rolled out dough into two lengths that were then folded again lengthwise and squiggled up to go into the pan.

After the rise it looked like some sort puffy smooshed monster. I was having serious doubts about this.

But . . . . . there may be hope! In spite of its unattractive appearance, once baked and out of the pan, the exterior layers were flaky and tasty!

It was the sunken center that got me down.

Time to regroup! My thoughts turned to Bostock which I think of as the brioche version of almond croissants. It’s typically made using leftover brioche which is sliced, imbibed with simple syrup, topped with almond cream, maybe some jam or fruit, sliced almonds and baked. That’s it!

I proceeded to divide my odd loaf in half - one half cut into cubes for my mini version of Bostock and the other half smaller chunks that would become bread pudding (another favorite!)

For the Bostock: toast the cubes in a 325º oven for 10-15 minutes to dry them out a bit. They can better absorb the simple syrup dunking that comes next. Once dunked, set them on a wire grid over a sheet pan to drip a little.

Now pipe a swirl of almond cream, add a center dollop of jam (cherry-raspberry here) and some crushed sliced almonds on top.

Bake at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes until the almond cream is set and edges golden.

Once cooled, give ‘em a light dusting of confectioners sugar, just because. Enjoy as is with your morning coffee or afternoon tea. They keep in a covered container in the fridge for several days and do enjoy a 10 second or so refreshing warm up in the microwave.

Next up - bread pudding! I’ve made various iterations of this luscious treat over the years, usually to use up left over croissants, brioche or other enriched bread.

As is true of so many things in the baking and pastry world, the base custard varies from recipe to recipe - could be all cream, half cream/half whole milk, less sugar/more sugar, whole eggs vs yolks or a blend of whole and yolks. You get the picture.

I’ve developed a general ratio for a tasty mixture. Here’s a good base recipe for a chocolate almond version I decided on.

Many recipes call for about a pound of bread cubes. I had ~1/2 pound of brioche to work with so I chose a 8”x8” square ceramic baking dish rather then a larger 2 quart 9”x13” one and halved the base recipe.

For this half custard recipe I used 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup whole milk, 40 g granulated sugar and 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk. Heat dairy and sugar on the stovetop to dissolve the sugar. Have eggs/yolk in a separate bowl. Temper the warm dairy mixture into the eggs, whisk in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract then strain into a pitcher or bowl. If not using right away, refrigerate it up to overnight - just whisk it back together when ready to use it.

Butter the casserole and layer 113 g / 4 ounces coarsely chopped chocolate in the bottom. Top with bread pieces then dollop on blobs of almond cream (around 3-4 ounces total for this half recipe), tucking in between and over the brioche cubes.

Pour the custard over everything, letting it settle into the nooks and crannies. Place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Push the bread cubes down every now and then to keep things well soaked.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350ºF. Have an empty larger casserole dish ready, into which you can place your bread pudding dish. Fill the larger casserole with hot water about half way up the sides.

Remove the plastic wrap and generously sprinkle raw sugar over the surface.

**Sugar sprinkled and ready for the oven**

Place carefully into the oven and bake about one hour. Look for puffing, lovely golden color and the custard set.

Lift out of the water bath and place on a wire grid to cool a bit.

Oh so delicious! Served warm (and I admit a bit over the top with butter pecan ice cream, oat crumble and caramel drizzle), Steve and I were in heaven. We shared some with our neighbor Sandy and refrigerated the leftovers which keep well for several days.

And yes, we freely admit to savoring additional portions warmed from the fridge for a lovely winter treat.

Wishing all of you a belated Valentine’s day. Be safe out there.

Sometimes I’m amazed at the baking adventures that I HAVEN’T written about. You would think that with my penchant for French-y type bakes, quiche would be at the top of my list.

I’ve made quiche a number of times and have enjoyed some delicious versions in various eateries both locally and on our European travels over the years. Let’s do it!

Some months ago I was tasked with making two quiches for my friend Kim down the road. I decided on a classic Lorraine type version with bacon and Gruyère and a broccoli/cheddar/caramelized onion number. The latter is what I’m highlighting here.

You know how I’m always going on about planning ahead for your baking projects. Well this is one great plan ahead-er. Blind bake your crust and hold it in the freezer for a day or two until you’re ready to fill and bake; make the custard base a day ahead and hold in the fridge; prep filling additions too, like blanching veggies, grating cheese, caramelizing onions. It makes it all so much smoother.

NOTE: I always blind bake the crust for quiche. Nothing is more disappointing than cutting into a piece of quiche and finding a soggy and nearly raw or barely baked bottom. Not cool!

I prefer using my standard pâte brisée for the crust. If you’d like a refresher tutorial on that, check this post out. For savory applications like this, the crust is especially tasty when you sub in spelt and rye flours for some of the all purpose.

As many of you know, I’m a recipe comparer and often take tidbits from similar recipes to make my own version. The base custard filling is one of those, being an amalgam of a quiche recipe in the October, 2018 issue of Saveur and one from the book “Tartine” by Robertson and Prueitt. The one thing that makes it different is the addition of flour to the traditional milk/cream/egg in classic quiche recipes. It enhances the texture, making it more velvet-y.

Here’s my full recipe PDF for quiche Lorraine, including pâte brisée and steps for its preparation as well this broccoli/cheddar filling option + one more.

My blind baked crust is ready (using a deep fluted 9” tart pan as seen above). I blanched a cup of broccoli florets, grated 113 g / 4 ounces cheddar (I like Cabot’s seriously sharp cheddar) and caramelized a pound of sweet onions.

If you’ve made your custard ahead, just re-whisk it before pouring it in. It’s made with one cup whole milk, one cup heavy cream, 4 large eggs + one large yolk, 4 tablespoons all purpose flour, a teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, a tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme (or herbs of choice) and a few grates of fresh nutmeg.

Heat your oven to 375ºF. Place your already blind baked crust on a parchment lined sheet pan. Distribute your filling additions evenly over the bottom.

Carefully pour your custard in, letting it settle into the crevices as you go. Fill to just below the rim. Keep any filling you might have left.

Carefully place the panned up quiche into your heated oven and bake 10-15 minutes. Now, if you have leftover filling, poke a hole in the center of the quiche with a paring knife and slowly pour in the remaining custard. Reduce oven temp to 325ºF and continue to bake an additional 35-40 minutes.

The center should feel firm - look for puffing, light browning and the filling set.

Let cool on a wire rack 20-30 minutes to allow the custard to set up before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Since I was making this for someone else, I decided to make a second one for Steve and myself - gotta test the product, don’t ya know.

We enjoyed a slice with a green salad and glass of red. Delicious!

Leftovers keep in the fridge over 2-3 days. Just warm up in a 325º oven for 15 minutes or so. Next day’s breakfast, brunch or lunch here we come!

Create your own favorite combo of goodies for your next quiche and enjoy!

It’s February! What are you making for Valentine’s Day?? Have fun!

Baking with the French Tarte

Baking with the French Tarte

What's new in the French Tarte's kitchen

Baking with the French Tarte

Mini Bostock and chocolate almond bread pudding (what to do with brioche that didn't turn out the way you thought it would!)

Quiche

Baking with the French Tarte