Homemade Brioche Bread, Apples, and Salted Caramel!

Hello everyone and welcome to another new episode of Nikoli's Kitchen! In this week's episode I'll spend some time talking about accountability and trusting ourselves when we fall off that horse to get back on it. I'm also breaking down an entire weekend's worth of meals from Valentine's Day weekend with Rebecca! I hope that you had an amazing weekend whether you celebrated with a loved one, a friend, or alone. Just remember that you are amazing. Thank you so much for going on this journey with me.

Recipes mentioned in this episode- 
Enriched Brioche Bread: https://emmaduckworthbakes.co.uk/how-to-make-enriched-brioche-dough/
Salted Caramel: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-salted-caramel-recipe/

 

Featured Recipe Timecodes

19:00 - Introduction
20:36 - Steamed Clams
23:48 - Herbed Butter Salmon (for more information on this recipe check out Episode 04)
25:40 - Homemade Brioche Bread
35:39 - Brioche French Toast
37:25 - Homemade Apple Compote/Apple Reduction
38:52 - Homemade Salted Caramel

 

Featured Recipes for this Episode

Steamed Clams

2 lemons, zested- slice one and juice the other
1/2 stick butter
2 c white wine
1 c scallions, chopped
3 bulbs of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
Salt
Pepper
30 littleneck clams, scrubbed and rinsed

Clean your clams ahead of time with a soft brush, discarding any that are cracked or open.
Place clams in the sink and add 1 T of red and black pepper; this will encourage the clams to expel any sand that may be inside of them.
Add butter to a large high-walled skillet and melt it over medium heat.
Add scallions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes.
Add your clams, lemon juice, lemon slices, and white wine to the pan. Add salt and pepper to season and steam, covered, for 7-10 minutes or until all of the clams have opened. Discard any clams that did not open as they are not safe to eat.

 

Homemade Brioche Bread 

Recipe converted from Emma Duckworth Bakes at https://emmaduckworthbakes.co.uk/how-to-make-enriched-brioche-dough/.

2 1/2 t active dry yeast
3/4 c whole milk, luke-warm
1/2 c caster sugar
2 c bread flour
1-1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 t salt
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 t vanilla extract
10 T unsalted butter at room temperature, cubed
2 T unsalted butter (to grease the pan)

Add 1 T of sugar and your yeast to the milk, stirring until combined and leave it aside to proof, 5-10 minutes. It should get nice a foamy.
Add your flours, the rest of your sugar, and salt into a large bowl, reserving out 1/4 c of the flour to add later if necessary.
Once foamed, add your yeast mixture, eggs, and vanilla extract to the bowl and mix to combine, working the dough for 3-5 minutes until well mixed. 
Begin adding in your butter a few tablespoons at a time and work it into the dough until well-combined.
Once all of your butter is in and combined into the dough, add flour from the 1/4 c reserved as needed to make the dough workable (mine was a sticky buttery mess, but I don't have a stand mixer as Emma's original recipe calls for). 
Knead the dough for 7-10 minutes.
Grease the bowl.
Fold the corners of the dough up underneath it and place in your greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Lightly flour your countertop. Grease the loaf pan with the extra 2 T of butter.
Punch down the center of the dough and turn it out onto the counter.
Form it into a rectangle with your hands, and make sure it is relatively uniform in thickness.
Slice it into five equal long rectangles (slices should be parallel to the short side). Make sure they are equal in size and thickness.
Roll each of these out until they are thinner and roll them up, placing the rolls side-by-side in the loaf pan.
Loosely cover with plastic wrap until the rolls again double in size, about 45-60 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 350°.
Bake uncovered on the center rack for 30-35 minutes. Keep a sheet of foil ready and keep an eye on the loaf, as you may want to cover it with foil to prevent the top from over-browning. 
Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes in your loaf pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

 

Homemade Apple Compote

3 lbs Honeycrisp apples
1/4 c sugar
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1/2 cinnamon stick
1/2 c white wine

Peel and core your apples. 
Slice your apple segments from your corer in half lengthwise (you want 16 slices per apple).
Add the apples, sugar, nutmet, cinnamon, stick, and white wine into a saucepan.
Turn the heat to mid and bring to a boil.
Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the apples have softened but still retain their shape.  

 

Salted Caramel Recipe adapted from https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-salted-caramel-recipe/.

3/4 c white sugar
1/4 c dark brown sugar
6 T unsalted butter
1 T coarse sea salt
1/2 c heavy cream

Add white and brown sugars to a saucepan at medium heat.
DO NOT stop stirring. Just keep stirring this and the sugar will begin to melt. If you stop stirring it, you risk your sugar burning.
Once all the sugar is melted, add your butter. Keep stirring and cook this for one minute. Be careful for splashing/splatter as the caramel will bubble violently.
Remove from the heat and slowly add your heavy cream, stirring as you add it. Be careful for splashing/splatter as the caramel will bubble violently.
Return to heat and cook for one minute.
Remove from the heat and sprinkle in your sea salt.

 

Brioche French Toast

4 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon
2 T Heavy Cream
2 T whole milk
6 slices brioche bread

Add all ingredients but the bread into a large bowl and mix together until well-incorporated.
Soak each slice of bread for at LEAST a minute. I soaked each slice, then placed them on a platter and poured the egg mixture over them, then let the platter sit for an additional five minutes. Because the homemade brioche is quite dense you need to give it time to absorb the egg.
Cook on an electric hotplate at 350 for a couple minutes per side or in a skillet on the stove at mid to mid-mid-high heat, flipping once to brown on both sides.
Serve with apples and caramel over the top.

 

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Guest Appearances

I had the pleasure of guesting on Two Peas on a Podcast recently to talk about Holiday Foods! Please check it and Gerald out at https://twopeasonpodcast.podbean.com/e/top-5-holiday-foods-134/.

Check me out on Netflix 'n Swill with Dan and Caleb talking about David Fincher's Mank! https://www.netflixnswill.com/nnspodcast/226

Tune in to December 2020's Rabbit Ears TV Podcast with Ashlee and Shawn Ennis as we talk about our love of Parks & Rec! https://www.netflixnswill.com/rabbitears/2020/12/24/parks-and-recreation

 

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