Sour Cherry and Pepita Brioche, by Chef Paola Velez with Food & Wine Magazine
Channel: Le Creuset
Date: 2022-05-05

Pastry chef Paola Velez knows a thing or two about baking. Keeping her nostalgic baking style in mind, she’s able to create exquisite dishes due in part to the power of her Le Creuset bread oven. Here's her recipe for Sour Cherry and Pepita Brioche, in partnership with Food & Wine:

Learn More: https://bit.ly/3LF3sfc 
Bread Oven in Agave: https://bit.ly/3KKirn4

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk, warmed to about 9°F
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
¼ tsp wildflower honey
2½ teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
2 ⅓ cups (about 326g) all-purpose flour, or more
1 cup (100g) spelt flour
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 large eggs
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 14 pieces and softened, plus more for greasing the pan
½ cup chopped pepitas—divided
1 cup chopped dried sour cherries

Directions:
1. In the bowl of your stand mixer using a dough hook, stir together the warmed milk, sugar, honey, and yeast. Let stand until frothy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, nutmeg and salt; beat on medium-low speed until the flour is mostly incorporated, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Before adding your eggs add half of the pepitas, and all the sour cherries to your dough. Mix until incorporated. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat until the dough forms a slightly sticky ball, adding more flour a tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, about 2 minutes. Add the softened butter; increase the speed to medium and beat until dough is smooth, elastic and no longer clings to the sides of the bowl, about 8 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm, draft-free place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 375°F; line your Le Creuset Bread Oven with parchment paper and lightly butter your parchment. Punch down dough in bowl; remove from bowl and gently shape into a smooth circle/dome. Place the shaped dough in the bread oven cover with the bread oven lid and cover with a clean dish towel. Set aside in a warm place and let rise until doubled in size, 20 to 30 minutes.

3. After your second proof, gently egg wash your brioche and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of chopped pepitas and a sprinkle of flakey sea salt. Bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the cake reads 190°F to 200°F, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool brioche completely before slicing.

Optional: Mix together ½ cup of dulce de leche, a pinch of kosher salt and 2 sticks of softened butter to make a dulce de leche spread. Mix by hand until smooth store in the fridge and soften before use.