TWD: Brioche Raisin Snails

After my success last week with the Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie Cake, I was excited for this week's challenge. Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody chose Brioche raisin snails for us to tackle and I must admit...I was a little scared. I'd never made Brioche before or bread for that matter. And to top it off...I don't own a stand mixer. This recipe required a lot of mixing and beating which was going to make it tough for those of us without KA or the like.

But...if those ladies could do it before the days of electricity and stand mixers could flex their muscles and beat that buttery, rich dough into submission, surely I can too! Ha! Yeah right. That's what I thought at first. Me? Little ol' scrawny, wimpy armed me. I seriously doubted my ability to conquer the dough (way to state the obvious now Heather). However...the lure of the Brioche Raisin Snails was stronger than my ability to psyche myself out.

To try and save time, I thought I would make the pastry cream on Thursday night so I could spend Friday after work on the Brioche since I knew it was going to take me awhile ;). Yeah, I screwed the first batch of the pastry cream. I followed the directions and whisked and whisked and whisked so there would be no eggyness at the bottom. And there was none. No...Heather scorched the milk. The saucepan I used to heat the milk wasn't even burned (or browned) so I didn't realize it until I added it to the egg mixture. What an idiot. I had to throw it out because it was nasty, nasty, nasty. My next batch turned out much better. Mainly because I got the egg mixture ready BEFORE I started heating the milk. I could have just eaten the pasty cream, it was delicious! Well, the good batch anyway.

So Friday night I was huffing and puffing my way through the Brioche recipe. You know...it really wasn't so bad. Sure it took some extra time and muscle to get it done. Sure my arms were tired when I was done. Oh fricken' well. After the dough rises the first time and in the fridge (mine seriously kept rising, I didn't think it would stop), it was a snap to finish up the snails.



I used dried cranberries instead of raisins and I had to use rum extract because silly me forgot that my town is dry (well, at my part of the area is). It took me a few minutes of wandering around the grocery store before I figured it out. Because I am not a big drinker, I just used rum extract so I wouldn't be left with a bottle of booze later. No flambe for me though.



My cut snails puffed up but my dough seemed to be really soft. I don't think they puffed as much as they should have. Oh! The trick for cutting them using dental floss was genius! It was a clean cut and very easy to do with the soft dough. After they baked, I managed to wait ten minutes before I just had to try one. yum! Here's a picture of them pre-glazed.



I couldn't resist and I added the glaze. The glaze was sweet but I think it definitely worked with the Brioche and the rum of the cranberries.



OMG! These things were delicious! I only made half of a recipe (the rest is in my freezer for later) and two days later, they are gone! I wish I had made the whole batch but considering how quickly I had the ones I did make...I'm glad I didn't. My waist line couldn't take it! I also froze the rest of the Brioche dough so there will definitely be more in the future. Maybe next time I'll share. eh...maybe not. ;)

Come back next week for Carmel Topped Flan as picked by Steph of A Wisk and a Spoon. yum!!! This one looks so good too!

Brioche Raisin Snails

From Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

1 cup moist, plump raisins ( I used dried cranberries)
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 recipe for Golden Brioche Loaves(page 48), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating overnight)
1/2 recipe Pastry Cream (page 448)

For The Optional Glaze
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
About 1 teaspoon water
Drop of pure vanilla extract

Getting Ready: Line one large or two smaller baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Put the raisins in a small saucepan, cover them with hot water and let them steep for about 4 minutes, until they are plumped. Drain the raisins, return them to the saucepan and, stirring constantly, warm them over low heat. When the raisins are very hot, pull the pan from the heat and pour over the rum. Standing back, ignite the rum. Stair until the flames go out, then cover and set aside. (The raisins and rum an be kept in a covered jar for up to 1 day.)
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.
On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long, with a short end toward you. Spread the pastry cream across the dough, leaving 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Scatter the raisins over the pastry cream and sprinkle the raisins and cream with the cinnamon sugar. Starting wit the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it up to 2 months; see Storing for further instructions. Or, if you do not want to make the full recipe, use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder.)
With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends if they're ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into rounds a scant 1 inch thick. Put the snails on the lined baking sheet(s), leaving some puff space between them.
Lightly cover the snails with wax paper and set the baking sheet(s) in a warm place until the snails have doubles in volume--they'll be puffy and soft--about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Getting Ready To Bake: When the snails have almost fully risen, preheat the oven: depending on the number of baking sheets you have, either center a rack in the oven or position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the wax paper, and bake the snails for about 25 minutes (rotate the sheets if you're using two, from top to bottom and front to back after 15 minutes), or until they are puffed and richly browned. Using a metal spatula, transfer the snails onto a cooling rack.

If You Want To Glaze The Snails: Put a piece of wax paper under the rack of warm rolls to act as a drip catcher. Put the confectioners' sugar into a small bowl, and stir in a teaspoon of water. Keep adding water drop by drop until you have an icing that falls from the tip of a spoon. Add the vanilla extract, then drizzle the icing over the hot snails.

Golden Brioche Loaves

2 packets active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 3/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

For The Glaze
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.
Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.
Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)

Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.
Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.


Pastry Cream

2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk-- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are full incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold or, if you want to cool it quickly--as I always do--put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.