Twice-baked Brioche, a.k.a. Bostock

This version of bostock, a Nancy Silverton's recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking with Julia, is made from brioche bread soaked in an orange syrup, spread with almond cream and topped with sliced almonds. See similar bakes this week at Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD). It is then baked the second time. The end result is a pastry with amazing textural contrast: a buttery, flavorful and moist interior and a crunchy exterior.

I've never twice baked brioche bread before this. Brioche is one of my favorite breads; there is never enough leftover brioche to make the bostock. I'm a believer now, after the first bite into the bostock. It tastes like a cross between a frangipane croissant and a softer biscotti. It is a perfect pastry to enjoy with a cup of latte or tea. I would certainly consider making the brioche dough, just for the purpose of making this splendid bostock.

First, bake the brioche bread

I had extra brioche dough in the freezer from making the brioche tart two weeks ago. The dough was defrosted in the refrigerator overnight. All that's left to do is to make the orange syrup and the almond cream. I have all the ingredients, except the almond paste. Almond paste is blend of ground almonds, confectioner's sugar and corn syrup. I thought about making the paste from scratch, but succumbed to the expedience of picking up an 8-oz. box at the store, the exact amount needed.

To make the orange syrup, combine 1/2 C of sugar, 1 C of water and 1/2 C of orange juice in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil. I left out the vanilla bean since we're making a relatively small batch of syrup.

The almond cream is a mixture of butter, almond paste, almond meal, eggs, flour and almond extract. I made a full batch in the stand-mixer with a paddle attachment. I ended up with a lot of left-over cream. Even half of the almond cream recipe would have been enough to make about one-pound of bostock.

I did not include the dry sour cherries, called for in this recipe; I did not have any on hand.

I do not have mini-loaf pans measuring 4 inches by 2 inches each. Instead, I used a standard size loaf pan. The first and second bake took me longer than expected. I wanted the brioche to take on some color. It took me about 30 minutes and 25 minutes, respectively, in a 325°F oven.

Next, bake bioche slices, soaked with syrup and topped with cream and almonds

Soft and moist inside, crunchy outside

There is no brioche dough left and I wish I do. I have plenty of syrup and cream to make another batch of bostock. I have another trick. A super quick aerated brioche recipe comes to mind. It takes only minutes to make the brioche. First bake took place in the microwave. Oven baked it (the traditional way) again and was a big success. See the next post.

1-minute microwave brioche