We are getting close to Epiphany, one of my favorite feast as it’s the occasion of many interesting cakes!

I am not going back to work until monday so i had time today to make a brioche. Two birds with one stone, it’s my wife’s birthday.

Ingredients

• 500g bread flour ( a little over 3 cups)
• 125 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100 ml milk (about 3 fl. oz.)
• pinch of salt
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 tbsp orange flower water
• 2 tsp dried yeast

for decoration:

• candied fruits
• icing sugar

You can do it by hand or in the bread machine. i used the bread machine on dough program (90 minutes). Put the liquid first, then the dried ingredients, making sure the salt and the yeast are not touching. If doing by hand knead well and let it rest. You can put it in a bowl in a cooler with a tupperware of warm water next to it.

After it has risen for an hour or two, punch it down, add chopped candied fruits, knead it a bit.

Butter a kugglehopf mold and sprinkle it with almond slivers. i also threw in a heat bar. it’s not in the original recipe but it works well.

Flour the dough a bit, shape it as a flat disk, make a hole in the center of the disk and make the hole larger. put the dough in the mold, and let it rise in a warm place for a good hour. it should raise near or above the level of the mold. brush the dough with milk and cook it in the oven a 375 for about 20 minutes.

when reading, get it out of the oven, let it cool a few minutes. slide a knife around the edges to unstick it then unmold it.

Sprinkle with icing sugar, place large pieces of candied fruit on the rim, you can glaze it with a brush dipped in icing sugar and a teaspoon of water.