Brioche with cognac and poppy seeds
Ingredients:
500-600 g of white flour
7 g of dry yeast
3 eggs
150 g sugar
150 ml milk
½ teaspoon of natural vanilla extract
½ teaspoon of ground mahalep seeds
½ grated Tonka bean
30 ml of cognac
2-3 tablespoons of poppy seeds
½ teaspoon of salt
150 g of melted butter (or ghee)
Oil
Poppy seeds (at least 20 g)
Preparation:
In a deep bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar for 3 minutes. Then stir in 80 g of melted butter, the cognac and milk (warmed up). Finally, gradually incorporate the dry yeast, poppy seeds, the three flavors and the flour. Make a soft dough.
While still kneading, spoon over the remaining melted butter. Wait for the dough to absorb the previous spoonful of butter before adding a new one.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours in a warm place (rise and double its volume).
Knead the dough again, drizzling with oil. Shape it as you like, brush with egg yolk (diluted with milk) and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
Personally, I divide it into 3 parts that roll into 3 fat sausages. I coat each with poppy seeds (sprinkled on a sheet of baking paper) and using scissors, I cut the sausages like a rooster’s crest (along the top of the sausage and holding the scissors tilted at 120 degrees). Then I tilt one peak to the right, one to the left.
Transfer the brioche(s) to a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Let rise again in a warm place.
Bake the brioche(s) at 180°C until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack.
From this dose I make 3 large brioches weighing about 370 g each.