The Chocolate Chip Brioche From Our Culinary Tours

In the last few months you have not stopped surprising us, thousands of people contact us to book a culinary tour and every week we meet dozens of amazing people who make us very happy. This period of the Covid was not only economically challenging, but especially mentally. We are used to being every day with our lovely visitors and disconnecting from them was not easy.

During this time we invented the virtual tours that have become a must-see event in thousands of homes around the world, we also made them for companies and organizations, we developed the recipes section on the blog and of course we continued to explore the French sweet world.

Today, when the sky is open, we meet you every day on the city streets. Some of you come for tours and spend a few hours with us, some of you stop us on the street and thank us for moments of happiness in a difficult time and every such meeting fills us with good energies. It’s never taken for granted and it’s always exciting to know that we can reach so many people and give them moments of happiness.

Our tours are private tours designed for people from all over the world who are interested in getting to know this sweet world and experiencing the city from a different angle. Culture, history, culinary and a deep understanding of French philosophy of life from the culinary angle. Some people come for one tour, others come for two or three, and there are those who on every visit to Paris take a tour with us, each time in a different area.

On some of the tours our visitors taste a unique brioche whose exact name is Cramique. The Cramique comes from Belgium and the north of France from the city of Lille and is very dangerous because it’s impossible to stop eating it. After many requests from our visitors, I decided to try and make it at home. So true, we don’t have an industrial stove with a chimney and steam, but the result I got is pretty close and it will totally take you to Paris.

The Chocolate Chip Brioche From Our Culinary Tours
2 large brioches

Ingredients
20g fresh yeast
100g whole milk
100g + 400g all-purpose flour
190g eggs (3 big eggs)
50g sugar
6g salt
200g butter, softened, cubed
200g dark chocolate chips

Egg wash: 1 egg + 2 tbsp of milk, whisked together

Preparation
1. Place yeast, milk and 100g flour in a large mixer bowl. Gently mix until a kind of very sticky dough is obtained. Place the rest of the flour (400g) on the mixture, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature.
2. Add eggs, sugar and salt. Make sure the yeasts don’t touch the sugar and salt. With the dough hook attachment, knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes at a slow/medium speed.
3. Add the butter in increments and keep kneading for about 10-12 minutes. Make sure to stop the mixer to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl if needed. The dough should be very soft and tacky to the touch. knead the dough until you have reached this consistency.
4. Remove the dough from the mixer and shape into a ball. Place in a lightly floured bowl and cover with kitchen towel to prevent dehydration. Place in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press down gently to deflate the dough with your hands. Pour the chocolate chips over the dough and continue to knead by hand, until the chocolate chips are well combined in the dough.
6. Divide into 2 big units of equal size. Tighten the dough into balls with a smooth surface (using the edges of your palms). Place the dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm and humid place to rise for about 1.5 hours, until the dough doubles in volume.
7. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
8. Brush the surface well with an egg wash, and using scissors cut grooves that form a kind of dome on top of the brioche (see photo).
9. Bake for about 25 minutes until the brioche is golden. Remove from the oven, cool slightly and enjoy.
*It’s recommended to eat warm and fresh.

 

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Bon-Appétit
Sharon