a fluffly brioche to start the day

Arriving in France when you love carbs means one thing: being blown away and drooling at every patisserie and boulangerie you pass. And trust me, you won’t have to go far to find one.

I still remember the joy of stepping into a boulangerie, secretly hoping for a bit of a queue so I could ogle the pastries, from bread to brioches, with the attention they deserved.

The more I looked at those brioches, the more unattainable they seemed. Soft, perfectly golden, some filled with chocolate chips, they smelled like home.

But that feeling didn’t last long. I’m a Gemini, supposedly the worst zodiac sign (obviously, I disagree), and I love a good challenge. Especially winning them. Why bring up zodiac signs? Because they’re part of that ‘it’s not true, but I believe it’ thing, and I’ve always been told Geminis are super determined. True, in my case. Coincidence? Absolutely.

Thanks to my determination and a curiosity I’d call primal, I dove into this world made not just of flour, yeast, and tears, but also eggs, butter, milk or water, sugar, and a pinch of salt. The order you mix these ingredients matters, as does their temperature and the environment you work in. For me, there’s also the heart you put into what you do, and I poured a lot into these brioches.

I lost count of the failed attempts, always kneading by hand because I didn’t have a mixer, all crowned by an oven that never wanted to cooperate. But my memory brings back those scents of citrus and vanilla, the warmth of a freshly baked brioche filling the house. But for me, happiness had already peaked: I love making these brioches.

Over time, I discovered other techniques to make them softer, like tangzhong. It’s a mix of milk or water and flour that’s cooked and cooled before adding to the dough. This technique has Japanese roots, and I stumbled upon it almost by accident in the hundreds of videos I watched to learn new skills. Love at first sight, or rather, first bite.

Now, when I enter a boulangerie, I still hope for a queue, but I look at the brioches knowing I can make them too.

Merci la France, le pays où j’ai laissé mon cœur. À bientôt, j’espère.