Description
A rustic olive oil brioche ring flavored with orange peel and fennel, made with an overnight poolish and a same-day dough. Adapted from Patricia Wells’ At Home in Provence via the Bread Baking Babes.
Equipment needed: Stand mixer, 11-inch couronne proofing basket, oven-safe ramekin, baking sheet, baking steel, lame, instant-read thermometer.
Sample schedule: poolish at 9:30 pm, mix at 9:00 am, bake around 2:00 pm.
Ingredients
Poolish
50g white whole wheat flour (about 6 Tbsp)
75g unbleached all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp)
125g water (1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tsp)
Pinch of instant yeast (about 1/16 tsp)
Dough
All of the poolish
375g unbleached all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
30g sugar (2 1/2 Tbsp)
Grated zest (orange peel) of one orange, preferably organic (I used 1 1/2 tsp dried orange peel)
Grated zest (lemon peel) of one lemon, preferably organic
1/2–1 tsp whole fennel seed, toasted and crushed
100g water (about 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 Tbsp)
2 large eggs
1/2 to 3/4 tsp instant yeast
48g mild, fruity extra-virgin olive oil (3 1/2 Tbsp)
10g fine sea salt (about 1 3/4 tsp) + 10g water (2 tsp)
Instructions
Make the poolish: The night before, mix the flours, water, and yeast. Cover and leave at room temperature for 11 to 14 hours, until bubbly and just starting to sink.
Mix: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the water, eggs, sugar, orange peel, fennel, and poolish. Add the flour and yeast and mix on low with the dough hook until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Add salt: Sprinkle the salt and 10g water over the dough. Mix on medium speed until smooth and starting to pull from the sides of the bowl.
Add oil: With the mixer on low, drizzle in the olive oil a little at a time. Mix until the dough is glossy and smooth.
Bulk ferment: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. After 30 minutes, do a set of stretch and folds, and do a second set 30 minutes later. The dough will be sticky at first, and it gets smoother with each set. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, then do a third set of stretch and folds. Let it rest at room temperature for about 30 more minutes, until puffy. Total bulk time is about 2½ hours.
Preshape and shape: Shape the dough into a round and rest it 10 minutes. Make a hole in the center and gently widen it into a ring. Place it seam side up in a well-floured 11-inch couronne proofing basket.
Proof: Cover and proof about 1¼ to 1½ hours, until puffy and springing back slowly when pressed. About 30 minutes into the proof, preheat the oven to 400°F with a baking steel on the center rack.
Score: Turn the ring out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place an oiled, oven-safe ramekin in the center. Dust with flour and make four long slashes, evenly spaced, with a straight-blade lame.
Bake: Set the baking sheet on the preheated steel. Bake 15 minutes, rotate, and bake about 10 more minutes, until nicely browned and the internal temperature reaches about 208°F.
Cool: Let the ring cool completely on a rack, uncovered. Remove the ramekin once it’s cool.
Notes
Use ¾ tsp yeast for a shorter proof and ½ tsp for a longer, more relaxed schedule.
Coil folds work well in place of the stretch and folds. They’re gentler on this sticky, enriched dough.
For more fennel flavor, lightly toast the seeds in a dry skillet and crush them before adding.
A mild, fruity olive oil gives the best flavor. Peppery oils can taste bitter in this bread.
To make it with sourdough, replace the poolish with an overnight leavener of 50g white whole wheat flour, 75g all-purpose flour, 125g water, and 15–20g active starter. Use it at its peak, keep the instant yeast, and skip any cold ferment.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes (hands-on mixing, folding and shaping)
- Poolish | Rise Time: 12 hours | 4 hours (bulk ferment plus final proof)
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Holiday Bread
- Method: Poolish
- Cuisine: Provençal