French brioche with wheat sourdough

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 500 g spaetzle flour
• 7 g salt
• 100 g sugar, finest
• 2 eggs
• 170 ml milk, lukewarm
• 7 g yeast, fresh
• 100 g wheat sourdough
• 2 tbsp rum, 40%
• 150 g butter, soft, in pieces
• 1 egg(s), whisked with a little water, for brushing

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Rest time approx. 23 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 5 minutes

Mix the spaetzle flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Measure the volume of two beaten eggs (approx. 100 ml). Mix the lukewarm milk (adjust the amount accordingly for larger or smaller eggs) and the fresh yeast with a hand mixer. Knead the sourdough, the two eggs, the yeast milk, and the rum into the flour, sugar, and salt mixture. Knead until a smooth dough forms. Then gradually knead in the softened butter in small pieces. Don’t be alarmed; the dough will be extremely soft. Once the dough is nice and smooth, cover the bowl and refrigerate for 20 hours. The next day, butter a 30 cm bread pan. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into three equal parts—it will be quite firm by now. Quickly, or it will be too soft to shape. Form three equal-length dough balls and braid them into a plait in the bread pan. Let it rise, covered, for 3-6 hours at room temperature; the dough will rise well. Whisk 1 egg with a little water and brush it over the dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (top and bottom heat) for 35-40 minutes. This brioche is very tender and aromatic – it’s very close to the original from the Vendée region. It tastes great with butter and jam or honey. Tip: Instead of rum, you can also use fruit brandy or orange blossom water.