French Gâche

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 550 g flour, type 405
• 110 g sugar
• 1 packet of dry yeast or the equivalent amount of fresh yeast
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 125 g milk
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• 110 g butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla, ground or the pulp of a vanilla pod or
• 5 g vanilla essence, instead of ground vanilla
• 5 g flavoring (orange blossom water)
• 10 g brown rum

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 15 hours; Total time approx. 15 hours 30 minutes

Gâche vendéenne – yeast pastry specialty from the Vendée department

Since the bread dough needs a long rise, I prepare it in the evening, cover the bowl, and refrigerate it overnight. Mix together the flour, sugar, dried yeast, and salt. Add the crème fraîche, eggs, butter, and milk, and knead everything into a dough. Place the dough in a bowl, let it rise at room temperature for 1 hour, and then cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, remove the bowl and let the now-firm dough come to room temperature for about 1 hour. Knead the dough thoroughly, divide it into 2 portions, and form 2 long loaves. Brush with milk and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Let the dough pieces rise for another 3-4 hours; they should have roughly doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 180°C, brush the loaves with milk again, and score them lengthwise. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the crumb is golden brown. In the original version, the breads are flavored with vanilla, orange blossom water and rum.