I've always loved walking into bakeries just to take a deeep deep breath of the smell of freshly baked bread. Sometimes I end up just walking through bakeries to feel better, particularly when it's been a crazy day. I am sure that some must think I'm crazy...well. Some people look at clouds, I look at freshly baked bread. In particular brioche, which originates from Normandy (France). Being highly enriched with egg and butter, it is not a bread that the poor could easily afford and could have been linked to the quote "Let them eat cake" as its history below shows.

I was often scared of making bread as I could not wait for the bread to rise and previous attempts had resulted in hard lumps of flour that were unbearable to eat. This brilliant recipe by the good chefs of Raffles Culinary Academy rises in 20 minutes and bakes in 15. Absolutely fabulous!!!

Ingredients: (makes 33 little brioche)

250g flour
150g eggs
7g dry yeast
6g salt
30g sugar
1 egg yolk
220g butter
1 packet of mixed fruit or raisins

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

1. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the yeast, sugar, and salt. Gradually add the flour, warm milk, and eggs into the flour mixture. Bring it together into a ball and

2. Knead the butter and raisins into the dough until the dough is smooth. Divide into small balls and set aside to rise (at least 20mins).

3. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until it is golden brown.

4. Enjoy hot from the oven with clotted cream, strawberry jam, lots of butter, anything you fancy really :)

About Brioche (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brioche)

The word brioche first appeared in print in 1404, and this bread is believed to have sprung from a traditional Norman recipe. It is argued that brioche is probably of a Roman origin, since a very similar sort of sweet holiday bread is made in Romania ("sărălie"). The cooking method and tradition of using it during big holidays resembles the culture surrounding the brioche so much that it is difficult to doubt same origin of both foods.

Despite its French origin, in France itself the brioche is included in the category of viennoiserie (breads supposedly in the style of Vienna in Austria), which are made in the same basic way as bread, but which have added ingredients (any of the following: eggs, butter, milk, sugar, cream) that give it a richer and/or sweeter character approaching that of pastries. This sub-group of viennoiserie also includes pain au lait and pain aux raisins; they are commonly eaten at breakfast or for snacks.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in his autobiography Confessions (published posthumously in 1782, but completed in 1769), relates that "a great princess" is said to have advised, with regard to peasants who had no bread, "Qu’ils mangent de la brioche", commonly translated as "Let them eat cake". This saying is commonly mis-attributed to Queen Marie-Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI; one writer also speculated that he may have actually been referring to Maria Theresa of Spain, the wife of Louis XIV. The meaning and intent of the statement is also debated due to its historical context.

Regardless, brioche is largely enjoyed today at with fruits or chocolate chips and served as a pastry or as the basis of a dessert, with many local variations in added ingredients, fillings and toppings. Less rich versions are also used with savoury preparations, particularly stuffed with foie gras; and it is sometimes used in other meat dishes.