Pompe à l’huile – Olive oil brioche

I am always on a look out for a good no dairy/no egg bake recipes that can be served during Nativity Fast in December, and also for St. Nicholas, our family Slava. Over time the recipe list is slowly growing longer, providing for a variety of choices among salads, main course dishes and desserts. When it comes to bread selection that is pretty standard as I always like to bake one of my favorite sourdough recipes.

This year I added a new recipe to the list; an olive oil brioche! I love enriched doughs, but they are as a rule based on butter and egg as  core ingredients. This was a surprise to find an oil based sourdough brioche recipe. The recipe is as basic as they get, bear bones ingredients, almost makes you feel like something is missing. However, once you take a bite all doubts are dispelled and you understand what is special about it and why it endured the test of time.

It is called Pompe à l’huile or Olive oil brioche. The recipe originates from Provence in South-East France and the first records of the recipe date back to 1683. It is also part of 13 Christmas desserts tradition in Provence, where 13 desserts are kept on the table for 3 days after Christmas.  Pompe à l’huile  is very tender, subtly sweet, melting in the mouth. It should be served warm and with its scoring cuts makes it easy pull-apart dessert or a breakfast bread.

The kicker is it takes 3 days to make it :). It does not involve hard work, but it does take patience.

The recipe has been adapted from “L’école internationale de boulangerie”.

Print Recipe

Pompe à l’huile - Olive oil brioche

Olive oil Brioche from Provence!

Course

Bake, Brekfast, Dessert

Cuisine

French

Keyword

French pastry, Pompe à l’huile

Prep Time

3 days

Cook Time

17 min

Servings

brioche

Ingredients

Converting Liquid Sourdough Starter to Stiff Sourdough Starter

• 25 g liquid sourdough starter 100% hydration
• 50 g all purpose non bleached flour
• 25 g filtered water

Mature Stiff Starter

• 50 g stiff sourdough starter 50% hydration
• 200 g all purpose non bleached flour divided
• 100 g filtered water divided

Dough

• 200 g mature stiff sourdough starter
• 1000 g all purpose non bleached flour
• 200 g golden sugar
• 400 g water lukewarm
• 300 g extra virgin olive oil
• 18 g sea salt
• 10 g fresh compressed yeast

Course Bake, Brekfast, Dessert Cuisine French Keyword French pastry, Pompe à l’huile Prep Time 3 days Cook Time 17 min Servings brioche Ingredients Converting Liquid Sourdough Starter to Stiff Sourdough Starter 25 g liquid sourdough starter 100% hydration 50 g all purpose non bleached flour 25 g filtered water Mature Stiff Starter 50 g stiff sourdough starter 50% hydration 200 g all purpose non bleached flour divided 100 g filtered water divided Dough 200 g mature stiff sourdough starter 1000 g all purpose non bleached flour 200 g golden sugar 400 g water lukewarm 300 g extra virgin olive oil 18 g sea salt 10 g fresh compressed yeast

Instructions

Converting Liquid Sourdough Starter to Stiff Sourdough Starter

1. In a small bowl stir together 25g of liquid starter, 50g of flour and 25g of filtered water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for 12 hours.
2. Discard half of the mixture. Add in and stir thoroughly: 50g of flour and 25g of filtered water. Cover and keep at room temperature for 12 hours.
3. The following day repeat the same process, by refreshing the starter, once every 12 hours. Within 12 hours cycle, the starter should at least double by volume, without collapsing, before the following feeding. Keep repeating this cycle until such starter is obtained.

Day 1: Mature Stiff Starter

1. 9:00 am In a small bowl mix together 50g of stiff starter, 50g of flour and 25g of filtered water. Cover and keep at 29ºC (85º F) for 4 hours.
2. 1:00 pm Discard all but 50g of starter and re-feed again with 50g of flour and 25g of filtered water. Cover and keep at 29ºC (85º F) for another 4 hours.
3. 5:00 pm Once the starter tripled in size, make the last feeding by mixing all 100g of starter, with 100g of flour and 50g of filtered water. Cover and keep at 29ºC (85º F) for another 4 hours.

Day 2: Dough

1. Scale the amount of mature stiff starter needed for the dough.
2. 9:00 pm To the bowl of standing mixer add flour, sugar, salt water and olive oil. Mix at low speed about 20-30 minutes or until smooth window pane is developed. The dough temperature should be 27 ºC (80 ºF).

   
3. Add mature stiff starter thorn in small pieces and crumbled compressed fresh yeast. Continue mixing at low speed for another 5 minutes.
4. 10:00 pm Form a smooth dough ball put it in the bowl, tightly cover and let rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

   
5. 12:00 am Put the dough in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours.

Day 3: Shaping and Baking

1. 10:00 am Take dough bowl out of the fridge and leave at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. 11:00 am Divide the dough in 4 parts, form a tight ball of each part, cover and let rest 30 min at room temperature.

   
3. 11:30 am Roll out each ball into a flat disc about 220 mm (9") diameter and 12 mm (1/2") thick. Using a bench scraper make 6 cuts approximating a star shape.

   
4. 12:00 pm Put the dough discs on a parchment pepper lined baking sheets, cover and proof for 3- 4 hours at room temperature.

   
5. 3 or 4 pm Bake 16-17 minutes, at 237ºC (460ºF), in a prewarmed oven with rack in the middle.
6. Cool off brioche on a cooling rack. Serve warm or completely cooled.

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