The Different Types Of Brioche & The History Of Brioche
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This is the story of brioche, but first, an introduction: Almost 200 years ago, Brie was crowned the Queen of Cheeses. Following the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815), representatives of 30 nations convened in Vienna to reconstruct the map of Europe. It wasn’t all work: During a lively discussion on the merits of different cheeses, Brie was unanimously proclaimed “Queen of Cheeses.” But what about a Queen of Breads to go with the cheese? None has been proclaimed in the history books, so we’re doing the enthroning here. The luscious butteriness and elegant crumb* that makes Brie the queen maker brioche (pronounced bree-OASH), our nominee for Queen of Breads. In fact, it already has a crown (see photo #1). Brioche is a light, slightly sweet bread made with eggs, yeast and butter, and glazed with an egg wash. The butter and eggs make it very rich. Brioche is served as a breakfast bread, used to make French toast (better than challah!) and with luxury ingredients such as foie gras and smoked salmon. (Perhaps our favorite luxury food is pâté de foie gras on toasted brioche.) > National Brioche Day is May 14. > The history of brioche and the different type of brioche are below. > So is the origin of “Let them eat cake,” i.e., brioche. > The different types of bread: a photo glossary. > Recipe: Brioche French Toast Recipe With Dulce De Leche. The word “brioche” derives from Old French, broyer, to knead. The famous phrase Americans know as “Let them eat cake” actually refers to brioche. It was mis-translated as cake. The expression is, “S’ils n’ont plus de pain, qu’ils mangent de la brioche.” That is to say, let them eat brioche. But Marie-Antoinette never said it. See why she has taken the rap for centuries, below. Brioche is made in different shapes: Different regions in France developed their own styles. Some examples (the regions are in parentheses): Brioche has been made in France to at least the 15th century. The word brioche first appeared in print in 1404, although it could have existed hundreds of years before then. The name likely derives from the Old French word brier, meaning “to knead,” or from broyer, “to grind,” which could reference the kneading or grinding of flour. While it is believed to have sprung from a traditional Norman recipe, some culinary historians have argued that brioche is probably of Roman origin. By the 17th century, brioche was a well-established delicacy in France, but quite pricey due to its high butter and egg content and thus particularly enjoyed by the upper class. The ingredients are expensive. Unlike standard white bread, which is made primarily from flour, water, salt, and yeast, brioche contains additional costly ingredients: butter, eggs, and sugar, plus milk. Not to mention white bread in general. From Roman times, removing the bran from wheat was a labor-intensive, costly process. White bread was a luxury; poorer people ate coarse, whole grain bread. (Little did they know the benefits of whole grains.) Brioche, being even richer and more refined than regular white bread, was an indulgence of the aristocracy. The process is labor-intensive. Brioche requires multiple kneading and resting periods, and sometimes overnight fermentation. It was more difficult to produce in large quantities. Due to these factors, brioche was mostly made in wealthy households and royal courts. It certainly was not available in bakeries that supplied the masses. Poor Marie Antoinette (image #7) couldn’t get a break. Like all royal women, she had an arranged marriage to a stranger to secure political alliances. She arrived with daggers pointed at her by the lords and ladies. After she failed to conceive, the king’s ministers sought to find a new queen and send her to a convent. She finally bore four children, including the heir and a spare, only to have the French Revolution cost her her head at age 34. During the French Revolution, revolutionaries used the phrase as anti-monarchist propaganda, portraying Marie Antoinette as insensitive to the suffering of the poor. Over time, the myth stuck, despite no historical record of her ever saying it. So who did say it? The phrase appeared in the autobiography of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (photo #8), “Les Confessions,” written in 1765 and published in 1782‡. The original French quote is: Enfin je me rappelai le pis-aller d’une grande princesse à qui l’on disait que les paysans manquaient de pain, et qui répondit: Qu’ils mangent de la brioche. The English translation: Finally I remembered the last resort [i.e., course of action] of a great princess who, when told that the peasants had no bread, replied: “Let them eat brioche.” Rousseau did not name the person who supposedly said “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.” In “Confessions,” he attributes the phrase to “a great princess” (une grande princesse), but he does not specify who she was. |
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Who Might Rousseau Have Meant? Since Rousseau wrote this before Marie Antoinette even arrived in France (in fact, she was between 10 and 14 years old when he wrote the book), historians believe he may have been referring to an earlier royal figure, possibly: *Eggs In A Basket Recipe: Cut a round hole in the center of two slices of brioche. Melt a tablespoon or two of butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the brioche slices and brown on one side; flip over. Crack two eggs and add one to each hole. Cook until the eggs reach desired degree of doneness. †The word “crumb” refers to the soft, inner part of a bread loaf—the soft portion inside the crust. Depending on the air pockets within the dough, the crumb can be denser or more airy, coarse or delicate. As bread baking terminology developed in the 18th century, bakers needed a way to distinguish between the soft, airy interior and the crispy crust. The word “crust” had existed since Roman times, deriving from the Latin crusta, meaning shell or hard outer layer. It entered Old English to describe the hardened outer layer of bread, as well as natural properties that formed a solid surface, like ice or the Earth. At that time, crumb (from Old English cruma) entered from a Germanic word meaning “small piece” that originally referred to broken bits of food, particularly bread. Essentially, the term split into two meanings: one referring to the texture of the bread (crumb), and the other to the little pieces that result from breaking or cutting it (crumbs). ‡Rousseau’s “Confessions,” published posthumously in 1782 but written between 1765 when Marie Antoinette was either a 10 year-old-in Austria or a 15-year-old princess in France (neither a “great princess” nor known to Rousseau—they never met, and the quote was never published elsewhere). The book was released in two volumes, with Volume 1 coming out in 1782 and Volume 2 following in 1789—the year that the French Revolution began. The work was groundbreaking for its time as one of the earliest autobiographies, where Rousseau openly explored his personal life, emotions, and flaws, creating a new genre of self-reflection in literature. |
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