CCU was still eating bread from Brasserie Bread , despite this being almost a week and a half after she had received it. Her mother’s tip about aluminium foil wrapping, plus the cold, rainy weather, kept it so moist.
But you must be asking, CCU giggled, why she was eating bread after so long still? Well… perhaps you may remember, but in the last post, she showed you a quick shot of how many breads she had taken home to try. Did she have regrets?
Nope.
Even after finishing a gluten free baking class full of bread, she just could not get enough.
Perhaps, she thought, her readers would understand why after seeing her photos?
Where do you want me to start? Which bread should I begin the slew of bread porn with? Or, should I twist it all around and start with danishes? Pastries? Yes, I am changeable but also amenable am i not?
Let me just note that these breads are NOT gluten free – only the breads I made in the class are gluten free. Ok, now we can continue :P
Ok decision made. Let’s be traditional and start with the bread :)
Majority of their breads and pastries are actually winners at the Royal Fine Food Show in Sydney (with their general Sourdough baking being the champion overall), so can you blame me for wanting to try everything?
That is only one side of the door where their awards are displayed!
Burger Bun & Panini
Let’s begin with the Burger Bun. From the Rolls collection, I loved how obviously fresh this bread was. When you cut it open, it released the smell of fresh bread as if it had just been baked, and had a fluffy light crumb!
It was also a very good side for a semi-large sandwich, and was not overly chewy, which I have found to be a problem with sourdough in the past. I also liked the grooved pattern on top, aesthetically attractive!
As for the Panini, this came from the Italian Rustic collection of breads offered. One of my favourites, my mum made this into a bruschetta full of pesto, tomatoes and italian herbs and it was delicious, but still so light! There was also a little fresh crispiness when you bit into the bread!
Brioche Slider Bun
From their specialty Brioche selection, as you can tell, it was the cutest thing in existence. Sitting comfortably in the palm of my hand, I tried a little bit and while not as texturally perfect as when it would have been fresh, the top remained flaky and had almost a little sweetness to its flavour.
The crumb was soft and light, and a lovely colour contrasting to the golden exterior (aesthetics guys!) :D
I could very easily imagine a fancy cocktail party with these mini buns housing fancy burger patties containing quinoa or braised lamb or something else a little out of the ‘usual eats’ league :P
Walnut & Fig Loaf
How about we take a turn now, precariously into the direction of sweet breads. We are really swerving off the road here!
This loaf, also from the Specialties section, was almost an unexpected take for me. I am not usually a fig person, and walnuts? As you can tell by my ‘knowledge’, my brain could use a lot more :P But I think it was most suited to being a breakfast bread, without a doubt, and I am very glad I brought it back.
The toasting of it, I found, enhanced the fig’s flavour, and the slightly bitter nuttiness went really well against the sweetness :D
A soft crumb of course, and not very tough to cut through and get a nice, thick slice!
Sour Cherry Loaf
This specialty loaf, according to its description (and I quote) contains ‘Persian red sour cherries’. Damn. They really don’t skimp on those cherries do they? Sided with Australian currants and raisins, this fruit bread, despite the generous amount of dried fruit it contained, was light and crumby.
I was not perhaps the biggest fan of its flavour unfortunately, just because the taste of almonds with the sour cherries didn’t sit well on my palate, but my parents both enjoyed it toasted and slathered with butter. I also would have preferred if it had been a bit sweeter.
I must admit, however, the cross section is quite sexy.
Italian Ciabatta
Back to the Italian Rustic selection, because I like showing you guys all the varieties all over the place :P, this bread was superb. Without a doubt, the family favourite with everyone vying for that ‘one more piece’.
A generous size, ciabatta is commonly used for the basis of bruschetta and garlic bread, so it came as no surprise, that after toasting or grilling this bread, it was crunchy on the outside, but full of soft, slightly chewy crumb on the inside.
It was also very light, with my brother and my dad consuming numerous pieces without really getting full.
Olive & Rosemary Loaf
Giant bread, the size of teeny but imposing table, but still. A crispy exterior and light, sourdough interior, this bread was stuffed with Kalamata olives and fresh rosemary, topped off with sprinkle of river murray salt enhancing the flavour.
I am not a fan of olives, so didn’t eat this much, but if you made a focaccia on it, or dipped it into some soup, it went really well due to the extra flavour the bread itself contained.
I should have melted some cheese on top, damn! It’s like when you think of a good comeback after someone outwits you! :P
My GF Focaccia & French Seeded Baguette
I just wanted to show you guys (AGAIN) my gorgeous Bride of Dr Frankenstein hehe – I described its texture and flavour in my last post :D
Dat hottie bread.
I also put this here because I could only get on shot of the seeded baguette, without looking weird :P
The seeded baguette was actually the first of our many breads to finish, with ‘the stick’ as my family calls all baguettes, a very common and much loved household bread!
With a combination of nigella, fennel, sesame and poppy seeds, this bread was very crunchy on the outside, and this worked well when you hit the crumb inside :)
Date & Apricot Fruit Nut Loaf
This is a loaf I would get a christmas time, and spread with brandy jam. It is rich, it is heavy and it. Tastes. Good.
Even the colour of the exterior reminds of Christmas pudding, and it is chock-a-block bursting full of dried fruit. One slice of this for breakfast and you have a light lunch. Two slices, and you won’t be eating for the rest of the day. Especially if you are as heavy handed as I am with the butter :P
This specialty bread was quite sweet though, because of the amount of dried fruit, I would have liked there to be a bit more of the walnut flavour to balance it out.
My GF Sesame Bread & Cantina
Like with my focaccia, you can also find a description of my GF loaf in my last post!
But as for the Italian Rustic Cantina, I found the taste indiscernible from that of the panini. Equally crispy exterior, fluffy crumb inside which was slightly chewy, the only I found really different was the fact that it was called a ‘dinner roll’ and was of square shape.
But I am not a bread expert by any means (as you may have seen by my overuse of the word ‘crumby’), but that is how it tasted in my opinion. Delicious, but the panini in disguise.
Here, I end the bread portion of this post. Yes, I did mention danishes and pastries did I not? I promise, a lot more food porn to come with them :D
The layers of bread trays we picked and chose from!
But just while you catch your drool and slurp it all the way back up, let me introduce you to a fun sourdough fact – It is the easiest to digest out of all breads because the rigorous fermentation process it goes through is cuts down the starches in the protein a lot. Therefore your intestines are not aching from digestion.
The giant loaves of sour dough in perspective – Thanks Yvonne!
So, unfortunately, still not for those with coeliac disease, but for those with a low level of gluten intolerance, it is definitely try-able :)
Phew. Ok, so have you gotten yourself some bread? Did this temporary hiatus in this post help you to refocus yourself and get ready for the patisserie segment of this post?
Good stuff, I knew you guys could do it (I am your personal cheerleader :D)
And now, I can at least describe these beyond the word ‘crumby’ ;)
Pain Chocolat
From specifically, the French Pastry selection, the Pain Chocolat (Chocolate Bread), is very rich. The puff pastry is flaky and you can taste how buttery it is (in a good way) and as far as this goes as a breakfast treat, I still have to wonder why France is not the most obese country in the world.
When I was tasting just the chocolate inside, it was dark and smooth and of high quality. After reading about it, I learnt it is Belgium.
Typical. I bet Belgian people have incredible metabolism too because when I went there, they certainly were not fat either.
You are so welcome for this shot :D
Definitely one of my favourite treats I picked! Not hard to tell why :P
Almond Croissant
I figure, since I am on a French pastry path, why not stick to it? :D
The almond croissants were absolutely, 100% incredible. The almond cream (frangipane) in the centre was smooth and complimented the buttery layers well, without being too thick. It was perfect sweetness and you could tell the quality of the puff pastry layers in the croissant just by the cross section.
Look at those layers!
Classic French Croissant
Because what kind of monster would I be if I didn’t try the most iconic French breakfast food since it’s creation?
These croissants were so buttery, it didn’t need that extra little spread. Just a slathering of jam, after being warmed up a little, and it was good to go, being a little crispy on the outside until your teeth just start sinking into it :D
My brother was trolling my photography because he is a child. But this works out quite well cos it looks like he is actually pointing at the layers – remind me to give him a cookie later :P
Pain Raisin (Snail)
You may as well name this French pastry escargot but you can’t because they actually DO eat escargot there. Escargot being snails. Personally, I think even if I did eat meat, I would always prefer this pastry version :)
I got some in both the regular and the mini size, because I am a sucker for cuteness, and loved the flavour. Apparently, it was again, filled with sour cherries, but I didn’t even taste them! All I got was the sweet sweet taste of delicious currants… *sigh*
The sticky sweet glaze on top of the flaky pastry also made me cry with happiness. I would drink that syrup.
Mini Jam Galette Pastry
Now, I actually couldn’t find this pastry on the website, but I would have to say that a mini, pastry version of a galette is kind of what is reminded me off. Buttery layers of flaky pastry all leading towards a generous raspberry jam interior.
While I wasn’t in awe of this pastry, like some of the others, a nice cup of tea with it and you have a very content person :)
Spiced Apple & Raisin Danish
I love danish. Both the people and the pastry, but more so the pastry because I haven’t actually met any Danish people :P Unless some of you are Danish and would like to enlighten me?
This danish captivated me. I initially thought it was lemon, before actually biting in and seeing it was so much a better flavour! The apple was caramelised on top, without going an icky brown colour, and their was an abundance of raisins to enjoy. The flaky pastry was also glazed a little, but not so much that is was too sweet.
I just realised… I tried the entire French Pastry range Brasserie Bread has to offer… oops? JOKES #noregrets :D
I also think you can see why I called this an extravaganza, the class, the bread, there was just SO much to talk about! And photograph :P
So, dear readers, do you think you will be visiting any time soon? Or put it on your list of bakeries to visit when down under? Which bread would you try first???
Address for Brasserie Bread Sydney:
1737 Botany Road,
Banksmeadow, 2019
NSW
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Till next time mes cheris!
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Disclaimer: Go Bake Yourself was given permission to try these leftover breads following the GF baking class due to Brasserie Bread’s policy for freshly baked products each day.
Filed under: Review/Event