Brioches aux Pralines Recipe

A French (not Provencal) pastry.

Serves: (for 1 kg dough)

Preparation: 30 min, 4-6 hours before baking
Cooking: 40-50 min.

Ingredients:

1. Prepare the brioche dough.

2. At the point where the dough is in the baking dish and has doubled in volume, add 3/4 of the pralines, broken into 3 or 4 pieces, and then knead the dough to remove any air.

3. Mould the dough by hand into 2 or 3 balls, and place on a lightly-buttered and floured baking pan. Leave enough space for the dough to double in size.

4. Cover the dough with a cloth and leave to double in volume (about 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the ambient temperature).

5. Chop up the last 1/4 of pralines while the dough is raising. Pre-heat the oven to 450°F (230°C).

6. When the dough has doubled in volume, paint the surfaces several times with a well-beaten egg, and sprinkle on the chopped pralines. Put the dough into the pre-heated oven.

7. When the dough has browned, lower the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C)

8. When the brioches are done, (testing in the classic way with a knife blade for sticking dough), switch off and open the oven, leaving the brioches to cool slowly. The brioches can be saved for several days, and re-heated in the oven for serving.