April 2, 2010 - 12:33pm
Savarin recipe? or 'Celebration Bread'?
I would like to bake a Savarin for desert on Easter but I don't know of a dependable recipe. Can anyone point me toward one? I would also like to know if I can bake this bread-like cake the night before serving it or is it best baked the day of serving? I intend to soak it in some kind of sugar syrup and serving it with berries and cream chantilly.
Or would I be better off baking a Baba au rhum or one of Peter Reinhart's 'Celebration Breads'?
(I haven't had a Savarin in 30 years and I can't really remember what they taste like~~but it sounds special!)
Thanks. J.
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PR's Artos (Greek Celebration Bread) is very nice. Lots of compliments
By "savarin" I am assuming you are referring to a rich yeasted bread that is often soaked (in alcohol, or sugar syrup) and used as a base for some dessert or other.
If I am correct in making this assertion, then I've got the recipe for you!
4 oz Milk
1/4 oz Instant Yeast
2 1/2 oz Bread Flour
5 oz Eggs
7 1/2 oz Bread Flour
1/4 oz Sugar
1 tsp Salt
4 oz Melted Butter
So heres the break down.
The first three ingredients become a sponge that you will use to flavor the savarin. Just mix it and let it ferment for an hour (warming the milk prior to mixing would probably be helpful too, just don't kill the yeast)
Now mix up the dry ingredients you have remaining. Mix these with the sponge. Additionally, add the eggs in individually.
Once the eggs are fully absorbed and the gluten has been developed, mix in the melted butter.
Where you go from here depends on what equipment you have. I've piped these into greased brioche tins, but I would imagine using muffin tins with cupcake papers in them would work just as well.
You want to proof them until they've doubled, then bake them at 350 F until they're well browned.
For the soak, you can use whatever you want, I like using 1:1 simple syrup (sugar and water by weight), and adding a shot of some alcohol, depending on what you're serving it with.
If you choose to use my recipe, let me know how it goes!
--Chausiubao
Thanks, Chausiubao, for the recipe. The recipe sounds very interesting using the sponge to punch up the flavor, I presume. I found another Savarin recipe in the Chez Panisse Cookbook that seems very similar, so I am eager to try to make one (or two). I plan to soak it in Grand Marnier flavored syrup and serve with strawberries and chantilly cream.
And the photo of the Celebration Bread from PR's book is an inspiration to me. I have the biga 'cooking' for my PR Celebration Bread, too. I colored six eggs for it. So I'm going all out on the Easter baking this year.
I plan to make 2 of each festive these breads and share with my neighbors. Will let you both know how they turn out!
Thanks to you both. J.