Orange Saffron Braided Brioche #BreadBakers

Sweetened with honey, this orange saffron braided brioche is wonderful freshly baked or even toasted and buttered for breakfast, day after day. Not that it lasts very long!

This month our Bread Bakers host is Gayathri from Gayathri's Cook Spot and she challenged us all to braid our dough before baking. I’ve made a few braided loaves, like my chocolate peanut butter braid and my cherry sweet bread twist, which are both long loaves. I decided I wanted to learn how to make a round woven loaf.

A quick search of YouTube turned up hundreds of hits. (Is there anything the denizens of YouTube do not know how to do?!) I ended up following this one.

Orange Saffron Braided Brioche

Ingredients
1 cup or 240 ml whole milk
1/2 cup or 115g butter, plus a little for greasing the mixing bowl
A pinch of saffron threads
Grated orange zest from 1 orange
2 packets or 14g dried yeast
1/4 cup or 80g honey
4 cups or 500g flour (you may need an extra few tablespoons of flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg

Before baking:
1/4 cup or 57g butter, melted and cooled

Optional – 1 tablespoon pearl sugar for decoration

Method
Warm your milk in a small pot or in the microwave in a microwaveable measuring up. Put in the pinch of saffron and the orange zest and leave to infuse.

Add in the butter and honey and warm again until the butter is melting. Around 120°F or 49°C should do it. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir. Within a few minutes, the yeast should activate and begin to bubble up.

Put your flour and salt in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer with the egg and begin to mix, using the dough hook. Pour in the yeast mixture and continue mixing till it comes together in a thick dough.

Knead for several minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy and pulls away from the sides of the mixer.

Form the dough into a ball and lightly grease the bowl with a little butter. Put the ball back in the bowl.  Cover with cling film and set in a warm place to rise for one hour.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and separate it into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long tube.

I took photos of each step of making these four tubes into a round braided loaf but honestly, stationary images are not that helpful because, at least for me, it’s hard to see what moves from frame to frame. So just watch this YouTube video. She makes it look very easy – and it is!

Put your round braid into a round cake pan, cover lightly with cling film and set in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

As you get to the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

When rising time is up, gently pour the melted butter over the top of the orange saffron braided brioche and sprinkle on the pearl sugar, if desired.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes. The internal temperature of an enriched bread is usually about 200°F or 93°C when baked.

The bottom should be lovely and golden as well.

Leave to cool before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other lovely braided breads we have for you today. Many thanks to Gayathri of Gayathri's Cook Spot for hosting!

• Artisan Herb Bread Braid by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Basic Challah Bread by Cook's Hideout
• Braided Bread with Candied Papaya Chunks by Sara's Tasty Buds
• Braided Garlic Bread by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Braided Herbed Breadsticks by Ambrosia
• Braided Rum & Raisin Buns by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Challah Bread by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Cherry Cheese Braid by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chicken Cheese Braided Bread by Sneha’s Recipe
• Nutella Braided Bread by Veena’s Vegnation
• Orange Saffron Braided Brioche by Food Lust People Love
• Scali Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spice and Herb French Braid by The Schizo Chef
• Two-Seed Potato Challah by What Smells So Good?
• Whole Wheat Challah Bread by Spill the Spices
• Whole Wheat Pizza Braid by Herbivore Cucina
• Whole Wheat Zopf Bread by I camp in my Kitchen
• Winston Knot Bread by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Zucchini Yeast Bread by Baking Sense

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Screwmosa Cocktails

Add a little oomph to your next brunch by serving screwmosa cocktails, the delightful offspring of a screwdriver and a mimosa. That’s right orange juice, vodka and sparkling wine!

Screwmosa cocktails should come with a warning, so here it is. These go down toooooooo easy. The bright fresh orange juice tastes like pure sunshine. The sparkling wine tickles your nose and tongue, a party in your mouth. You won’t really taste the vodka, but don’t forget it’s in there!

Screwmosa Cocktails

Ingredients – for 1 Screwmosa Cocktail – serve in a Champagne flute
1 oz or 30ml best quality vodka
2 oz or 60ml chilled fresh squeezed orange juice
3 oz or 90ml chilled brut sparkling wine – or more to top up the glass

Note: One 750ml bottle of sparkling wine holds enough to make eight screwmosa cocktails. To create those eight drinks you will need 8 oz (480ml) vodka and 16 oz (960ml) fresh orange juice.

Method
Add the vodka to your flute, then pour in the orange juice so they mix.

Top up with the brut sparkling wine. I used Prosecco for these but any brut sparkling wine would be delicious.

Enjoy!

This week my Sunday Supper friends are sharing easy drink recipes to celebrate summer. Many thanks to our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections and our host Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures. Let's get this simple cocktail recipe party started!

Classics with a Twist

• Blackberry Gin Mule by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Boozy Rootbeer Float 2 Ways by My Life Cookbook
• Frozen Banana Daiquiri by Restless Chipotle
• Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pimm’s Cup by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Spiked Arnold Palmer Cocktails by Hardly A Goddess
• St. Germain Gin and Tonic Cocktail by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Make Mine a Mocktail

• Dreamsicle Mocktail by The Freshman Cook
• Watermelon Mint Mocktail by Bites of Wellness

Simply Different

• Florida Cider Caipirinha by Gourmet Everyday
• Raspberry Lemon Blush by Our Good Life
• Screwmosa Cocktail by Food Lust People Love
• Skip and Go Naked by Positively Stacey
• Spiked Spa Water by Simple and Savory

Tasty and Tropical

• Blackberry Mojitos by The Chef Next Door
• Fresh Cherry Margaritas by The Crumby Cupcake
• Frozen Peach Margaritas by Pies and Plots
• Perfect Pina Colada by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Pineapple Margaritas by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Prickly Pear Margarita by Palatable Pastime
• Strawberry Sunset Lemon Drop by Soulfully Made

Very Vino

• Boozy Watermelon Slushies by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Cantaloupe Wine Slushie by Family Around the Table
• Cava Sangria by Caroline’s Cooking
• Easy Red Wine Sangria with Spiced Peaches by Cricket’s Confections
• Pink Lemonade Sangria by Baking Sense
• Sparkling Chambord Sangria by Books n’ Cooks
• Watermelon Sangria by A Mind Full Mom

For even more inspiration check out these Simple Mixed Drinks for a Refreshing Summer by Sunday Supper Movement.

 
 

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Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs #FoodieExtravaganza

Pomegranate braised short ribs are tender and rich with the sweet and sour sharpness of the pomegranate molasses perfectly complementing the melt-in-your-mouth beef. You'll want to eat this sauce with a spoon!

Pomegranate molasses is nothing more than pomegranate juice cooked down until it has reduced to the point of being thick and syrupy. If you can’t find any in your local grocery store, it’s easy enough to make at home. Some brands add sugar, which is not necessarily a bad thing if they don’t add too much, but you do want to make sure that the sweet doesn’t overpower the sour. Good pomegranate molasses should have a solid sour punch.

I must confess that although it seems ubiquitous in online recipes lately, I had never heard of pomegranate molasses until just a few years ago, when we moved to Egypt. They have a fabulous dish made with chicken livers, well seasoned with ground spices and quick fried till still pink inside. Just near the end of cooking time, pomegranate molasses is added to the hot pan. It dries up quickly in the high heat and coats the chicken livers with a sticky slick of sweet and sour. Divine. And now I’ve made myself hungry for those again!

Unlike the chicken livers, pomegranate braised short ribs are cooked long and slow, in a lovely mixture of pomegranate molasses, beef stock and fresh rosemary. The succulent rib meat absorbs the flavors of the liquids and releases its own meaty juices into the resulting savory sauce. Serve this over a bed of fluffy couscous, sprinkled with extra pomegranate arils and some chopped cilantro for pop and a fresh bright finish.

Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients – to serve four
2 lbs or about 900g beef short ribs, cut in four pieces
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
13 1/4 oz or 375g small onions, peeled (see tip below) or substitute chopped onions
1 cup or 240ml beef stock
1/2 cup or 120ml pomegranate molasses
3-4 small sprigs fresh rosemary
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut in short pieces

To serve:
Small bunch cilantro, chopped
Some pomegranate arils
Couscous – check out my easy instructions here.

Tip: To peel small or pearl onions, bring a pot of water to the boil. Add the onions and boil for 1-2 minutes. Drain the pot and put the onions in a bowl of cold water and ice to stop the cooking process. Drain again. Cut the ends off of the onions with a sharp knife and squeeze them out of their skins.

Method
Season the short ribs liberally with the salt and pepper. Heat a large pan (that has a tight-fitting lid) over a medium high fire and sear the short ribs on all sides until lovely and golden, starting with the side with the most fat. This will render that fat, helping all of the sides to brown. (If your short ribs don't have much fat, you can add in a little canola or olive oil.)

Remove the ribs from the pan. Add the peeled onions with a splash of the beef stock and sauté them for a minute or two, loosening up the sticky stuff on the pot from the ribs.

Pour in the pomegranate molasses and stir. Put the ribs back in the pot and spoon the pomegranate molasses over them to coat.

Tuck in the rosemary sprigs and pour in the rest of the beef stock. Cover the pot and simmer until the beef short ribs are tender, about 1 1/2 hours, check the liquid level occasionally, adding a little water if necessary.

Baste the ribs with the sauce from time to time and turn them over halfway through.

Add in the carrots and cook, covered until they are tender too, about 20 minutes.

Remove the lid and cook the sauce down until it begins to thicken, spooning the sauce over the ribs occasionally.

Depending on how fatty your short ribs were, you might need to skim some of the fat off of the top of your sauce. If you have time, in fact, you can even chill the dish at this point, making the fat easier to remove once it is cold. If you choose this option, gently rewarm the short ribs in the sauce and continue with the next step before serving.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and pomegranate arils. Serve over couscous.

Enjoy!

This month my Foodie Extravaganza group is celebrating rib recipes. Many thanks to our host, Sneha from Sneha's Recipes for this great theme and all of the behinds-the-scenes work. Who doesn't love ribs, am I right?

• Canh Suon Khoai Tay (Vietnamese Spare Rib Soup) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chinese Spare Ribs (Slow Cooker) by Caroline's Cooking
• Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs by Food Lust People Love
• Singaporean Coffee Spare Ribs by Sneha's Recipe
• Slow Cooker Chinese Spare Ribs by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sticky Pork Ribs by Palatable Pastime

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

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