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Salt-Cured Black Olives in a Bag

ingredients 2kg fresh black olives. 1/2kg coarse salt. 1 orange (optional). extra virgin olive oil. preparation Start by rinsing the olives well under cold water, then dry them thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel. This is important because any moisture will interfere with the curing process. Mix the olives with the salt in a large bowl, making sure they're evenly coated. Pour everything into a sturdy plastic bag and seal it tightly with a clip or tie. Lay the bag flat in a shallow tray or dish (it might release a bit of liquid as the olives cure), and tuck it away in a kitchen cupboard or pantry. Somewhere dark and cool works best. Every 3 or 4 days, flip the bag over without opening it. This helps the salt work its way around all the olives. Keep this up for 4 weeks from the day you started. After the month is up, your olives will look nicely wrinkled and feel firmer. Rinse them under fresh water and place them in a bowl. Cover them completely with clean wa...

Julia Child's Braided Brioche

Brioche is the dough we use to make sweet bread, and today I'm sharing a recipe from the book of a famous American cook, Julia Child, who lived from 1912 to 2004. After the film "Julie and Julia" was made about her, her work became even more widely known.


Ingredients

  • 200ml milk.
  • 120gr sugar.
  • 650gr bread flour.
  • 115gr butter at room temperature.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 10gr fresh yeast.
  • 1 egg.
  • Pearl sugar.

Preparation

  1. Put the milk in a saucepan over the heat. When it starts to boil, remove from the heat and let it cool.
  2. Warm a little water, dissolve the yeast in it, and let it rest for 5 minutes.
  3. In a bowl, mix the milk, the water with the yeast, the sugar, the salt, and the lightly beaten eggs. Stir well with a wooden spoon.
  4. Add half the flour and mix well until you have a smooth dough.
  5. Add the softened butter and the rest of the flour, mixing until everything is well incorporated.
  6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour.
  7. Flour your work surface, turn out the dough, and knead it well for about 10 to 15 minutes.
  8. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a floured bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 1 hour.
  9. After the hour, turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead again to release the air.
  10. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and shape each into a rope about 35 to 40cm long.
  11. On the baking sheet where you'll bake it, place parchment paper, then lay the three ropes of dough on it and braid them together.
  12. Cover the braid with plastic wrap brushed with oil or butter so the dough doesn't stick, and let it rest for about 45 minutes.
  13. Preheat the oven to 190ºC with heat from both top and bottom.
  14. Before putting the braid in the oven, brush it with beaten egg and sprinkle the pearl sugar over the top, just as you see in the photo.
  15. Bake until golden, watching carefully that it doesn't burn. The baking takes 20 to 25 minutes.
  16. Let it cool to room temperature.

Notes

This entire recipe is done by hand, but starting from step 4, you can use a stand mixer or bread machine to simplify the work.
To make pearl sugar at home, put two or three tablespoons of sugar in a bowl and with slightly damp fingers, work the sugar together. If you've never done this before, start with very little moisture and add a few more drops as needed.
If you have a lactose allergy, you can substitute the milk with soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk.
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