Name: Eggs baked in brioche with ham, wilted spinach and hollandaise
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 60 gm butter, coarsely chopped; 6 eggs, at room temperature; To serve: thickly sliced leg ham and wilted spinach; Green onion brioche; 7 gm (1 sachet) dry yeast; 70 ml lukewarm milk; Pinch of caster sugar; 500 gm (3 1/3 cups) plain flour; 2 green onions, thinly sliced; 6 eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature; 350 gm butter, softened; 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for egg wash; Hollandaise; 200 gm butter, coarsely chopped; 2 tbsp white wine vinegar; 3 egg yolks; 1 lemon, juice only

Eggs baked in brioche with ham, wilted spinach and hollandaise

Australian Gourmet Traveller French recipe for eggs baked in brioche with ham, wilted spinach and hollandaise.

Serves 6

Prep

25M

Cook

1H 10M

Total

1H 35M

You won’t need all the brioche, so thickly slice what remains, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for next time.

Ingredients

60 gm butter, coarsely chopped

6 eggs, at room temperature

To serve: thickly sliced leg ham and wilted spinach

Green onion brioche

7 gm (1 sachet) dry yeast

70 ml lukewarm milk

Pinch of caster sugar

500 gm (3 1/3 cups) plain flour

2 green onions, thinly sliced

6 eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature

350 gm butter, softened

1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for egg wash

Hollandaise

200 gm butter, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

3 egg yolks

1 lemon, juice only

Method

Main

1.For green onion brioche, combine yeast, milk and sugar in a small bowl, whisk to dissolve yeast and stand until foamy (2-3 minutes). Meanwhile, combine flour, green onion and 1 tsp sea salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix to combine. With mixer on low speed, add yeast mixture, then eggs and beat to just combine. Add butter a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth (4-5 minutes), transfer to a buttered bowl, turn to coat and cover with plastic wrap. Stand in a warm place until double in size (1½-2 hours). Preheat oven to 180C. Knock back dough with fingertips and place in a buttered and floured 10cm x 10cm x 24cm loaf tin, smoothing top. Brush top with egg wash, cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place until double in size (25-30 minutes). Bake until light golden (15-20 minutes), cover with foil and bake until loaf sounds hollow when tapped (15-20 minutes). Turn onto a cooling rack and cool.

2.For hollandaise, melt butter over low heat and cool slightly. Whisk vinegar, egg yolks and 2 tbsp water in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until thick and foamy (2-3 minutes), then whisk in melted butter a little at a time, whisking well to emulsify before adding more. Remove from heat, whisk in lemon juice, season to taste and set aside in a warm place.

3.Preheat oven to 200C. Cut 6 thick slices from brioche and use an 8cm-diameter cutter to cut a hole in the centre of each slice (discard cut pieces). Heat a third of the butter in a large ovenproof frying pan over medium heat until foaming. Place 2 brioche slices in pan and cook until golden (1 minute). Turn over, crack an egg into each hole, season to taste and bake in oven until egg just sets (3-4 minutes). Keep warm and repeat with remaining butter, brioche and eggs. Transfer to serving plates and serve immediately with ham, wilted spinach and hollandaise.