La Brioche Vendéenne (French Sweet Bread) and some awards...

Ingredients:
500 g of Pastry flour
1 tsp salt
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk for basting
125 g sugar
2 tbsp pearl sugar (I haven?t used it here)
75 g softened butter( cut into small cubes)
2 tbsp fresh cream
15g baker's yeast
100 ml warm milk
1 tbsp Cointreau / vanilla extract (I added both in equal quantities)
1 tbsp orange flower water

Method:
Crumble the yeast in the warm milk and dissolve it.


In a bowl, mix together the sifted flour, sugar and salt and make a pit (hole) in the middle;

Add the 2 eggs, the cream, milk and the yeast mixture along with the softened butter. Add the Cointreau and the orange flower water and knead (approximately 10 minutes) until you get a homogeneous dough which is almost unsticky. (You may use a robot for doing this but take care not to let the yeast get in contact directly with the salt).
Make a ball and wrap it with a plastic food wrapper and let it stand for an hour in a warm place until it doubles it's volume.


When it has doubled the volume, divide the dough into 4 and form 3 or 4 long rods out of it. Place them one beside another and press the top part together to form one and then pass them one below another and pleat.

Place it on a baking sheet and leave it in a warm place, air ?tight, for about an hour.

Dilute the egg yolk with a spoon of water and beat slightly. Brush the top of the pleated dough with the solution.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 20 to 25 minutes.

(If the top browns too quickly, cover the dough with an aluminum foil.)

You may like to top with some pearl sugar (I haven?t done here)