Recipe: Mushroom brioche with pork ointment and Manu's butter

This savoury brioche loaf makes for a delicious accompaniment to any meal – or by itself

Makes 6 brioches

Ingredients

For Manu's butter

• 1l double cream
• 500g natural yogurt
• Fleur de sel, for sprinkling

For the pork ointment

• 150g lard
• 75g cubed bacon
• 50g onion, brunoise
• 9g garlic
• 60g roasted peanuts
• 11g coriander leaves
• 3g salt
• 1g black pepper

For the mushroom brioche

Part 1

• 250g white button mushrooms
• 75g butter

Part 2

• 75g bread flour
• 57ml water
• 2g fresh yeast

Part 3

• 302g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 94ml water
• 94g lightly beaten eggs
• 45ml honey
• 8g salt
• 113g room-temperature brown butter (beurre noisette)

Part 4

• 60g egg
• 10ml double cream
• 0.02g salt

Method

Manu's butter

In a bowl, lightly mix the cream with the yogurt. Cover with muslin and ferment at room temperature for at 48 hours, until the cream curdles and it smells acidic – the time depends on the room's temperature.

Place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill for 12 hours.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed, increasing the speed gradually, until the mixture first comes together, then separates into solids and whey. Strain the mixture through a chinois to drain the whey (which can be used in other recipes) from the butter. Place the butter in a bowl in an ice bath and gently work it with a rubber spatula to remove all traces of whey. Refrigerate until firm.

Pork ointment

Cook the lard in a skillet over low heat, ensuring the temperature stays below 50°C. Add the bacon and cook down for two hours, until golden. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes. Stir in the peanuts. Transfer the mixture to a Thermomix and mix on high speed until puréed. Add the coriander and mix for two minutes. Add the salt and pepper and mix again. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Mushroom brioche

Part 1

Clean the mushrooms, then place them in the food processor and process well. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.

Stir in the mushrooms to coat in the butter. Reduce the heat to low and cook for at least one hour, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden and paste-like in texture and have released all their moisture. Let cool, then transfer to a pastry bag. Refrigerate until needed.

Part 2

Using your hands, combine the flour, water, and yeast in a bowl to develop minimal gluten. Set aside to ferment for four hours at room temperature.

Part 3

Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the water, eggs, honey, salt and fermented sponge. Mix the wet ingredients together quickly, then stir in half of the flour and mix well. Stir in the remaining flour. Knead the dough for three minutes until gluten is developed and the dough pulls away from your hands. Add the brown butter (beurre noisette) little by little, incorporating it into the dough until homogeneous. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes in a bowl, covered with clingfilm.

Make the first fold of the bread: holding the dough at one side, pull it up and fold it over itself. Repeat this fold on the remaining three sides of the dough. Rest at room temperature for another 15 minutes. Do a second round of folding.

Rest the dough at room temperature in a covered container for 16 hours. Then refrigerate the dough for eight hours to cool and slow down the fermentation.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 30cm × 45cm rectangle, about 5mm thick. Using a spatula, spread an even layer of the mushroom paste over the dough. Fold the dough like an envelope, bringing the bottom corners inward and covering two-thirds of the dough. Take the ends from top to bottom, covering the other part and forming the envelope. Roll out the dough again, stretching it slightly to the sides. Cut the dough into six rectangles. In one of the rectangles, make two incisions lengthwise, leaving 2cm at the base, forming three strips from each piece. Braid the strips together, then join the ends, creating a rounded shape. Repeat with the remaining dough rectangles.

Place the brioches on a greased and lightly floured baking sheet. Set the dough aside for five hours at a temperature of 23°C.

Part 4

Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl to make an egg wash, taking care to not add too much air to the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush a thin film of egg wash over the brioches. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 160°C and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden. Place brioches on a wire rack to cool.

To serve

Finish the chilled butter with fleur de sel and serve alongside the cooled brioches and pork ointment.

From Manu: Recipes and Stories from my Brazil by Manoella Buffara (Phaidon, £39.95)