Food, Home & Lifestyle
Stale Bread: Caesar Salad With Flavored Brioche Croutons
Lesson time 07:22 min
Apollonia shares her reimagined version of a Caesar salad featuring richly marinated brioche croutons that become the star of the show.
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Topics include: Caesar Salad with Flavored Brioche Croutons
Teaches Bread Baking
Poilâne CEO Apollonia Poilâne teaches the renowned Parisian bakery’s philosophy and time-tested techniques for baking rustic French breads.
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WOMAN: You can't find a good Caesar salad in Paris. They always put big chunks of chicken in them. And so this salad is the perfect way to have that authentically American salad at my home. What's special with the croutons that I tend to make is that I like to flavor them just as we're baking them. It makes sure that when you eat through them, you're not eating through this bland piece of bread. [MUSIC PLAYING] I have some anchovies and some mustard, some freshly zested lemon, and some garlic. This brioche is at least five days old. When you touch it, it doesn't have that cushiony squish that brioche normally has. So here we go. I'm using canned anchovies. I imagined this recipe so that people who don't like anchovies can have a Caesar salad with anchovies but without even noticing them. So if you're not an anchovy lover, trust me on that one. Try it. And if you still don't like it afterwards, then I'll have tried my best. I'm going to use honey Dijon mustard. It has to be a strong mustard. Lemon zest, some garlic. I'm going to blend them adding a little bit of water for fluidity, and then I'm going to paint these brioche, these stale brioche slices. And let them absorb the flavors and scents of the anchovies. Here you want to puree just until the ingredients have come together. All right. And my ingredients have just come together. I'm going to start adding a little bit of water. And this is just a couple of tablespoons. Add the water as the food processor is doing its job so that I don't add too much water content. You'll know it's reached the right texture when it has a liquid aspect to it. It's a little coarse, and that's OK. Anchovies in the food processor won't puree it perfectly. It almost has the consistency of horseradish. I have my little mixture. And I am going to paint my anchovy slices with a little bit of this paste. I know there's some nonanchovy lovers out there. But the mustard and the lemon really overpower any traditional anchovy flavors that might deter you. The brioche, even though it's stale, will still absorb very quickly any little hydration or liquids inside. And this is perfect because it will stick as I'm turning over the slices. In doing both sides, you ensure that there's a nice spreading out of the flavors on all the pieces of the brioche. Our brioche slices are ready to go into the refrigerator. [MUSIC PLAYING] The brioche has been marinating for 6 to 24 hours in your refrigerator. When you take it out, it'll have a sort of paste look to it. It actually looks like you've put toothpaste on your brioche. This is a good time to put your oven on boiler so that it's at the right temperature when you're about to dry out the croutons. So I take each piece, and I just pull it apart. You can use a knife. But the reason why I like to just pull it out is that it makes for uneven croutons that then have this varied texture. As I'm cutting through it, I'm getting the fresh whiffs of le...
About the Instructor
As a third-generation baker and CEO of the renowned Parisian bakery Poilâne, Apollonia Poilâne keeps time-honored traditions alive with every loaf. Now she’s sharing the joy of making bread from scratch with her recipes and hands-on demonstrations. Learn how to make your own starter and a variety of French breads, including rustic wheat, rye, and brioche. Taste, smell, and feel your way to fresh, warm bread at home.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Apollonia Poilâne
Poilâne CEO Apollonia Poilâne teaches the renowned Parisian bakery’s philosophy and time-tested techniques for baking rustic French breads.
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