Gibassier sweet rolls

Eva, author ofBake-Street , returns to the blog to bring us a delicious recipe for some sweet breads that you are going to love. They are called Gibassier, a variety of bread with a texture that is somewhere between the brioche dough and the Roscón de Reyes. Can you resist?

The gibassier has been quite a discovery for me and it looks like I had been wanting to prepare it for a long time. The origin of its name is not very clear, it is believed that it may have taken it from the El Gibas peak of the Luberon mountain. This type of sweet bread is traditional from Provence, it is a dough flavored with aniseed, candied orange and orange blossom water.

Its external appearance can remind us of the traditional fougasse (a variety of salty bread that also originates from Provence to which aromatic herbs, cheese, olives are usually added...). The version that we are going to make is much more tender, I would say that it is a mix between brioche and roscón de Reyes (in terms of flavor and texture) .

MasterClass Acacia Wood Board

It is very common for the gibassier to be co-founded with the "pompe à l'huile", another variety of bread with a very similar appearance that is reminiscent of a sweet focaccia and which is usually given as a gift at Christmas.

Looking for information about the gibassier, there are different opinions and versions. Some of them are drier, more similar to a cookie, for example the one they make in Lourmarin.

I think that this more tender version of gibassier can be a mixture of both, taking the tenderness of the pompe à l'huile and the ingredients, aromas and final appearance of the gibassier.

The final result is wonderful, a very tender and incredibly aromatic bread that, when it comes out of the oven, we will bathe in ghee or melted butter, whichever you prefer, and we will sprinkle with extra fine sugar. A real delicacy!

The moment in which you will fall at their feet will be while they are baking... the aroma that will envelop the kitchen is simply wonderful.

INGREDIENTS (for 10-12 Gibassier)

FOR THE PREFERENCE:

• 180 g of bread flour
• 110 g of whole milk
• a pinch of dry baker's yeast (1/8 teaspoon)

FOR THE FINAL DOUGH:

• 300 g of flour
• 100 g of bread flour
• 110 g of egg at room temperature
• 100g white sugar
• 65 g olive oil 0.4
• 70 g butter at room temperature
• 38 g orange blossom water
• 25g of water
• 7 g dry baker's yeast
• 7g of salt
• 6 g of anise grain
• 70 g candied orange

FOR THE CANDIED ORANGE:

• 2 firm table oranges
• 1 liter of water
• 350g white sugar

TO PAINT:

• 1 beaten egg + 2 tablespoons of milk
• 100 g of ghee approx.
• extra fine white sugar*

* Extra fine white sugar is the same as white table sugar only with a less coarse grain. In case you do not have it, you can grind a little normal sugar to reduce its thickness.

FOR THE GHEE:

• 115 g unsalted butter

PREPARATION OF THE RECIPE

THE PREVIOUS NIGHT

1. Wash the oranges and dry. With the help of a sharp knife, cut into thin slices, reserve.
2. In a large pot, add enough water to cover the oranges, place over medium-high heat and leave until it boils.
3. Drain the water, being careful not to burn yourself with the steam, cover again with new water and repeat the same process. We will do it a total of 3 times. This process will help us remove the bitterness from the bark.
4. Drain all the water from the last cooking and add the liter of water together with the 350 g of sugar. Place over medium heat and leave until a semi-thick syrup is obtained.
5. Remove from the heat, remove the oranges with the help of a pair of tongs . We can let them cool on a rack or a tray lined with parchment paper.
6. Once cool, store in an airtight container in the fridge.

2) Prepare the preferment:

1. In a medium bowl add the milk along with the yeast and flour.
2. Mix to combine the ingredients. Transfer to a work surface and knead until a homogeneous mass is obtained.
3. Place in a bowl, cover with film and let rise at room temperature for 12-14 hours.

Olive wood flour spoon , T&G wooden board , Tokyo Design porcelain bowl and Masterclass acacia wood round board

THE NEXT DAY:

We prepare the dough:

The preferment that we made the night before will have tripled its volume. The fermentation time can vary a bit depending on the temperature in our house.

1. Sift the flour together with the yeast. We booked.
2. In a bowl add the water, egg, oil and orange blossom water and beat until combined.
3. In a large bowl add the chopped preferment together with the mixture of liquid ingredients.
4. With the help of some manual rods we mix to dissolve the preferment. We will beat trying to dissolve it as much as possible, in this way we will facilitate that lumps do not form in the dough when adding the flour.
5. Add the flour little by little, mixing at the same time.
6. Once we have added all the flour, add the salt and sugar. We will do the latter in two batches and waiting to fully integrate the first before adding the second.
7. We love until we have the medium developed gluten.
8. Add the butter, we will do it in three batches. We will knead very well until it is completely integrated into the dough before adding the next one.
9. Once we have all the butter integrated, we will knead by doing the French kneading for about 10 minutes. We will make one or two rests, covering the dough, to facilitate this step.
10. Add the aniseed and candied orange in small pieces. We knead carefully, so as not to damage the gluten mesh, for a couple of minutes.
11. Lightly grease a tupperware container, form a ball with the dough and insert into it. Cover and let rise until doubled in volume. In my case it took 5 hours (this will depend on the ambient temperature).

We form the gibassier:

1. Line 3 trays with baking paper, reserve.
2. We turn the dough on a work surface, divide into pieces of 95-100 g each.
3. We round and give a slightly elongated shape. Cover with a cotton cloth and let rest for 20 minutes. This will relax the gluten.
4. With the help of a rolling pin , slightly flatten the pieces.
5. We make three cuts inside the dough and four cuts on the edge. If you pay attention, the interior cuts, each one of them, remains in the middle of every two exterior cuts.
6. Place on baking trays , cover with cling film and let rise until doubled in volume. In my case it took almost 3 hours.

Prepare the ghee:

1. In a saucepan add the unsalted butter and leave over medium low heat uncovered. We must not increase the temperature.
2. We will observe that the butter solids separate and we will see how small yellow balls fall to the bottom.
3. We will leave over medium heat, stirring from time to time to prevent these from adhering and burning to the base of the saucepan.
4. As the water in the butter evaporates, the solids will begin to turn a light golden color.
5. At this time we remove from the heat and set aside. The heat of the saucepan itself will finish roasting the solids without burning them (otherwise they would give off a bad taste), leaving a slight aroma of dried fruit.

We bake the gibassier:

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC with heat up and down.
2. Paint the gibassier with the beaten egg with milk and introduce at medium height.
3. We bake for 20-23 minutes. They should take on a light golden color. To know if they are done, we will click with a digital thermometer , it should mark 88-90ºC.
4. Remove, brush with ghee and sprinkle with extra fine sugar.

To preserve them, the ideal is to store them, once they have cooled completely, in a large zip-type bag or with a clamp. They will remain in perfect condition for 3-4 days, don't worry, they won't arrive.

These gibassier will be perfect for breakfast, a snack or a snack between meals... They are a real delight and a good variety of sweets to prepare at Christmas and surprise the family.

We look forward to seeing yours!