Gibassier, a popular French breakfast bread, is made with a complex mix of ingredients including aniseed, orange flower water, and orange peel. The recipe originates from the village of Lourmarin in Provence and involves a fermentation process and adding ingredients such as eggs, olive oil, sugar, and butter. The dough is divided into smaller balls, flattened, and brushed with olive oil before being cooked and dipped in honey butter.
Of the many artisanal breads and cakes in the world, the breakfast bread gibassier is one of the most popular in the French tradition. These greasy biscuit-like biscuits are made from a complex number of ingredients, from standard flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, butter and olive oil to those that make it unique, such as orange flower water, aniseed and Orange peel. Ultimately, it will be hard to tell whether what is being eaten is a cookie, pastry, donut or brownie, but it will have a unique flavor.
This recipe, which some call fougasse, appears to have originated in the rocky southeast of France, in the village of Lourmarin, in Provence. Many believe that this pleasure of generations has taken its name from the mountain called Le Gibas, which forms part of the skyline of the village. According to Michel Suas, in his Advanced Bread and Pastry guide, the main ingredients of the area are at the heart of the gibassier: local anise seeds, oranges and olive oil.
The night before Gibassier bread is made, a fermentation process must begin between some of the flour, milk, egg and yeast. For a recipe that makes 16 of these flattened cookies, available online from the pastry chef at the Hyatt New York Central hotel, the proportions of these ingredients are 0.75 cups (about 85 g) flour, one refrigerated egg, 0.33 cups ( about 78 ml) of cold milk and just one standard packet of brewer’s yeast. All are mixed in a bowl which is then covered and allowed to rise at room temperature overnight.
The next day, an ambitious culinary alchemy begins. About 3.75 cups (about 415 g) flour is added to mixing bowl on low speed, to follow the Hyatt recipe. Also in the mixture add three more eggs, 0.5 cups (about 118 ml) of olive oil, 0.5 tbsp. (about 7 g) salt, 0.6 cup (about 50 g) sugar, 1 oz. (about 28 g) more yeast, 2 tsp. (about 8.4 g) of anise seeds and two types of water – 0.33 cup (about 78 ml) of plain cold water and 2 tsp. (about 10 ml) of orange blossom water. All this is mixed at medium speed for five minutes, then 0.5 cup (about 128 g) of candied orange peels enter the mixture. The last stretch involves adding 7 tbsp. (about 100 g) of softened butter, a little at a time, until the dough is firm but pliable.
The last step in making gibassier is dividing this ball of dough into several smaller balls – 16 for this particular recipe. These are placed on oiled parchment paper and pressed into flattened ovals, which are brushed with more olive oil before resting at room temperature for an hour and a half. After brushing the tops with an egg-sugar mixture, the gibassiers are ready to cook for about 20 minutes at 350°F (about 177°C). While still hot, tradition dictates a quick dip in honey butter before taking a bite.
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