I love that at weekend brunch, you can eat traditional lunch fare like salads, burgers and sandwiches or you can pick a meal reminiscent of breakfast and order omelets, French toast and home fries.
Another thing that restaurant brunches have going for them is all you can drink mimosas or sangria.
And finally, I’ve learned that a bread basket is a highly underrated element in the restaurant world.
There are plenty of restaurants that offer quasi-stale crusty Italian bread along with an entrée but that isn’t necessarily a good bread basket.
It’s vanilla, there is nothing remarkable about stale dinner rolls made with white flour and warmed under a heating lamp seconds prior to serving.
A good bread basket has a nice variety of breads – white and wheat, rolls and slices, sweet and savory, salty and buttery.
The best brunch-table bread basket might have some soft, fresh rolls and thick slices of crusty multigrain nestled between blueberry or bran mini-muffins and brioche.
Soft, thick brioche that practically melts in your mouth with each bite and a savory, buttery crust.
Brioche is great on its own in a bread basket, when turned into indulgences like French toast or bread pudding or when sliced and eaten as a sandwich.
Since brioche is sweeter than most yeast breads, I like to top or stuff it with savory fillings like ham, egg and sharp cheese.
I made Poor Man’s Brioche last week for the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge and came up with a tasty sandwich creation that could easily moonlight as breakfast, lunch or dinner.
In the book, author Peter Reinhart offers three adaptations of the recipe: rich, middle class and poor. Richer = more eggs, more butter.
I’m paying off college loans so I opted for the latter.
- 2 slices Poor Man’s Brioche (from Peter Reinhart’s Bread Baker’s Alliance) or your favorite brioche
- 2 slices deli-style ham (I used Applegate Farm’s Organic, cured without nitrates or additives)
- 1 egg, fried over easy
- 1 slice sharp cheddar cheese
- Handful arugula or other mixed greens
- Dijon mustard
- Slice brioche into two even pieces and spread one side of each slice with dijon mustard.
- In a small skillet or frying pan, cook egg as desired (I prefer over easy) until cooked through.
- Top bottom half of brioche with a small handful of arugula - use as much or as little as you like. Top with 2 slices of ham, egg and a slice of sharp cheddar cheese. Season with freshly ground pepper, as desired. Serve with garden salad or mixed greens.
19 Comments
Appoggiatura
June 16, 2009 at 12:00 amThat brioche sandwich looks utterly decadent. Great job!
Catherine
June 15, 2009 at 12:00 amoooh, a fried egg and cheese sandwich sounds so yummy right now!
saltandserenity
June 15, 2009 at 12:00 amI so agree with you on your bread in restaurants commentary. Whenever I visit a restaurant for the first time, I can usually tell within the first 10 minutes if I’m about to have a great meal. A restaurant that is passionate about food will serve excellent bread.
Your brioche egg sandwich is making me very hungry!!
Jenn @ Pete Eatemall
June 14, 2009 at 12:00 amWish I would have made some plain brioche to have a yummy sandwich like yours. My husband and I always make egg sandwiches after returning from a night on the town! Love your post! Happy Baking
Bridgett
June 12, 2009 at 12:00 amPerfectly delicious! Brioche is such a yummy bread.
Kerstin
June 12, 2009 at 12:00 amAwesome bread and sandwich!
I’m a huge brunch fan too! Plus, it’s the only time you can have a cocktail before noon without getting funny looks 🙂
alexa
June 12, 2009 at 12:00 amis it weird that i just like saying the word brioche?
Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella
June 12, 2009 at 12:00 amDelicious sounding combination Maris and I agree, would be great for breakfast, lunch, dinner or brunch!
lisa (dandysugar)
June 12, 2009 at 12:00 amThis is a GOOD sandwich. A perfect brunch sandwich. The bread looks awesome!
Matt
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amBrunch is easily my favorite meal ever.
Its even better than 4am after the bar meals.
Susie
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amAwesome looking sandwich. Love it,
Susie
ksgoodeats
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amThat sandwich looks divine! I am in love with the bread 🙂
duodishes
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amFresh, homemade bread can totally rock a sandwich out. Poor or rich, we’re impressed with everyone who made brioche.
elra
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amWhat a beautiful crumbs!
And your sandwich look fabulous as awell.
Katie K
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amThat looks like the perfect brunch sandwich. Now I’m craving brunch.. ha ha!
Pearl
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amsounds like a yummy sandwich!
grace
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amyet again, you (and your bread) have risen to the challenge. this looks wonderful, maris!
kat
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amThat does sound like a great sandwich, we are big fans of the sandwich at our house
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
June 11, 2009 at 12:00 amFor a few months, my husband was on a brioche-baking kick. He used the recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book, and that was definitely a “rich man” version! For Sunday brunch, he turned it into French toast — the single most indulgent brunch meal I’ve ever had.