Brioche

In six short months Danielle Postma and her husband Mike Caudle have revolutionised the Johannesburg pastry scene. Where there was once nothing but the disappointment of over-sized, tasteless muffins and leaden croissants, their tiny patisserie, Moemas, has brought the joy of lemon-scented madeleines and roasted plum tart to Gauteng.

< p> Trained at Leith’s in London and with a CV that includes the legendary Baker and Spice in Chelsea and Smithfield’s St John, Postma says she was “drawn back to my homeland by the pull of family. I wanted to sit in my sister’s garden watching the sun go down with good food, good wine and good company”.

When Postma was given the Saronsberg Seismic 2005 and asked to design a dish to accompany it, her pastry training and her love of family came to the fore. She says, “When I first tasted the wine, I thought instantly of brioche. Initially I noticed its smoothness and its gentle fruity subtlety. So I thought that brioche dough with all its buttery delicacy would be an ideal partner. Then I sipped it again and I sensed a gutsy, robust – almost herbal – quality which made me think that it could support not only the sweetness of slow roasted tomatoes and caramelised onions but also the forthright qualities of thyme, anchovies and olives. So I put all that together into a sort of modified pissaladière.”

The result is a glorious combination of sweet, buttery beginnings and robust salty middle and a fruity follow through. Biting into the tart and sipping the wine, Postma remarks: “It’s the kind of wine that you can open on the spur of the moment because it’s beautiful without being precious. I hope my tart matches its mood with its delicious simplicity. It is a tart for a relaxed family feast where everyone just dives in. However casual the meal, my feeling is that there is never a bad time to have a good wine.”

Brioche
TART BASE

250g bread flour
5g salt
30g sugar
150g eggs (roughly 3 eggs)
7.5g fresh yeast
125g butter
In order to make brioche an electric mixer with a dough
hook is recommended as hand kneading is an exhausting
task that will not produce the silken texture that is
possible with a machine.
Combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.
Add the eggs to the dry ingredients until a dough is formed.
Add the butter to the dough beating constantly over a medium speed.
Once all the butter is incorporated, increase the speed on the mixer
to maximum and beat until the dough is silky smooth.
Chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator.
To make the tart you will need 300g of brioche dough.

TOPPINGS

2 cups of sliced onions
2 T olive oil, plus extra for
brushing brioche
1 handful of kalamata olives
5 plum tomatoes
2 T thyme leaves (stalks removed)
8 anchovy fillets
1 egg yolk
1T cream

Grease a 28cm fluted tart case with removable
bottom with olive oil. Roll out the brioche dough into
a circle till it fits snugly into the base of the
tart case.
Allow the dough to prove
(i.e. rise until it has doubled in size).
This will take between 45 minutes and an hour
depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
While the brioche is proving, caramelise the onions
in two tablespoons of olive oil.
You can also slow roast the tomatoes by quartering
5 plum tomatoes, placing the segments on a roasting tray,
drizzling with olive oil, salt and pepper, and
cooking for 45 minutes in an oven set to 160°C.
Once the dough has risen, mix a tablespoon of cream
with an egg yolk and brush this lightly onto the
brioche.
Spread the cooled onions over the dough, leaving a
centimetre gap around the edges.
Scatter with thyme leaves,
olives, slow roast tomatoes and a few anchovy fillets.
Raise the oven temperature to 180°C.
Bake the tart until it is browned and well puffed, about 35 minutes.