Christmas Brioche Bread with Salmon and Avocado Mousse
This Christmas brioche bread is perfect to prepare from Christmas to New Year’s (but I make it all year, it’s an evergreen), an unusual, spectacular, and elegant idea, that solves the annual dilemma of what to prepare as a Christmas appetizer.
The Christmas brioche bread is an easy, unusual, and tantalizing Christmas appetizer with salmon that always receives a great success among my guests, and indeed it has become, by popular demand, a staple dish in my Christmas menu every year.
This Christmas brioche bread is perfect for impressing your guests: as an appetizer, for a Christmas brunch, or even as a spectacular centerpiece for a Christmas aperitif.
The recipe for my brioche bread is infallible and tested, resulting in a super soft and tall brioche dough, a perfect dough that can be filled in many ways, even in a sweet version, so I recommend saving the recipe for this perfect brioche bread that rises wonderfully, as you can see from the photos below.
This soft brioche bread is filled with a light, creamy, and delicate avocado and ricotta mousse. Do not miss this precious recipe!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Christmas
Ingredients for the Christmas Brioche Bread with Salmon:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (I use Caputo classica azzurra)
- 1 cup whole milk (warm)
- 7 tbsp butter (melted in a bain-marie)
- 5 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 0.5 oz fresh yeast
- 1 lemon zest (grated)
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 8 oz avocado (peeled and pitted)
- 3.5 oz cow's milk ricotta
- 5 oz smoked salmon
- 3.5 oz emmental (grated into strands)
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp fine salt
- to taste black peppercorns (ground)
- to taste arugula
- to taste cherry tomatoes
- to taste green olives (for garnishing the surface)
Tools for the Christmas Brioche Bread with Salmon
- Food Processor chopper and electric vegetable slicer (Kenwood Multi pro go)
- Stand Mixer Kenwood 1200W power and double bowl
- Bundt Pan non-stick Nordic Ware, 10.2 inches in diameter
Steps for the Christmas Brioche Bread with Salmon
Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk, add the sugar and the flour, the 5 egg yolks, the grated lemon zest, knead using the paddle attachment of the stand mixer for 10 minutes, then add the melted butter (little by little) and finally, the salt (do not add at the beginning, otherwise it interferes with the yeast).
Knead for about a quarter of an hour (in total, max 30 minutes) with the paddle attachment, then replace it with the hook and work for another 5 minutes to knead well, the dough should detach from the sides in one piece.
Let the dough rise directly in a greased and floured Bundt pan of about 9.5 inches (I help myself with buttered hands) until it doubles (about an hour and a half).
After the indicated rising time, there is no need for a second rise (it’s an easy rising), so place the pan directly in the oven and bake it in a pre-heated oven at 356°F for about 30 minutes.
Remove the brioche bread from the oven and let it cool completely.
Blend the cleaned avocado in a food processor with ricotta, grated lemon zest, salt, pepper, a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (about 15 ml).
Grate the Emmental into strands, cut the cherry tomatoes in half and dress them with a little oil and salt, also dress the arugula with a little oil and salt.
Cherry tomatoes and arugula are optional.
With a sharp knife, divide the brioche bread into two parts and fill the bottom base, spreading it well with the ricotta mousse
Garnish the avocado mousse with arugula, cheese, and dressed cherry tomatoes.
Cover everything with the other top half of the brioche bread.
Decorate the surface of the brioche bread with cherry tomatoes cut in half, thin rolled slices of salmon, and green olives, but you can also opt for other solutions with imagination, eg: you can also add some walnuts.
Serve the salmon brioche bread at room temperature, sliced.
Notes and Tips for the Christmas Brioche Bread with Salmon
You can easily prepare the brioche bread the day before (covered with plastic wrap) keep it at room temperature and fill it the next day.
If you decide to fill it too, after filling it, it is best to keep it refrigerated and the next day, take it out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for at least 50 minutes before serving it!
Shopping Tips!!!
I find the Kenwood’s compact chopper food processor very convenient, a powerful (650 W) electric vegetable slicer that grates and slices directly into the plate in a few minutes.
To work the dough effortlessly, I use the Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker stand mixer, with double bowl (5L and 3.5L) and a power of 1200 W, integrated scale.
To make this recipe I used the wonderful non-stick Bundt pan from Nordic Ware.
You can buy all the items I recommend above, on Amazon, at a great price, just click directly on the relevant links.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is Brioche Bread?
Brioche Bread comes from the French term “pain brioché“, and refers to a soft and buttery bread, sweet or savory, very versatile.
It is a layered leavened bread that resembles bread and replaces it for quick sandwich and filled sandwich preparations, it can be filled in various ways.How to store Brioche Bread?
If unfilled, Brioche Bread can be stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap for about 3 days.
If the brioche bread is filled, it should be stored in the refrigerator wrapped well with plastic wrap, for about 2 days.
