Brioche In Boston

[fashionista12182]

Hello My Liege--
Ok...I need to find a bakery that has outstanding brioche for my Thanksgiving brunch--pumpkin french toast, yummy!!! Also, does anyone have any thoughts about day old brioche vs. fresh for their french toast recipes? Let me know... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

[cheryl_h]

I also like Iggy's pullman brioche. I got some to make croutons and we used the rest for French toast which was just fabulous.

[wonderwoman]

hi-rise in cambridge also has a nice brioche -- not cheap -- about $9, but really good, and i think it come in a loaf.

[emilief]

B&rBreads in Framingham makes a nice long pullman loaf of brioche perfect for french toast. I think day old is better.

[foodieB]

Canto6 has wonderful brioche but often sell out of things by lunchtime, so call ahead.

[Velda Mae]

Clear Flour in Brookline has excellent brioche. They don't have it every day so you should call ahead to see if it's available. Also, Clear Flour is closed on Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving. If they don't have brioche, I highly recommend their pain de mie for french toast. I used it to make a savory bread pudding and it was excellent. It's also nice because it's baked in a rectangular pan so you can get uniform slices.

As for aging, I think it's better to use bread that's at least a day or two old because it is then better able to absorb the batter.

[finlero]

For French toast, good brioche vs. outstanding really won't matter that much, but a few Boston/Cambridge options that come to mind:

Sel de la Terre - Boston Waterfront
Hi Rise - Harvard Square, Huron Village
Iggy's - Fresh Pond

As for fresh vs. day-old, the French toast will be fine either way; after all "pain perdu" means "lost bread", just a fancy French way of using stale leftovers.

But fresh brioche is so good by itself that turning it into anything else misses the point!

[Joanie]

I haven't gotten it but Blue Frog in JP always has brioche. I think Canto 6 does too. And they just raved about the brioche at B&R Bakery in Framingham on Phantom Gourmet today.