Fouace is served very hot and, depending on the version, may be topped with white beans, rillettes, salted butter or goat's cheese. But, it is simply delicious mixed with dried fruit before baking, as this version is, served hot, spread with butter and your favorite jam.
Next make authentic French brioche bread in the bread maker if you have one or bake in the oven. Step-by-step instructions for both methods.
A type of brioche bread is fouace, flavored with orange blossom water, and is a very old traditional bread.
The word originally referred to the oven in which bread has been cooked for centuries, from the Latin word "focus" or hearth.
This bread is traditionally shaped into a wreath or an oval and originates from the Albi region, near Toulouse.
As the bread bakes slowly, it spreads out as it rises, giving a very distinctive shape.
Fouace is one of the oldest French breads and is popular throughout France. Every region has its own variation on the theme. Around Aveyron, for example, it is flavoured with orange flower water and studded with prunes or candied fruits.
Try these other tasty French breads that are so popular, like the Famous French Baguette, so much easier than you might think.
Also, French Brioche Bread, which I have provided an easy version of, is just as delicious as more involved recipes.
Socca a type of flatbread, is also the easiest and will remind you of other flat breads from other cuisines.
📖 Recipe
Prep Like a Pro
Before you start cooking, chop, measure, and prep every ingredient, and gather your tools.
This simple habit reduces stress, prevents overcooking, and instantly improves your meals. Mise en Place - "Everything in its place."
Brioche Bread Fouace
Ingredients
- 3¾ cup strong bread flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- .7 oz fast-acting yeast 2 tablespoon + .5 teaspoon or instant yeast
- 2 oz sugar
- 1¼ cup juice of 1 orange plus hot water to make the measurement
- grated zest of orange
- 1 tablespoon orange flower water
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- 2 medium eggs
- 1.8 oz candied fruits ¼ cup - chopped finely
Instructions
- Sift flour and salt into a bowl and stir in the yeast, sugar and orange zest.
- Squeeze orange juice, then add 1 tablespoon orange flower water and hot water to bring the volume up to 1¼ cups/300 ml.
- Mix in eggs and oil.
- Add liquid to flour mixture and mix to a soft dough.
- Turn out onto a floured surface.
- Knead dough for 10 minutes until elastic (by folding the dough over itself toward you, then gently pushing away, then quarter-turn, and continue folding, pushing, and turning.
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl.
- Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for up to 1½ hours or until doubled in size.
- Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead dough for a few minutes until smooth.
- Gently knead in candied fruits.
- Cut in half and roll out one half into an 8 in/20cm circle.
- Place the round dough onto a greased baking sheet and make a number of cuts with a sharp knife, radiating from the ce.nter
- Pull the dough gently to open the cuts and then cover with cling film. Repeat with the remaining dough to make the second loaf.
- Leave in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas 6 - Moderately Hot.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes until risen and golden.
- Either cool on a wire rack, or eat hot! (No need to wrap leftovers this way!)
Notes
- cut dough into equal size pieces and place in a pan that fits all of them snuggly to make small fruit brioche rolls or you can even fill muffin tins with the dough and reduce the baking time to 15-20 minutes to make brioche buns.
- After mixing in the fruit and cutting dough in half, shape the dough into long rolls long enough to fit into a small bread loaf pan, flatten out the dough to make a rectangular shape, then fold the dough by thirds length ways, one side folded over the middle, then the other side on top. Place into bread pan and bake 20-30 minutes.
Loved it, tweaked it, or not your "cup of tea"... I’d really love to hear how it went for you.