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Pain à la grecque
Pearl sugar bread
Brussels pearl-sugar bread with a crackling caramel crust
BelgianDespite the name, pain à la grecque is pure Brussels: the 'Greek' is thought to come from the Flemish gracht, the canal next to the old abbey on the Wolvengracht whose monks handed out bread to the poor. Today it is a long, flat stick of cinnamon-spiced bread pressed into pearl sugar and baked until the sugar melts into a crunchy, glassy crust. Brussels bakeries such as those around the Sablon sell it by the slab, and it is eaten with coffee in the afternoon or dunked at breakfast. Chef's tip: press the dough hard into the pearl sugar on both sides; loosely scattered sugar just falls off in the oven.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 2 ⅛ oz dark brown soft sugar
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup whole milklukewarm
- 1 ¾ oz buttermelted
- 5 ½ oz Belgian pearl sugar
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 10 ½ oz plain flour, ⅛ oz fast-action dried yeast, 2 ⅛ oz dark brown soft sugar, 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon and ¼ tsp salt. Add ¾ cup whole milk and 1 ¾ oz butter and knead for 8 minutes into a soft, smooth, slightly sticky dough. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour, until doubled.
60 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 375°F (350°F fan). Line a large tray with baking paper.
Step 3: Mix 5 ½ oz Belgian pearl sugar and 2 tbsp caster sugar and spread half on the lined tray in a 35 x 15 cm rectangle.
Step 4: Roll the dough into a rectangle of the same size, about 1 cm thick. Lay it on the sugar, scatter the rest over the top and press down firmly with your palms so the sugar is pushed into the dough on both sides.
Step 5: Cut into 8 long fingers with a sharp knife, leaving them in place, and leave for 20 minutes to puff slightly.
20 minStep 6: Bake for 20–25 minutes, until deep brown and the sugar underneath has melted and bubbles at the edges. It should smell of caramel, not of burnt sugar; pull it out if it starts to smoke.
22 minStep 7: Leave on the tray for 5 minutes, then separate the fingers and cool on a rack. Leaving them on the paper until cold is the common slip: the caramel sets like glue.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 320 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pain à la grecque take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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