Brioche Has Consumed My Life and Now I Am 60% Sugar

While on spring break, my friend Ian and I took a couple days to visit Marseille in the south of France. I had never been to France and hadn't learned French since middle school, so I was surprised to learn that my biggest takeaway was the bread. I know the French are known for their bread, but the brioche, which I had never heard of, was a bombshell. It's a dense sweet bread, sometimes with added ingredients like caramel, chocolate, or sugar on top. Kind of like a less sweet cake without frosting. I remember my first bite of brioche left me with shivers down the back of my spine, almost like listening to the perfect piece of choir music. I was surrounded by a sense of peace and astonishment, all while sitting in awe of the incredibly decorated buildings in Marseille's old city. The rest of the trip revolved around finding and eating different types of brioche, freshly baked or pre-packaged. I always find the fresh-baked better because you are left with the gooey leftovers that are never fully baked through at the bottom of the loaf. The pre-packaged ones, while still tasty, often just feel a little too perfect and a little too dry. I think it's the imperfections that make brioche so impactful, much like a work of art. By the end of our 4 day trip to Marseilles, we had eaten 4 brioches. We tried to find more but were often surprised that stores in Marseilles will close before the posted time if they aren't swamped with customers. Getting back to Berlin, I was incredibly excited to find some brioche. Still, it took a while to see any success. There is a French bakery near Rosenthaler Platz that I searched out upon my return. When we arrived, the store had closed about 10 minutes after we got there, unfortunately. We ended up stopping by the nearest Rewe to find some chocolate-covered waffles, but it wasn't the same as the thick hunk of brioche I craved. This past weekend though, I made a breakthrough at Kaufland, my grocer of choice on Karl-Liebknecht Straße, because I found not brioche but something very similar called Zopf. It's a little less sweet and more dense than brioche, but Kaufland has two varieties: either Austrian Honey, or with added raisins. I like the raisins since it makes the bread around them a little gooey, but the honey is also lovely. I took my mannequin Ivanka to the Berliner Dom today to eat a whole Zopf and enjoy the sunny weather. Ivanka actually doesn't get out much on her own. Hence, it's essential for her to come with me to get her daily dose of vitamin D. A couple of people stopped to take photos, which is always a pleasure and an excellent way to give back to the community. I believe my next task in Berlin is to find some fresh baked Zopf from a local bakery, and then at that point, I can switch to a completely carb-based diet. It may be unhealthy, but at least I'm content.