Nurturing my inner... weekend special

I was at Wegmans in the check out line one day when this man in front of me was talking about this bread he bought in the bakery section.  He was in town from Maryland visiting his brother and this stuff was apparently so fantastic, he made a special trip to the store just for it.  That was the first time I set eyes on this gem of a carbohydrate.  I have now given it the much coveted title of BSE (Best Stuff Ever) - Wegmans brioche.

What you need to know (or you'll get mad at me when you try and pick it up and it's not there and I don't want any lip from you): they only make it on the weekends.  So you'd better get there by noon on a Saturday or Sunday to make sure you don't miss out.  It comes in two flavors, regular and I think the other one is cherry or some fruit, but I haven't tried that one yet.  The plain is so good, I can't seem to even entertain the possibility of the other.  It is buttery, fluffy, wonderful perfection and goes great with jam.

Sugar-crusted outside. Small loaf,
so less to feel guilty about.

The baker (I watched him the other day as I stalked the bakery until they put it out - I kid you not) puts three dough balls in that rise up and bake together, so it makes it easy to pull off one, hot, fluffy, flaky chunk at a time.  I know, now you want to run out and get it this very moment, but you'll unfortunately have to wait until next weekend.  (As you curse my name in the meantime from Monday through Friday.)

A chunk. Self explanatory.

Brioche, I am told, is a very, very hard bread to make.  The French may be experts, but here, not a lot of people are up for the challenge.  Why bother trying to make it at home when you can drop by Wegmans for a fresh out of the oven loaf.  (Oh yes, did I mention that I buy it warm?)

A little bit of fruit preserves or jam (that's my homemade strawberry pictured), a cup of coffee or tea, and your morning will get off on the right foot, I promise you that!  The top off the brioche has an air pocket that they had rolled up sugar inside of it.  Delicious, crunchy surprise.

Crusty outside, soft inside.

So good, that my mother has asked me to bring four loaves home.  (Currently hibernating in my freezer.)  Mind you, I don't think she will be sharing them either.

They come in bags with tiny air holes to
let out the steam as they cool.

Can't you almost smell them?  They are fun to pick up and bring to a friend's house, especially if you have a day of jam making ahead of you.  Your friend will be so excited and you'll be invited over again in the near future.  (This is fact.  Who needs Dale Carnegie?  This is how to win friends.)

I'm all for cooking at home, as should be evident by now, but once in a while there is something so good and perfect just as is, I don't feel the need to mess with it.  As long as Wegmans keeps popping out the piping hot brioche on the weekends, I don't ever have to worry about attempting to bake this up in my home kitchen.  Fine by me!