Gibassier
A sweet bun from Provence, associated with Lourmarin. The dough is made with butter and olive oil, orange blossom water, anise and candied orange peel — a flavour instantly of the south of France. Gibassier has a flat leaf shape with slits, and after baking it is brushed with butter and rolled in sugar. This version, with butter and eggs, is the bakery style now popular in France and the US. Gibassier is a close relative of the pompe à l'huile, one of the thirteen desserts of a Provençal Christmas Eve.
Your own work in that: 50 min.
- Mixing 20 min
- Rising 90 min
- Shaping 20 min
- Proving 90 min
- Baking 15 min
- Sugaring 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneStart the yeast in milk
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk with a teaspoon of sugar and leave 10 minutes until foamy. The foam confirms the yeast is alive — a dough this rich in fat needs strong yeast.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 15 g fresh yeast · 100 ml lukewarm milk · 3 pcs eggs · 70 g sugar · 8 g salt · 70 ml olive oil · 50 g butter
Knead in the olive oil
Mix the flour, sugar and salt, add the yeast mixture, eggs and orange blossom water. Knead 5 minutes, then add the oil a spoonful at a time, kneading until absorbed. Olive oil gives gibassier its Provençal character and softness.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 15 g fresh yeast · 100 ml lukewarm milk · 3 pcs eggs · 70 g sugar · 8 g salt · 70 ml olive oil · 50 g butter
Add butter and flavourings
Add the soft butter piece by piece and knead another 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Finally work in the anise and orange peel — added earlier they would tear the gluten network.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp orange blossom water · 1½ tsp anise seeds · 80 g candied orange peel
Peel and anise last — they will not tear the gluten.Leave to rise
Cover and leave somewhere warm for 1.5 hours, until doubled. A rich dough rises more slowly than bread dough — do not rush it.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 15 g fresh yeast · 100 ml lukewarm milk · 3 pcs eggs · 70 g sugar · 8 g salt · 70 ml olive oil · 50 g butter
Shape flat ovals
Divide the dough into 10 pieces of about 105 g, shape into balls and flatten each into an oval 1.5 cm thick. Set on a lined tray.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 15 g fresh yeast · 100 ml lukewarm milk · 3 pcs eggs · 70 g sugar · 8 g salt · 70 ml olive oil · 50 g butter
Cut the leaf pattern
With a scraper cut three diagonal slits right through the middle of each oval and a few notches around the edge. Stretch the slits slightly with your fingers so they do not close during proving — they create the signature shape.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 15 g fresh yeast · 100 ml lukewarm milk · 3 pcs eggs · 70 g sugar · 8 g salt · 70 ml olive oil · 50 g butter
Three slits right through and notched edges.Prove and bake
Cover and prove 1.5 hours, until puffy. Brush with a little milk and bake at 180°C for 13–15 minutes, until golden. Do not overbake — gibassier should stay soft inside.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 15 g fresh yeast · 100 ml lukewarm milk · 3 pcs eggs · 70 g sugar · 8 g salt · 70 ml olive oil · 50 g butter
Brush with butter and roll in sugar
While still warm, brush each bun with melted butter and press into a bowl of sugar on both sides. The butter makes the sugar stick and gives a crisp, sweet shell. Best the day they are baked, with coffee.
Ingredients: 40 g melted butter · 80 g caster sugar
Butter, then sugar — a crisp, sweet shell.
Before you start
Orange blossom water
Orange blossom water is very intense, and its strength varies by brand. Start with 1 tablespoon, smell the dough and add the second if the aroma is faint. Too much tastes of soap.
Anise, not star anise
You need ordinary anise seeds, not star anise. Crush the seeds lightly in a mortar for a stronger aroma. If you dislike anise, replace it with orange zest.
Overnight in the fridge
After kneading you can refrigerate the dough overnight instead of rising it in the warm. In the morning shape and prove a little longer, about 2 hours. The flavour will be even fuller.
