Hollandaise Sauce, for you next Eggs Benedict, Eggs Florentine or Egg Royale!

So many people I know go crazy for a good Eggs Benedict. I've chosen to post a recipe today for the eggs Benedict, starting from the base to the topping! There are three different Benedict's, well at least three different traditional variations. Firstly there is the Eggs Benedict, which includes Gypsy Ham  with a two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. Secondly there is the Eggs Royale, this is a more dressed up Benedict, it has smoked salmon in the place of the Gypsy Ham and also has the poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. Then last but not least, we have the eggs Florentine, this Benedict is served with a spinach  base.
All of these different Benedict's are all traditionally served on a English muffin which is split in half and then place onto a pan or flat top with butter to crisp up.  But now days we get a lot more variations of this morning delight, some of the others I've heard of is using bacon or parma ham. One thing which I have noticed when I go to restaurants in South Africa is that the Chefs name there Benedict's incorrectly, I don't know if they do this for the people so that they know that its still a Benedict that they ordering or just out of ignorance. 

Ingredients for English Muffin

• 680g plain flour
• 360g water (40C/104F)
• 30g yeast (fresh)
• 50g egg
• 55g sugar
• 10g salt 
• 85g butter (soft)
• polenta and butter for pan frying 

Method

1. Mix 2/3 of the flour and all the other ingredients except for the butter together and allow to rise for 2 hours. (this mixture is known as a Barm: liquid mixture, which the English used.) 
2. Once time has pasted, add in the rest of the flour  and knead till smooth dough is formed.
3. Now you place in the butter and work it into the dough (this is a very messy procedure but do not add any extra flour, just keep working the dough till it is fully incorporated)
4. Now set aside and allow to proof for another hour
5. Once proofing is done, portion your dough into 60-80g portions and then roll into tight little balls. 
6. Now that you have finished rolling out all of the balls, take a ring mould(you can also place the ring mould straight into the pan while hot and skip a step) and sprinkle a little but of polenta on the base and then place the ball into the mould and flatten into the ring mould. (sprinkle some more polenta on top as well, do this with the rest of the balls.) 
7.  Place a pan onto a medium heat with a bit of butter and then place the shaped dough into the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes( the bottom should be golden brown) on each side. 
8. Then there you have it, now just allow to cool down. 

Ingredients for Hollandaise

• 2 egg yolks 
• 250g butter 
• 5ml reduction ( 175ml white wine vinegar, 6 peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, 20g chopped onions) 
• pitch of cayenne pepper
• pitch of salt
  
• 2 tsp water 

Method 

1. Place butter into a pot and then place onto medium heat and allow to melt and for milk solids to drop down to the bottom. (when your butter stops to make noise and there is little to no foam, your butter is ready) Take off the heat and gently pour the clear liquid into another container, being careful not to get the milk solids from the bottom. 
2. Now place another pot onto the heat with the reduction ingredients and reduce down to 5ml.
3. You are going to need a bain marie as well as a mixing bowl which you can use over heat. ( to make a bain marie place a large pot with water 1/3 full and place onto heat, once starting to boil turn down to lowest heat. Your mixing bowl should be able to fit on top of pot.) 
4. Place egg yolks into mixing bowl with water and whisk well, then add in the reduction and place over bain marie (making sure that the bain marie is just producing stream and not at a rumbling boil, and having all of your ingredients within arms length) now you need to whisk the whole time till your egg yolks reach a pail white foamy texture (also known as a sabayon) 
5. Once your yolks are a sabayon, slowly start to add in your clarified butter at a steady stream whisking continuously (if your mixture becomes runny, take off the heat and place onto counter and continue to whisk till thickens again and then back onto heat) till all the butter has been added in. ( If you are struggling with the whisking, you can use a hand blender or electrical whisk) 
6. You can now add in your cayenne pepper and salt. For a different flavour profile add a bit of lemon to break through the fatty sauce and you can also add some mustard. Also make sure you place the finished sauce away from heat otherwise you have the risk of the sauce splitting. 

Now that you have all your required ingredients ready, you are now able to construct your very own home made Eggs Benedict and enjoy it in the comfort of your own home.   

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