This weekend, I made my not-quite-weekly trip to the Borough Market to stock up on useful ingredients. The market lends itself to experimentation. I may go looking for dinner, but with no advanced plans on whether to go for the wild boar pie or to have flavored foccaccia with salad. This time, I knew I wanted bread, but until I arrived there, the idea of Duck Egg Brioche had never crossed my mind.

It was a lovely loaf to look at, a deep burnished brown finished with the sheen of an egg glaze - and made with duck eggs. Fairly dense, the loaf cut beautifully and tidily. It wasn't particularly sweetened either. Still, it didn't really go with my soft cheese experiment of the day - High Weald Dairy's Sussex Slipcote sheep milk cheese was far too grassy-tasting to complement it. The cheese requires a heartier bread.

The loaf aged gracefully, slowly turning stale over the following few days until, today, it was perfect for french toast. (I don't go through bread very quickly on my own.) Twenty minutes of soaking, and the bread puffed up nicely in the skillet. I hadn't planned ahead on sauces, but any kitchen equipped with overripe peaches, dried coconut, and lemons can manage a sauce. My only regret was that I hadn't given in to stocking up on lots of inexpensive maple syrup while over in Canada last week.