administratorA melt-in-your-mouth, buttery yeast dough — the French cousin of the challah. This tender, breakfast-style bread is perfect served with homemade jam or simply a pat of good butter.
The recipe comes from Fou de Pâtisserie magazine and was found on Mercotte’s blog.
Ingredients:
- 260 g flour
- 28 g sugar
- 6 g salt
- 10 g fresh yeast
- 15 g milk
- 150 g eggs (about 3)
- 210 g butter
- 1 beaten egg, for brushing
Note: This recipe requires advance preparation. The brioche takes two days to make.
Preparation
It’s best if all the ingredients — even the flour — are well chilled. Before starting, place them in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Mixing the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour.
On one side of the bowl, place the sugar and salt; on the other side, crumble in the yeast (so that it doesn’t come into direct contact with the salt). Add the milk and begin mixing on low speed.
Lightly beat the eggs and add two-thirds of them to the flour while mixing on low. After about 2 minutes, when the dough starts to come together, add the remaining eggs and increase the speed to medium. Continue kneading for a few minutes.
Incorporating the butter
Cut the butter into small pieces and add it gradually, continuing to knead the dough. Knead for several minutes until smooth — the dough will remain a little sticky.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured bowl, cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place to rise for 1–2 hours, until doubled in size.
The ideal room temperature is at least 22°C. Alternatively, preheat the oven to 50°C, turn it off, and place the covered dough inside to rise.
Another trick: bring a pot of water to a boil, remove from the heat, flip the lid upside down to create a base, and set the bowl with the dough on top.
First rest
Lightly flour your work surface and turn out the risen dough. Gently press it down to release the air. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Day 2
Shaping
The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into three equal pieces. Flatten each slightly, then fold and pinch the edges underneath to form smooth balls.
Grease a loaf pan and line it with baking paper. Place the three dough balls inside, side by side. Let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Baking
Brush the top with beaten egg and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 45 minutes.
Mercotte recommends using the convection setting, but in my case the brioche browned too quickly.
If the top becomes golden brown before the baking time is up, cover it loosely with aluminum foil and continue baking until done.
