sprinklefingers

i know. i know. not everyone has a freezer stocked with extra loaves of brioche. and i keep posting recipes requiring brioche. what can i say? i’m a jerk. BUT. i’m a jerk who loves brioche.

it took me a long time to figure out my go-to brioche formula. one that would work great as a loaf and equally well as a sticky bun or a doughnut. but i can’t share my formula. not yet. we’re using it pretty exclusively at the bakery and i’m just not ready for everyone to know how we do it…besides, the batch size is gigantic and you don’t want 7 lbs of brioche dough on your hands…or do you? don’t answer that.

to make it up to you, i’m going to share with you my second-favorite brioche recipe. it’s from the fine folks at fine cooking. FC just so happens to be my favorite food-related magazine. the step-by-step photos are incredible, and they always have a way of taking something seemingly complicated (brioche dough) and turning it into something anyone can do. anyone who has a stand mixer, that is.

brioche has one million uses. and after it’s baked it can be frozen. and because it freezes so beautifully, i suggest that if you’re going to go through the trouble of making a batch, you might as well make two. or three. the steps will all be fresh in your mind, and you’ll be in the brioche zone! just go with it! while one batch is mixing you can prep your ingredients for your next batch. you’ll be a well-oiled brioche making machine. (this won’t be very far from the truth because making brioche requires a lot of butter.)

brioche dough
makes 2 loaves
from allison ehri kreitler, lesli heffler flick of fine cooking magazine

you need:

• 1 lb. 2 oz. (4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/2 oz. (4-1/2 tsp.)
• 2 t kosher salt
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 4 oz. (1/2 cup) whole milk, at room temperature 
• 8 oz. unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, slightly softened

make the dough:

1. in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle, mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. add the eggs and the milk and mix to combine. once the dough comes together, switch out the paddle for the dough hook. set the speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes. scrape down the bowl and the hook, then mix for 2 minutes more. the dough should become firm and somewhat stretchy. if it keeps sticking to the hook, simply keep scraping it off.
2. set the mixer to medium-low. while the mixer is running, add the butter one piece at a time, letting the pieces combine almost completely between additions.  scrape down the bowl and dough hook a few times between additions making sure to scrape the dough on the bottom of the mixer up to the top. it should take you 8-10 minutes to add the butter.
3. when the butter has been added and is on it’s way to being fully incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 4 minutes. scrape the bowl and hook again, then continue to mix until the dough is smooth and shiny, about 4 minutes more. at this point, the dough should make a slap-slap sound against the sides of the mixer bowl. 
4. scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. with floured hands, knead it a bit, then fold all four sides into the middle of the dough. flip the dough ball over and smooth the top down to the sides, tucking it under itself. you’ll have a loose ball with a smooth top. put the dough, smooth side up, into a lightly oiled bowl. cover with cling wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk - about 1 hour.
5. after 1 hour, remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface. do to it exactly what you did in step 4 above - fold all four sides into the middle of the dough. flip the dough ball over and smooth the top down to the sides, tucking it under itself. you’ll have a loose ball with a smooth top.
6. put the dough back in the bowl and cover tightly with cling wrap. refrigerate overnight.

shape, proof & bake the brioche:

1. remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temp for about an hour.
2. butter two 9” loaf pans (if yours are 8.5” that’ll be fine.)
3. working on a floured surface with light, quick hands, turn the dough out of the bowl. form the dough into yet another ball by folding all four sides into the middle of the dough. flip the dough ball over and smooth the top down to the sides, tucking it under itself. 
4. divide the dough into 16 equal pieces - it’s best to put the whole lump of dough on the scale and weigh it. once you have that weight, divide it by 16 and then make 16 balls of dough that are exactly that weight. it’s math! it’s easy!
5. working with one piece of dough at a time, cup your hands over the top of the ball of dough and roll it on your countertop until it forms a tight round.
6. repeat this ball-rolling for the remaining dough.
7. fit 8 balls snugly into each of your loaf pans in 2 rows of 4 balls each.
8. cover the pans with a lint-free kitchen towel and let rest in a warm spot for around 1 hour or until the dough is cushy and has doubled in bulk.
9. preheat the oven to 375. if you would like to brush an egg wash on the loaves to give them a shiny appearance, whisk together 2 eggs with a pinch of salt and carefully brush it over the tops of the proofed loaves. take care to not let too much of the egg wash drip down into the loaf pan or the loaves will be difficult to remove.
10. bake the brioche loaves for approximately 25 minutes. the tops of the loaves will be a beautiful dark-golden brown.
11. let the loaves cool for 20 minutes then unmold them.
12. if freezing, wrap the still warm loaves in a double layer of foil and freeze straightaway.

i realize this looks like a ton of steps. and brioche-baking is labor intensive, i’m not going to lie. but the results are so very worth it. for reals.

i’ll be back tomorrow with all sorts of ideas for brioche-deliciousness.