23 November 2015
Welcome friends. I hope everyone is looking forward to the upcoming holidays. I know that I am. I can use some time off to catch up on all of the things that I have not had time to complete. I have been extremely busy with my job. It is a good thing that I don't have deadlines with this site.
We had our first snow over the weekend. They were large snowflakes and the temperature was around 30°F. I tried to capture them in a short video. There is something about making bread, that makes my place seem warm and cozy. I love bread. It is like alchemy. Yeast transforms the ingredients into something golden and wonderful. I think brioche is the cake of breads. It has egg and a lot of butter in it. It is somewhere between sandwich bread and pound cake. It is slightly sweet with a taste of butter. If I had to describe it in one word, I would say "luxurious".
Brioche is a french bread and it takes some effort to make (more that 3 hours). I cannot imagine making brioche by hand. Thank goodness we live in an age where electrical appliances can add efficiency to our efforts. This recipe uses a stand mixer. I've modified Dorie Greenspan's recipe from her fantastic cookbook
I make this recipe near the end of summer when fresh peaches are easy to find at the local farmer's market. I use some of the dough to make a peach tart, and bake the rest of the dough in small loaf pans. This bread freezes very well, so I make more than I need and freeze some to enjoy later. I also make this in the fall and serve it, toasted, with almond cream.
Although it takes some time to make the dough, it is easy to work with once it has been chilled. Allowing the dough to chill overnight makes for a more flavorful bread. The bake time is always the same no matter whether you make 2 large loaves or 4 small loaves. This bread smells fantastic while it is baking.
To freeze some of the loaves, allow the bread to cool completely. Wrap each loaf in aluminum foil and place it in a freezer grade ziplock bag. Make sure to squeeze out as much air from the bag as possible. Frozen loaves will keep for about 6 months.
Brioche
2 hrs 30 min. prep time | chill overnight | 30 min. rest time | 1 hr 15 min. shape and proof | 30 min. bake time
Ingredients
makes 4 mini loaves
- for the yeast
- 1/3 cup warm milk, whole or 2%
- 2 Tbl sugar
- 1/3 cup water, room temperature
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- for the dough
- 1 1/4 cups cake flour
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
- for the egg wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbl water
Directions
combine the milk and the sugar in a microwaveable container. Warm this in the microwave for 40 seconds before adding the water. Make sure to use room temperature water. This cools the liquid before the yeast is added. Pour the yeast over the liquid and stir for about 1 minute with a small whisk until the yeast has completely dissolved. Take your time stirring these together. It is important to activate the yeast. Once combined, set the mixture aside for 5 minutes.
place the flours and salt in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Pulse a few times to combine the flours. With the mixer at a low speed, pour the yeast mixture over the flour mixture and mix for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and stir the mixture with a spatula, making sure to reach the bottom of the bowl. Repeat this process 3 times. This will look like a shaggy mess.
add the eggs to the mixing bowl all at once and beat. Start out at a low speed and increase the speed to medium. Beat for about 20 seconds at medium speed until the dough begins to form a single mass. Be careful not to over mix at this step.
reduce the mixer speed to medium low and add the butter, about 2 tablespoons at a time. Allow each addition to be incorporated before adding more. Smaller cubes work into the dough faster than a large chunk. This is a very slow process, so be patient.
increase the mixer speed to medium after all of the butter has been incorporated. Tentacle like strands from the dough will begin to stick to the sides of the bowl. This is a result of the gluten strands forming. Beat the dough for about 7 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer a few times during this process to allow the dough to fall down the dough hook. The dough will be very soft, elastic, and slightly sticky.
transfer the dough to a large bowl. Make sure that the bowl is large enough for the dough to double in size. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 1 ½ hours. After the dough has risen, pull a handful of the dough up along the side of the bowl and drag it back to the center of the bowl and push it down. Give the bowl a quarter turn. Repeat this process 3 more times. This should gently stretch the dough out and deflate it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.
remove the dough from the refrigerator and set it on the counter for 30 minutes. Gently lift the dough along the sides to loosen it from the bowl. Shape the dough into a large disk on a work surface. The dough will be firm but flexible, like modeling clay. Use a pastry scraper to cut the dough into quarters. Use a butter flavored cooking spray to lightly coat the inside of 4 small loaf pans (3 ½ inches by 6 inches). Roll each piece of the dough a few times to help shape it into a rectangle. Place the dough into the pan and use your thumbs to distribute the dough evenly along the bottom.
allow the dough to rest for 1 hour to lighten the loaves. By this time the loaves should be double in size. Do not skip this step or try to cut it short. It creates better bread.
preheat the oven to 375° F. Position a rack in the middle of the oven.
place the loaf pans on a baking sheet. Beat the egg and water together and lightly brush the tops of the loaves with the egg wash before placing them in the oven.
bake the loaves for about 30 minutes until they are golden brown. Allow the loaves to cool for 15 minutes before slipping them out of the pans. Cool on a wire rack.