Before the weather gets too hot, I encourage you to turn on your ovens and make this beautiful, buttery brioche. Thickly sliced brioche will be the star of the next couple of blog posts, and it freezes well so you can make several loaves in advance and pull them out of the freezer whenever you want.
What exactly is brioche? It’s an ever-so-slightly sweet, enriched bread. Enriched how? With eggs and butter, which regular bread doesn’t contain. Says who? The French. At the end of the day, brioche is a luxurious, pillowy soft, rich bread with the ability to swing sweet or savory depending how you want to use it.
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Ingredients
- 3 cups + 1/4 cups (390g) all-purpose flour divided
- 1/2 cup (120ml) warm milk (110-120°F)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar divided
- 2 + 1/4 teaspoons (0.25-oz., or typically 1 packet), active dry yeast
- 5 large eggs, divided (you’ll have a leftover egg white to use elsewhere)
- 3/4 teaspoon Kosher or fine sea salt (not iodized table salt)
- 10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 tablespoon water
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular large mixing bowl if mixing it by hand), whisk together 1/2 cup flour, the milk, 1 tablespoon sugar, and the yeast until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, and let it stand at room temperature (ideally in a room of about 75F/24C) until bubbly, about 30 to 45 minutes
- NOTE: The remaining directions call for the use of a stand mixer with a dough hook. If you do not have one, this may be made by kneading by hand (resist the temptation of adding extra flour. This is a very sticky dough, but it DOES come together). Once the sponge is nice and bubbly, add 3 whole eggs plus one yolk (save the remaining egg white for another use), the salt, remaining flour, and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. With dough hook attachment, mix on medium-low speed until well combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the bowl as needed. Continue mixing until the dough for about 10 – 12 minutes until it comes together as a ball
- With the mixer on low speed, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is fully incorporated before adding the next tablespoon. This will feel like it takes forever. Hang in there! You’ll need to scrape down the bowl several times
- Once all the butter is incorporated, increase the speed to medium and continue kneading for about 10 – 12 minutes more or until the dough has balled around the dough hook and has firmed up. Remove the dough hook and scrape down the sides of the bowl
- Cover the bowl tightly and let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 60 minutes
- Lightly grease a standard size loaf pan with softened butter or line the pan with parchment paper
- Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. It will still be sticky but resist adding more flour except on your hands to handle the dough. Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into approximately 9-inch (23 cm) long ropes. Braid the ropes together, then pinch the ends together to seal the braid. Tuck the ends under the braid and place it in the prepared loaf pan
- Pre-heat the oven to 375F/190C with the rack in the center of the oven
- Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place (again, 75F/24C) for about 45 – 60 minutes
- In a small bowl, whisk together the water and remaining egg until fully combined and the egg has no streaks. Brush the top of the loaf with egg wash
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until deep golden brown. NOTE: Although the final baked loaf should have a dark golden-brown top, while baking, cover with aluminum foil after 25 minutes in the oven if the top is browning too quickly. Out of the oven, let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan, and continue cooling on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store the completely cooled bread in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or slice and freeze in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. (Tip: If you plan to freeze this, let the loaf cool completely before slicing)
Greg Nelson Cooks 