I have made brioche several times, in slightly different guises, but this recipe is for a brioche loaf. The lovely, soft, enriched dough is perfect in loaf form. It provides a well risen, soft, sliceable bread which I love to eat in sandwiches.
The recipe takes a long time as, to get the best flavour, it is necessary to allow the dough to rest in the fridge for at least 8 hours. During that time the dough may rise and need to be knocked back at least once. But as the dough chills it will stop rising and will form a firm dough which is much easier to work with.
Once chilled the dough is divided into 8 pieces which are rolled into balls and placed in a 2lb/900g loaf tin. Those tins tend to come in different sizes. The one I used was 9.5 inches/24cm by 5.5 inches 14cm, but I have other tins which have smaller dimensions. A 9inc/23 by 5 inch/13 cm tin will work just as wel land will produce a taller loaf since the dough has less area to expand within the tin.
My loaf turned out very well indeed, with the soft, buttery, bread being moist and so tasty.
For those who don’t have a loaf tin the same dough can be divided into 8 balls and placed leaving a huge gap between each, on baking trays to be baked as rolls.
The baking time for a loaf is between 30 and 35 minutes and for individual rolls is about 20 minutes.
I have a wonderful recipe for some Brioche Buns with Chocolate & Hazelnuts
Brioche Loaf
Ingredients
360g(2 1/3 cups + 1 tbsp, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup) strong white bread flour
50g(1/4 cup) caster sugar
10g(1 tbsp + 1/4 tsp) instant yeast
6g(1 tsp) salt
3 medium eggs(large in USA)
80ml (1/3 cup) whole milk, though semi-skimmed would be ok too
170g(12 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened slightly
1 egg and 1 tbsp water combined for an egg wash.50g(1/4 cup) caster sugar
10g(1 tbsp + 1/4 tsp) instant yeast
6g(1 tsp) salt
3 medium eggs(large in USA)
80ml (1/3 cup) whole milk, though semi-skimmed would be ok too
170g(12 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened slightly
1 egg and 1 tbsp water combined for an egg wash.
Directions
- Place the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Although this can be done by hand it is a lot of hard work, so a stand mixer is best to use. Mix to combine.
- Add the yeast and mix again.
- Add the milk and eggs and mix on a low speed, with the dough hook attachment, until the mixture comes together and clumps around the hook.
- Increase the speed and knead for a few minutes until the mixture looks much smoother and elastic.
- Add the butter, gradually, one tablespoon at a time and knead until it is fully combined each time. This will take about 6 minutes and the dough will be smooth, soft and very sticky.
- Scrape the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then allow to proof for about an hour, until the dough doubles in size.
- Knock the air out of the dough and cover again with plastic wrap then place the bowl into the fridge and allow to rest for at least 8 hours. Knock back the dough after about an hour if it rises up to fill the bowl. Once chilled through the dough will not rise much, if at all.
- After 8 hours have elapsed(longer will be fine), remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 pieces of equal weight(about 100g/3 1/2 oz).
- Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball and place into a greased 2lb/900g loaf tin, squeezing the balls together so they all fit neatly.
- has risen above the top of the loaf tin by about 1/2 inch. The dough should be puffy and gently making an indentation in the top with a floured fingertip will make a mark which should slowly disappear when the dough is fully proofed.
- As the dough proofing is almost complete preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/375 F.
- Gently brush the egg wash over the surface of the dough.
- Place the pan into the oven and bake the brioche for 30 to 35 minutes, until the dough has risen and the top has turned a dark brown colour. The internal temperature, if you have a thermometer, should reach about 93C/200F.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.