Buttery Brioche

Yesterday, while we were walking along the shore, we played "dream brunch." Okay, that might sound a little strange, but I was feeling creative and asked Jake to give me some ingredients to create some dreamy brunch dishes for today. From that cooperative brainstorm I was inspired to try my baking chops on homemade brioche.

Little did I know what a looooong process it would be. But it was worth every second!

Homemade Brioche

adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

1/2 C warm water
1 T active dry yeast
3 T organic granulated sugar
6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
4-1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 t sea salt
10 T butter, at room temperature
splash of olive oil
1 egg mixed with 1 T heavy cream, for egg wash

Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let bloom for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and beat on medium speed until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, add 2 C of the flour and the salt and mix for 5 minutes. With the mixer still on low, add the remainder of the flour and mix for 5 more minutes. Scrape the dough into a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

This is what the dough looked like in the morning.

The next morning, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. I don't have any brioche tins, so I opted to use a muffin baking dish. Butter the hollows of a muffin baking stone. Set aside.

Add the softened butter in chunks, and mix for 2 minutes. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and divide the dough into balls and place them in the hollows. I tried to make that tell-tale dough marble on the top of each brioche, but it didn't quite work out, except on a few. Cover the dish with a damp towel and set aside to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. When the rolls have risen, brush the top of each with the egg wash, sprinkle with some more granulated sugar, and bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops spring back. Turn the rolls out onto a wire rack to cool.

I served the hot, buttery brioche with a slathering of Minneola Tangelo Curd.

I am sharing this recipe with girlichef's Bake-Your-Own-Bread series.

Go check out what others are baking.