Festive Brioches Recipes

COCOA BRIOCHE MORNING BUNS

Steps:

• Pre-ferment
• Mix flour, milk, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined (mixture will be thin, like a batter). Let rise, uncovered, in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Dough
• Add egg, milk, and yeast to pre-ferment and attach to stand mixer. Fit with dough hook and beat on low speed until combined. Add granulated sugar, cocoa powder, salt, 5½ cups (687 g) all-purpose flour, and 2 Tbsp. room-temperature butter; mix on low speed until a smooth dough forms. Transfer dough to a large bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, mix 2¼ cups (4¼ sticks) cool butter in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth and spreadable but still cool. Turn out onto a sheet of parchment paper and shape butter into a small rectangle with an offset spatula. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out butter to a 16x12" rectangle. Chill butter until dough is ready (you want to keep butter cool but malleable; don't let it get too firm).
• Turn dough out onto a generously floured work surface and roll into a 24x12" rectangle; position with a short side facing you. Uncover butter and place on top of dough, lining it up along near edge and covering bottom two thirds of dough. Fold top third of dough up and over butter, then fold bottom third up and over (like a letter). Quickly, but gently, roll out dough again to a 24x12" rectangle, flouring work surface and rolling pin as needed to avoid sticking. (If at any point dough gets too sticky to handle or butter is starting to melt, chill in fridge 20 minutes and let firm up before proceeding.) Fold dough into thirds again, wrap in wax paper or plastic, and chill 1 hour.
• Remove dough from fridge and repeat rolling and folding as above, one more time. Cut folded dough into 3 equal rectangles and wrap each tightly in plastic. Chill until ready to use. Do ahead: Dough can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled, or freeze up to 2 months.
• Filling and assembly
• When you're ready to bake buns, generously butter the cups of a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan; sprinkle each cup generously with raw sugar. Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar in a small bowl.
• Working with 1 piece of dough, unwrap and roll to a 12x6" rectangle about ¾" thick. Cut into six 6x2" rectangles. Starting ¼" from top of a short side, cut 2 lengthwise slits in a rectangle of dough to create 3 equal strands. Braid strands and sprinkle generously with brown sugar mixture. Lay 2 or 3 small pieces of chocolate on braid and coil, stacking up onto itself. Place bun, braid side up, in prepared muffin pan. Repeat with remaining 5 rectangles. You will want to use a third of the brown sugar mixture and a third of the chocolate, reserving the remaining brown sugar mixture and chocolate for the remaining 2 pieces of dough.
• Preheat oven to 375°. Loosely cover buns with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise until a little less than doubled in size, about 30 minutes. (Alternatively, let buns rise in fridge overnight and bake in the morning. If buns have not risen noticeably in fridge, let sit at room temperature 30-60 minutes before baking.)
• Whisk egg and 2 tsp. water in a small bowl. Brush tops of buns with egg wash and bake until tops are puffed and have developed a crisp outer layer, about 35 minutes. (Unmolded buns should sound slightly hollow when tapped.) Let cool in pan 2 minutes, then gently lift out of pan and transfer to a wire rack. Let sit until buns are cool enough to handle.
• Place some granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Working one at a time, toss buns in sugar and return to rack. Let cool completely. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, or save remaining cinnamon mixture and chocolate pieces separately in airtight containers at room temperature until ready to bake remaining dough. Do ahead: Buns can be baked 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

FLAKY BRIOCHE

Steps:

• Dough: Combine milk and yeast in a small liquid-measuring cup. Set aside until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine flours, salt, and sugar. Add yeast mixture and 4 eggs; mix on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 6 minutes. Add room-temperature butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing until dough is smooth and shiny, about 3 minutes more. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently into a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Butter Package: Arrange cold butter in a single layer on a piece of plastic wrap and loosely wrap. On a sturdy work surface, use a rolling pin to beat until butter is slightly softened, then roll out to a 5-by-8-inch rectangle, adjusting plastic as necessary. Refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 7-by-18-inch rectangle. Place chilled butter package on bottom half of dough, leaving about a 1-inch border on three of the sides. Fold top half of dough over butter to cover, then pinch edges together to seal. Tuck overhanging dough edges under to form a neat package. Roll out dough once more to a 7-by-18-inch rectangle. Fold top third of dough down towards center, then fold bottom third on top (like a business letter). This completes a single turn. Rotate dough package 90 degrees and repeat rolling and folding process. Wrap well in plastic and refrigerate about 45 minutes. Perform two additional single turns on dough. Wrap well in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Brush two standard 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with room-temperature butter. Roll out dough to a 14-by-14-inch square. Lightly brush top 3 inches of dough with water. Starting at opposite long edge, roll dough into a tight spiral, pressing to seal end. Cut log into 6 equal pieces and space evenly in prepared pans, cut-sides up. Lightly brush sides of dough pieces that face each other with water. Loosely cover with plastic and let rise in a warm spot until dough is light and full of air and has expanded to nearly fill pans, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until loaves are puffed and lightly golden, about 35 minutes. Brush with beaten egg and continue baking until deep golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into center reads 205 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes more. Let cool in pans 5 minutes, then unmold onto a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

FESTIVE FILLED BRIOCHE CENTREPIECE WITH BAKED CAMEMBERT

Steps:

• Day before: whisk together the eggs and milk in a jug. Put the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and spice in the bowl of a kitchen mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir to combine.
• On a medium setting, slowly pour in the egg mixture in a steady stream, continuing to stir until incorporated into a very soft, wet dough. Add the butter and increase the speed, kneading for 8-10 minutes. The dough will be ready when it clings around the dough hook. At this stage it will look more like a thick cake batter than bread dough. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
• You can also roast the garlic the day before: heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Line a baking sheet with foil. Remove any loose outer skins from the garlic bulbs. With a sharp knife, cut off the stem and uppermost part of the cloves. Place on the foil, drizzle over a little olive oil and season. Bring up the edges of the foil and seal to form a fairly tight parcel. Bake in the top of the oven for 35-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the parcel sealed until the garlic is cool enough to handle. Remove the cloves by either squeezing the bulb upwards from the base or by teasing them out with a toothpick. Mash the garlic with a fork. Wrap well (to avoid the garlic smell transferring to other foods) and refrigerate.
• On the day: line a baking tray with baking parchment. Remove the cheese from its wooden carton and put the cheese back in the fridge until later. Put the carton in the centre of the lined tray.
• Tip the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Divide into 5 large equal-sized pieces - it can help to roll the dough into an even sausage shape and mark with a knife first to get equal pieces.
• Take one piece and divide into 5 again. One at a time, roll each of these 5 pieces gently into a ball, flour your index finger and make a small, deep indent in the middle. Fill with half a teaspoon of the roasted garlic, pinching the dough over the top to seal and placing the sealed side down onto the floured surface. Cup your hand over the bun and rotate a little to get an even shape. Repeat until you have filled all 5.
• Repeat step 6 using the remaining 4 fillings.
• Arrange the buns around the wooden carton, you'll need 10 for the inner ring and 15 for the outer ring. Leave around 0.5cm between each bun, giving them room to rise. Cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or until nearly doubled in size.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Remove any plastic wrapping or stickers from the cheese. With a small knife, make an incision in the top rim and remove the top layer of rind. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and place in the carton, cut side up. Brush the buns with the beaten egg and scatter with poppy seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Slide onto a serving platter. Decorate with the herbs and fresh cranberries. Serve the extra cheese alongside if using.