Simple Brioche Recipes

EASY BRIOCHE

Steps:

• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt on low speed until well combined. Add the eggs and the milk and mix on low speed. When the dough starts to clump together, remove the paddle attachment and attach the dough hook. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until it is firm and elastic, about 2 minutes more.
• With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter, a few pieces at a time. Once all of the butter has been added, increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 4 minutes. Scrape the dough hook and the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix again until the dough is smooth, soft, and shiny, about 4 minutes more.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead it by hand a few times and then form it into a ball. Cover loosely with plastic and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Repeat step 3 and let the dough rise again. Cover tightly with plastic. (At this point, you may refrigerate the dough overnight for the best results.) Or let it sit out until doubled in size, about 1 hour. The warmer the room, the faster the brioche will rise, so keep an eye on it.
• Pre-heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and butter a regular muffin pan. (If the dough was refrigerated, let it warm to room temperature, about 2 hours.) Turn the dough out, smooth top down, onto a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Cover the dough to prevent it from drying out. Roll each piece of dough into a tight ball, and then into a rod and moving it in a circular motion to form the shape above.
• In a small bowl, make the egg wash by beating the remaining egg and a pinch of salt. Lightly brush the top of the brioches. Bake until golden-brown, or about 18 minutes. Let cool before turning them out. Serve warm.

EASY BRIOCHE

Steps:

• Mix everything together in your mixer until you get a nice really smooth dough. This can take a while. In my case it took about 15 minutes, scraping down the dough every few minutes from the dough hook in the mixer.
• After it's mixed, place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat (so it won't dry out) then let it rise in a draft-free place until doubled. This might take as much as 2 hours since the large amount of butter will slow the rise. WAIT!
• After rising, de-gas the dough, cut it into about 12 equal pieces, press them fairly flat then add some chocolate chips.
• Roll the dough into a round shape and place on parchment paper to rise, covered for about 45 minutes. If you want, you can instead place the filled dough balls in a lightly greased muffin tin to maintain the round shape. They do come out much prettier that way! Let the dough rise in the tin until they overflow the tops a little to make the traditional 'mushroom' top.
• Pre-heat the oven to 365 F (185 C). Just before placing in the oven, brush gently with a wash of egg white and water. Sprinkle with sesame seed if you want. I think it make them tastier but it's just a matter of taste. Bake for 10 minutes, turn them 180 degrees for even baking, them bake another 10 minutes.

SIMPLE BRIOCHE

Steps:

• Stir the flour, sugar, and the salt together in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Make a well in the center, and pour the warm water in to the well. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir it in. Add the eggs to the well, and combine with the water. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet to form a firm dough. Continue beating by hand for five minutes or in the mixer for 3 minutes until the dough is elastic. It will be somewhat sticky, but it shouldn't stick to your hands.
• Add the melted butter and mix just until it is incorporated. Now the dough will be more like a batter - sticky (it may stick to your fingers ) but not wet.
• Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it in a warm spot (68-70°F.), until the dough has risen slightly, almost imperceptibly, about 1 hour.
• Generously butter and 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan.
• Punch down the dough and place it in the prepared loaf pan, spreading it as evenly as possible so it fills the pan. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm spot (68-70°F.) until it has increased by about one third (the change in size is not dramatic), about 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Prepare the egg wash:
• Whisk the egg and water together in a small bowl and paint the loaf with the mixture. To help it rise evenly, slash the top of the loaf in several places (or snip it with a pair of kitchen shears). Bake in the center of the oven until the brioche is puffed and golden, 35-40 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and turn the brioche out onto a wire rack to cool.

BRIOCHE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour sugar and salt. Make a well in center of the bowl and mix in the eggs and yeast mixture. Beat well until the dough has pulled together, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.
• Flatten the dough and spread it with one third of the butter. Knead this well. Repeat this twice to incorporate the remaining butter. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes between additions of butter. This process may take 20 minutes or so. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. It needs time to chill in order to become more workable.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, form into loaves and place into prepared pans. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, about 60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans (see Cook's Note to make rolls). Beat the egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water to make a glaze.
• Brush the loaves or rolls with the egg wash. Bake in preheated oven until a deep golden brown. Start checking the loaves for doneness after 25 minutes, and rolls at 10 minutes. Let the loaves cool in the pans for 10 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool completely.

BRIOCHE LOAF

Steps:

• Combine warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl. Set aside to activate the yeast, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Place 4 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, yeast mixture, warm milk, eggs, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until dough starts to come together. Mix in honey, then little pats of butter, along with remaining flour; knead until it comes together in a soft, tacky dough.
• Dump dough onto a floured work surface and cut into 2 even pieces. Form into balls and place in separate oiled bowls. Cover with plastic wrap and place somewhere warm until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Dump dough onto a work surface. Lightly punch down and knead for a few seconds. Form the balls into loaf shapes and place seam-side down in greased 8x4-inch loaf pans. Lightly cover the pans with a lint-free kitchen towel and let rise until dough comes to the top of the pans, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix egg and milk together to make an egg wash.
• Lightly brush the top of the risen loaves with egg wash and sprinkle with pearl sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until deep golden brown, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

BRIOCHE

Steps:

• Put the flour in a bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the salt to one side and sugar to the other. Pour in the yeast to the side with the sugar. Mix each side into the flour with your hands, then mix it all together with the dough hook.
• Heat the milk until warm to the touch, but not hot. Mix into the flour mix until combined. With the dough hook on medium, gradually add the eggs and mix for 10 mins.
• Gradually add the softened butter, one or two cubes at a time, until combined. This will take 5-8 mins. Scrape down the sides, the dough will be very soft.
• Scrape the dough into a large bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for 1 hr 30 mins-2 hrs until doubled in size and well-risen. Once risen, put in the fridge for 1 hr.
• Line the bottom and sides of a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Portion the dough into seven equal pieces (the easiest way to do this accurately is to weigh it). Lightly dust a work surface with flour, take a piece of dough and pull each corner into the middle to form a circular shape. With a bit of pressure, push down and roll into ball. Repeat with the six remaining pieces.
• Put the balls into the tin, four on one side and three in the gaps on the other side. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 30-35 mins until almost doubled in size. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly brush the dough with the egg wash and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and risen. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 mins, then remove and cool completely.