Brioche

I've never made anything even vagueley close to resembling the texture and taste of proper brioche before, but this turned out just how I imagined – a rare occurrence in baking, and in most other areas of life for that matter.

 

The reason for this enormous turn-around in my brioche baking abilities is Richard Bertinet, and more specifically, the DVD of how to make brioche that is included in his book Crust. In the video Bertinet demonstrates his method for kneading bread dough which allows you to keep the dough quite wet, and makes for a better bread. This method is essential for dealing with super-sticky brioche dough, and Bertinet explains in such a calm, clear way how to deal with this tricky dough that it seemed barely more difficult than making a basic loaf.

 

But this is so much more than the basic loaf, it is richly packed with butter and eggs and has a structure unlike anything else. It can be spread with jam or dunked in chocolate mousse, but I like it best eaten plain when fresh from the oven, or as the most indulgent kind of french toast the following day.

 

Things I have learnt from making brioche...

 

Avoid the temptation to add more liquid to the dough after you have added the eggs – I added in a splash of milk at this point as it seemed a little dry, but the dough will become very soft once the butter has been added so it wasn't really necessary.

 

The dough will stick to the worktop as you knead it, so a pastry bench scraper is essential here. You could try it with an old credit card, but real ones only cost a couple of pounds at the most.

 

My hands were so coated in dough I wasn't able to take any photos, as I didnt think my camera would survive. The easiest way to remove the dough from your fingers is to rub in a little extra flour until it falls away. Don't add these scraps back into the main dough though because they will make unpleasant lumps in the bread.

Careful shaping of the dough will ensure the little rounds don't merge into each other when the bread is left to rise. I will explain it here as best I can, but I have found shaping much easier to learn from the practical bread making course I went on earlier this year and also from watching videos, like the one in Crust and on youtube.

Most recipes suggest using an egg wash to glaze the brioche, but I agree with Elizabeth David who prefers a sugar glaze. It gives a much better shine and it tastes nice too, but if you don't want an extra pan to wash up an egg glaze would be just fine.

Brioche: makes 2 large loaves

(adapted from Richard Bertinet's recipe in his book Crust)

 

500g white bread flour

7g sachet of instant yeast

50g sugar

10g salt

350g free range eggs (approx 6 large)

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

 

For the sugar glaze:

¼ cup caster sugar

¼ cup water

• Put the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl and stir together
• Add in the eggs and mix into the flour using a chopping motion whilst turning the bowl
• Once this mixture begins to come together tip it onto the worktop
• Knead the dough until smooth and elastic (about 5-10mins)
• Cut the butter into chunks and spread over the dough, then fold in half to encase the butter
• Knead the dough in whatever way possible to incorporate the butter, at this point it will be a slimy mess, but persevere and it will come together
• Continue kneading until all the butter is mixed in and the dough becomes smooth again, making sure your scrape up any bits that stick to the worktop and put back into the main ball of dough
• When it's ready the dough will still be quite sticky, but it should come off the work top easily and have a smooth surface
• Lightly flour the work surface and shape the dough into a round by lifting up the outside edges and folding into the centre, turning the dough and repeating to create a nice tight ball
• Turn over and place in the mixing bowl; cover with clingfilm and leave for 2 hours at room temperature or until doubled in size
• Tip the dough out onto the worktop and lift up one edge, stretching the dough upwards before folding it over itself, turning 90° and repeating the stretch and fold
• Return the dough to the bowl and chill in the fridge for 12 hours
• Grease two loaf tins with butter or oil, and lightly flour the work surface
• Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into two, then divide each half into 7 equal pieces
• Shape each piece into a ball by stretching the outer edge into the middle to start the round and then rolling the ball of dough on the worktop in a circular motion, using your hand to guide and shape the dough

• Put the balls of dough in the tins, offsetting each side to create this traditional shape
• Leave to rise at room temperature for 2 hours or until the dough begins to reach a cm or two above the sides of the tin

• Preheat the oven to 180°C
• Bake the brioche loaves for 25-30mins, until dark brown
• When they are just about done put the sugar and water for the glaze in a small saucepan and simmer for a minute or two before brushing over the surface of the brioche, and returning them to the oven for a few minutes more
• Remove the brioche from the oven and cool on a wire rack

If you aren't going to eat it all the day it's made you can slice and freeze it so it's ready for making toast (or french toast!) whenever you like.