Brioche loaf
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Baking your own brioche takes a little effort but it is so worth it. Light and buttery with a pillowy interior. The leftovers are perfect for French toast.
When I first started baking bread, brioche was the one thing I found completely daunting. I feel the same way about brioche as I do about croissants. I love eating them but I don’t want to make them myself.
So you’ll understand my dismay when I was forced to make brioche for a shoot recently. I tried to find short cuts and even tweeted about it but the answer was unanimous. Brioche requires TLC. Sigh. I did however use my Kenwood to mix the dough because frankly, who has time to do it by hand? After making the dough, allowing it to rest overnight then letting it prove again, I finally got the loaves in the oven. Afterwards, I was met with the most gorgeous golden brown loaves of brioche. Bubble-topped and begging to be sliced into. As I sliced into the still-warm loaf, I was met with a burst of steam with the aroma of butter and yeast. Drool-worthy stuff, I tell you. It also became obvious to me that all the hard work was completely worth it and that I would be doing this all again. In fact, since then I’ve made this brioche another 3 times.
This recipe also makes great burger buns (simply bake them in a foil ring) and smaller brioche buns, similar to the ones you find in bakeries. The loaves remain my favourite however as they are so versatile. When sliced it makes perfect toast and if you allow it to go slightly stale, it makes the most delicious French toast I’ve ever tasted.
- 125 ml warm milk
- 3 tablespoons/70g sugar
- 10 g dried yeast
- 4 eggs
- 500 g flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 175 g butter cubed (remove the butter from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to start. Butter needs to be slightly soft.)
- 1 egg beaten (for egg wash)
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Combine the milk, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a free-standing mixer and allow to stand for 5 minutes until the mixture is creamy and start to froth slightly.
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Add the eggs and beat well until the eggs are well incorporated and the mixture is light and creamy.
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Slowly add the flour and salt with the mixer running until the flour has been incorporated.
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Allow to knead at medium speed for a minute.
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Slowly add the cubes of butter and knead for another 5 minutes.
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The dough will begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl and will cling to the paddle.
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Remove the dough and place in a buttered bowl.
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Cover with clingwrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.
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Place in the fridge and allow to stand overnight.
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The next day, remove the dough from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.
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Divide the dough in half and place in greased loaf tins.
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Allow to rise for another 2 hours.
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Pre-heat the oven to 180°c. Brush the loaves with the egg wash.
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Bake the loaves for 40-45 minutes until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
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Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
More bread recipes you will love:
Potato, pecorino and rosemary bread
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Do you have ingredients in imperial versus metric?
Could you let this dough rest in the fridge for 48 hours instead of 24?
I’m sure that will be fine. It will definitely add to the flavor.
Yep, 9×5 should be perfect!
do you use 9×5 loaf pans? thanks!
Absolutely not Jess. Plus you’ll get a good arm workout! 😉
This looks awesome! Except I don’t have a paddle mixer. Do you think there would be a drastic difference if I was making this by hand?
The top looks braided. Is that how you got the knobbiness on top?
Flynn, I broke the dough into tennis ball-sized balls and placed them next to each other in the tin. This created the bubble top that you see. 🙂
Oh cool. Thanks! I’m letting my dough warm up right now.
I made this recipe yesterday and it came out great Thanks for sharing
So glad you liked it!
This looks aaaaaaaamazing. I don’t think any other picture today has made me crave carbs more 🙂 PS love the idea of using this dough for a burger bun. Yum.
Thanks for the lovely comment Karen!
If you do, let me know what you think. And you’re right, the inside is so soft and fluffy, it’s like a dreamy, buttery cloud!
Your loaf looks beautiful! I love how the inside seems so fluffy, makes me want to give this recipe a try. Thanks!