Sticky Kitchen: 4-Hour Brioche

Baking isn't usually on the top of my list in July but I was inspired when we went to a fancy place in Healdsberg called "Cyrus." It was pretty delicious. I was especially impressed with the selection of bread that was baked on site. I had an excellent little brioche and pretzeled croissants. It got me in the mood for baking again in spite of the warm day.

Kneading the dough by hand is your best bet. This recipe leaves you with a modest amount of very soft dough that you can easily work without getting too sore. I used my stand mixer at first but the dough was still very lumpy so after the first rise I just worked it by hand.

There is another version of the recipe that requires the dough sit overnight but I wanted to try this simpler version that I found at La Tartine Gourmande. Her blog is ridiculously cute and French...anyway...It's a good little recipe that you can make in a loaf pan. I didn't realize that I had been staring right at brioche pans in the thrift stores for years until today. They look like this:

Luckily most exotic cooking implements can be found at second hand stores pretty easily so I will look for some next week and try the overnight recipe.

I put some tiny chocolate chips into one half of the brioche to make it more like a dessert. Brioche is right on the cusp of being a pastry. It's very tender, buttery and eggy like a Challah bread but with even more butter. I think what makes the brioche is the crust so I have a feeling that using the individual cups will be better because of the increased crust surface area.

The end result was a little more brown on the top than I wanted. I might move my oven rack down one or two notches next time. I think my oven also runs a bit high so I might go down to 375 and 325. Rest-assured that the house smelled wonderful and it still tasted amazing.

The Simplest Brioche (1 loaf, mold 10 ” long)

You need:
1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 and 3/4 oz butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 dose dry baker’s yeast (1 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup warm milk
1 pinch salt
1 egg yolk for glaze

Steps:
1. In a bowl, mix the flour with the yeast, make a hole in the middle.

2. Add the warm milk mixing with the tip of your fingers (if using a stand mixer, pour the milk slowly and steadily while mixing, with the hook attachment.)

3. Add the sugar and a pinch of salt, then add the soft butter, piece after piece, waiting each time that each piece is absorbed.

4. Then one by one, add the eggs, mixing well between each. Work the dough until it is elastic and detaches from your fingers more easily (or from the bowl of the stand mixer).

5. Cover and let rest in a warm place, away from drafts, for two hours, until it doubles in size.

6. Work the dough again for 10 min and divide it in four balls. Place them in a greased rectangular mold and cover. Let rise for an hour again.

7. Preheat the oven at 400 F.

8. Brush the brioche with the egg yolk mixed with a dash of sugar. With a pair of scissors, make small cuts at the top of each ball.