Brioche
A while ago – could be last year, could be a lifetime away – I was on the lookout for a classic brioche recipe. Somehow though, the recipes I’ve come across were not quite right: either missing something or having too many personal additions. Luckily I was already interested in a book called Le grand manuel du pâtissier and managed to find a copy with metric measurements (side note: if you are still using imperial and cups for cooking and baking, please just give up and get a scale). Finally, an authentic French brioche recipe was found. And I am convinced everyone needs to know about it.
Important things first: you are going to need a stand mixer with a kneading hook. Making brioche requires folding cold butter into cold dough so I don’t envy anyone trying to achieve that by hand. The rest is fairly straightforward. The classic brioche version is amazing and needs no adjustments. The book suggests adding either vanilla extract or zest of an orange for vanilla or citrus variations respectively. In order to get an accurate measurement of the whole eggs, first weigh 4 eggs in a bowl and then break the last egg into a separate small bowl, whisk lightly to make sure it’s uniform and then add the required amount to the other eggs, keeping whatever is left for the egg wash.
Brioche ingredients:
- 400g white flour
- 20g fresh or 6.6g dry yeast
- 40g sugar
- 10g salt
- 250g whole eggs
- 200g butter
Directions:
- Combine 400g flour, 20g fresh (6.6g dry) yeast, 40g sugar and 10g salt in a mixer bowl, keeping yeast and salt separate from each other. Chill all the required ingredients in the refrigerator really well, about an hour.
- Add 250g whole eggs to the mixer bowl with the other ingredients and using a dough hook mix until a ball forms.
- Keeping the mixer speed low, start adding 200g of cold butter, few pieces at a time until well incorporated.
- Once all the butter is added and thoroughly distributed, transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover and refrigerate for 1.5-2 hours or overnight.
- When ready, take out the cold dough and place it on your work surface.
- Divide the dough into 3 portions.
- Roll each portion first into a ball and then into a long thin “plait strand”.
- Transfer the 3 strands onto a lined baking sheet and start plaiting them from the center of the sheet.
- Finish plaiting the other side of the brioche and tuck the ends under each side.
- Leave to proof in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Carefully brush the egg wash all over the proofed brioche.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 200C (400F) for 30 minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and enjoying.
