Brioche
Ingredients
- 330 g all-purpose flour, divided
- 1½ tsp instant yeast
- 57 g cool water
- 4 large eggs, cold
- 25 g granulated sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 227 g unsalted butter, at 18-20°C
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp water, for the wash
Brioche sits between bread and pastry: a yeasted dough carrying almost its own weight in butter, worked in small pieces at a time so the fat emulsifies into the gluten instead of greasing it. The dough is beaten until shiny and elastic before any butter goes in, rises once at room temperature, then spends four to sixteen hours in the fridge — cold dough is the only way this much butter can be shaped. The classic finish is the topknot: a small ball set into a dimple in the centre, which rises with the loaf and gives brioche à tête its head.
Method
Mix 180 g of the flour with the yeast, water and eggs until smooth. Cover and rest for 45 minutes.
Add the remaining 150 g flour, the sugar and salt, and beat for 8-10 minutes until the dough is shiny and elastic.
Add the butter two tablespoons at a time, letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next.
Cover and let rise for 1 hour, fold the dough gently on a floured surface, then refrigerate for 4-16 hours.
For one large brioche, shape the cold dough into a round in a greased brioche pan, reserving a golf-ball-sized piece; for twelve small ones, divide into 12 and reserve a marble-sized piece from each.
Poke a dimple in the centre of each and set the reserved ball into it. Let rise until puffy, 45 minutes to 1½ hours.
Brush with egg wash and bake at 190°C (375°F) — 40 minutes for the large loaf, 25-30 minutes for small ones — until the centre reaches 88°C (190°F).
