Zekra Halva Brioche
Scaled amounts are a guide — baking times and pan sizes do not scale with them.
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
- 120 g plain sesame halva, crumbled
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp water, for the wash
Zekra's version of the brioche on this site leaves the dough alone — the flour, butter, eggs, the long cold rest, all unchanged, because that dough is already at the limit of how much fat it can carry. The change comes after the fridge: the cold dough is rolled out, scattered with crumbled plain halva and a little cinnamon, then folded in thirds twice and shaped as usual. The halva does not melt into a filling; it stays in seams that turn sandy and sweet against the butter. Keep it to 120 g — more, and the halva's oil breaks the crumb.
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 the next.
Cover and let rise for 1 hour, fold the dough gently on a floured surface, then refrigerate for 4-16 hours.
Roll the cold dough out to a rectangle about 1 cm thick, scatter the crumbled halva and cinnamon over two thirds of it, fold in thirds, turn, and fold in thirds again. Do not knead.
Shape as for a large brioche in a buttered pan, or divide into 12 for small ones, and let rise until puffy, 45 minutes to 1½ hours.
Brush with the 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).
