250 g French type 55 flour; all
-purpose flour, or plain
-flour
100 g Fresh dairy butter; melted
70 g Water; room temperature
2 md Organic eggs (110 g)
50 g Runny honey (2 1/2 tb)
5 1/2 g Salt (1 ts)
3 g Instant yeast (1 ts)
In a bowl, combine eggs, honey water, salt, and melted butter and
whisk, somewhat vigorously, for about 30 seconds. We do this with a
Danish dough whisk. Add the instant yeast to the flour and sift it
into the mixture. Again, with enthusiasm, whisk for 30 seconds until
your dough looks smooth and homogeneous. Cover your bowl and let the
dough rest for two hours at room temperature.
Take the dough out of the bowl and onto a floured work surface and do
one or two stretch and folds (full fold ones, left over right, right
over left, bottom over top, top over bottom; see our bread movies to
observe this technique if you are not familiar with it). If your
dough is very elastic and cooperative, do a few, if it starts to
resist you can just stop.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with clingfilm and take it to
the fridge where it will stay for 24 to 48 hours. I have made several
versions using both dough that had rested 24 hours and dough that was
allowed to rest for 48 hours and I can say the results are both fine,
not that big of a difference. So you can be a bit flexible when it
comes to that.
Take the dough out of the fridge. Now it is time to shape. You can
choose any shape you want of course but this is how I do it most of
the time. Divide the dough into 4 or 6 equal pieces and shape them
into balls (shaping quickly while the dough is still very cold from
the fridge goes best). Place the balls two by two in a baking tin,
well buttered or lined with baking paper.
Cover and leave to proof for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the
temperature of the dough and of the room. You might also want to
check out our tips on dough temperature to help you improve your
baking results.
It is best to cover the brioche with something that does not stick to
the dough or weighs it down. That is why I just turn my mixing bowl
upside down and use that as a cover. It works really well.
Alternatively you can brush it with some beaten egg (with a splash of
water added to make it easier to brush on) just after shaping. Give
it a thin layer and repeat with another thin layer just before
baking, same as with making croissants.
Preheat your oven at 190°C / 375°F.
Brush the brioche with some egg wash before you put it in the oven,
brush it, with some melted butter directly after baking.
Bake at 190°C / 375°F for about 10 minutes, then turn down the
thermostat to 160°C / 320°F and bake for another 15 minutes. If the
top browns too quickly or gets too dark, cover it with some aluminum
foil to protect it.
After taking it out of the oven, I find it is best to leave it for a
few minutes before turning it out of its tin on a cooling rack. Then
leave to cool completely before slicing it. You could slice it while
warm, but the crumb needs to set a little bit and slicing it too soon
could press it together and make it sort of sticky. If you cannot
wait please slice with a very sharp knife that easily cuts the slices
without having to put too much pressure on it.
The brioche keeps very well for a few days (in container or bag) and
even after that it can be given some oomph by toasting it lightly.
Delicious! You can also reheat them in your oven, preheated at 170°C
/ 340°F until the outside is crisp, about 7 minutes should do the
trick.
