Golden Brioche Loaves Recipes

BRIOCHE LOAVES

Steps:

• Place lukewarm milk and yeast in a small bowl; stir to dissolve.
• Place flour, salt, and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment; add yeast mixture and mix on low speed to combine and knead, about 5 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula; knead on medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar. Add a few small pieces of butter mixture to dough; with the mixer on low, add remaining butter mixture, a little bit at a time. When all the butter mixture has been added, increase speed and continue mixing until smooth, shiny, comes away from the sides of the bowl, and is elastic, 6 to 10 minutes.
• Butter a large bowl, transfer dough to prepared bowl, and cover with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• Lift dough from bowl and drop back into bowl to deflate; repeat process once or twice. Cover bowl and transfer to refrigerator to chill for at least 8 hours and up to overnight.
• Butter two loaf pans whose bases measure 8 1/2-by-4 1/2 inches on top and 7 1/2-by-3 1/2 inches at base. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Divide each piece into 8 equal pieces; form each piece into a ball. Place 8 balls of dough in each loaf pan, side by side.
• In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and remaining 1 tablespoon milk. Brush dough with egg yolk mixture, reserving remaining. Spray two pieces of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray; cover dough in both pans, cooking spray-side down, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat a convection oven to 400 degrees (425 degrees on a conventional oven).
• Brush each loaf very lightly with reserved egg yolk mixture. Transfer pans to oven and bake until brioche just begins to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees (on a convection oven; 375 degrees on a conventional oven) and continue baking until deep golden-brown and internal temperature reaches 205 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 25 minutes more.
• Remove from oven and let brioche cool in pans for 5 minutes. Unmold onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

BRIOCHE

Steps:

• Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on low speed to combine. Add the milk and 6 eggs and mix on low until well combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix until the dough starts to pull away from the sides, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce the speed to medium and start adding the butter, a little at a time and waiting until it is completely incorporated to add more, about 5 minutes. Return the mixer to medium-high and continue to mix until the dough is glossy and slightly tacky but not sticky, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, then cover with plastic and refrigerate 8 hours and up to overnight.
• Generously butter two 9-by-5-inch nonstick loaf pans and divide the dough between them. Generously butter two pieces of plastic wrap large enough to cover the pans and place them butter-side down loosely over the pans. Let the dough rise until it comes to 1 inch above the rims of the pans, about 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water. Remove the plastic wrap and brush the top of each loaf with the egg wash, then place the pans on the middle rack of the oven. Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden brown and the internal temperature of each loaf is 190 degrees F, about 30 minutes. Remove the pans to a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the loaves to loosen and remove the loaves from the pan. Let cool completely on the rack.

BRIOCHE LOAF

Steps:

• Combine warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl. Set aside to activate the yeast, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Place 4 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, yeast mixture, warm milk, eggs, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until dough starts to come together. Mix in honey, then little pats of butter, along with remaining flour; knead until it comes together in a soft, tacky dough.
• Dump dough onto a floured work surface and cut into 2 even pieces. Form into balls and place in separate oiled bowls. Cover with plastic wrap and place somewhere warm until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Dump dough onto a work surface. Lightly punch down and knead for a few seconds. Form the balls into loaf shapes and place seam-side down in greased 8x4-inch loaf pans. Lightly cover the pans with a lint-free kitchen towel and let rise until dough comes to the top of the pans, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix egg and milk together to make an egg wash.
• Lightly brush the top of the risen loaves with egg wash and sprinkle with pearl sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until deep golden brown, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

GOLDEN BRIOCHE LOAVES

Steps:

• Put the yeast, water, and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can to keep you from being covered in flour! Turn the mixer on and off in a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (you can peek), then remove the towel, increase mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two. At this point you will have a dry, shaggy mess.
• Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce speed to low and add the butter in 2 Tablespoon size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like a batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40-60 minutes. Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the covered dough in the refrigerator overnight.
• If making Brioche loaves: Butter and flour 2 8.5 X 4.5 inch loaf pans. Pull dough from the fridge and divide into two equal pieces. Cut each piece of dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3.5 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until dough fills pans.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until loaves are well risen and deeply golden, about 30-35 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto cooling racks. Cool at least one hour.