Brioche
Servings: 2 loaves Notes: Ensure the butter is truly at room temperature by leaving it out overnight. Sugar feeds yeast growth while salt inhibits it. Add sugar directly to the yeast, but only add salt after some flour has been mixed in.
Ingredients
- Warm water (110 to 120 degrees) - 1/2 cup
- Dried yeast - 1 package
- Sugar - 3 TBSPs
- Eggs - 6 large, room temperature
- Unbleached flour - 4.25 cups
- Kosher salt - 2 tsps
- Unsalted butter - 2 sticks, room temperature
- Egg wash - 1 egg mixed with 1 TBSP milk
Instructions
- Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast and sugar dissolve.
- Add the eggs and beat on medium speed for 1 minute, until well mixed.
- With the mixer on low speed, add 2 cups of the flour and the salt and mix for 5 minutes.
- With the mixer still on low, add 2 more cups of flour and mix for 5 more minutes.
- Still on low speed, add the soft butter in chunks and mix for 2 minutes, scraping down the beater, until well blended.
- With the mixer still running, sprinkle in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Switch the paddle attachment to a dough hook and mix on low speed for 2 minutes.
- Scrape the dough into a large buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Grease two 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch loaf pans.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and cut in half. Pat each portion into a 6 x 8 inch rectangle, then roll up each rectangle into a cylindrical loaf.
- Place each loaf, seam side down, into a greased pan. Cover the pans with a damp towel and set aside to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, 2.5 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- When the loaves have risen, brush the top of each with the egg wash and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back and it sounds slightly hollow when tapped.
- Turn the loaves out onto a wire rack to cool.