A recipe for a classic, homemade brioche loaf to be enjoyed with your favourite jams, herbed butters, or simply on its own fresh from the oven.
Prep time: 45 minutes + 7 hours inactive time
Cook time: 35 minutes
Equipment needed: Stand mixer
Serving: 8-12 portions
Ingredients:
21/2 tsp (7g) Instant/rapid-rise dried yeast
4 tbsp (60ml milk / 2.1 fl oz) Warm, full fat
2 cups (300g/ 10.5 oz) Plain/all-purpose flour
31/2 tbsp (50g / 1.7 oz) Caster sugar
1/2 cup (125ml / 4.3 fl oz) Eggs (2 1/2 eggs)
1 tsp salt
150g (10.5 tbsp/ 5.2 oz) Unsalted butter cut into small pieces
Other:
Vegetable oil for tin coating
Leftover egg for Bread Egg wash
Method:
1. In a small bowl, mix sugar, yeast and milk together. Cover with cling wrap and set aside for 10 minutes until foamy.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, eggs, salt, the rest of the sugar and the foamy yeast. Mix on Speed I until ingredients are combined.
3. After the ingredients are combined, mix on Speed I for 5 minutes and then on Speed 2 for 1o minutes (15 minutes mix time total).
4. With the stand mixer still on Speed 2, drop butter cubes in gradually. Keep mixing until the butter is fully incorporated- about 1 minute. The dough will look a little sticky.
5. Then mix on Speed 2 for 20 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl every now and then.
6. After 20 minutes the dough should come together, it will still be very soft, but you will be able to pick it up.
7. Shape the dough into a ball, and put it back into the stand mixer bowl. Cover with cling wrap and put it in a warm place for 2 hours until it has doubled in size.
8. Punch the dough to release all the air. Scrape out onto a lightly floured work surface. Fold the outside of the dough 6 times. Shape into a log then cut into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball. Place onto parchment paper and onto a baking tray, refrigerate for 1.5 hours.
9. Line a deep rectangle container with baking/parchment paper lightly sprayed with oil.
10. Remove the dough from the fridge. Place each of the balls into the lined and oiled rectangle tray. Two dough balls should sit next to each other.
11. Rise in a warm place for 1.5 - 2 hours or until it is just over double in size.
12. Preheat oven to 200°c (180 °c Fan / 400 ° F / Gas 6) when the dough is almost ready.
13. Brush the brioche surface very gently with the remaining whisked egg.
14. Bake the brioche for 15 minutes, uncovered.
15. Remove from oven. Loosely cover with foil. Bake for a further 20 minutes.
16. Immediately turn the brioche out onto a rack. Cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing.
