My Best Brioche Recipe
 
Makes 1 large loaf or 12 rolls
 
Ingredients
 
125g warm water
10g instant yeast
60g sugar
2 large eggs plus an extra egg for brushing on the top of the bread
475g Strong flour
10g salt
230g of softened butter, cut into chunks
 
Here’s how:
 
Add water and yeast to the bowl of an electric mixer and stir together.
Pour in the sugar, eggs, flour, and salt.
Mix on a low speed with the dough hook attachment for 3-4 minutes or until dough has come together.
Begin to add in the butter, one chunk at a time with the mixer still on a slow speed. When all the butter has been added, turn the mixer to high speed and mix for about 10 minutes.
Once the dough has begun to form and slap around the bowl, continue mixing for another 3 minutes to develop the maximum gluten for a better bread.
Transfer the dough into a bowl and shape into a ball.
Cover and leave to rise for about an hour, then place in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight if you prefer. This extra time will help develop the bread through fermentation of the yeast and sugar.
Remove the dough from the fridge and transfer onto a lightly floured work surface. The dough will seem quite firm as the fridge will have hardened the butter, don’t worry it will soften as it warms up durning the shaping.
Cut the dough into 3 equal portions and roll into balls.
Place the brioche balls into a 2lb loaf tin and brush with beaten egg for a golden colour.
Leave the loaf to prove for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. This time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen, so please keep your eye on it as it will take longer in the winter than the summer.
Bake in a preheated oven at 175C for 45 minutes or until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap the bottom.
You can also cut the dough into 10 equal portions and roll into buns, place on a baking tray and leave to prove for 60 - 90 minutes or until doubled in size. You can also roll it out into a rectangle and add a mixture of brown sugar, ground cinnamon and orange zest, roll up into a Swiss roll and cut into portions.
Transfer the dough into a shallow baking tin, prove and bake for some delicious cinnamon breakfast rolls.