Brioche

This is without a doubt the best bread recipe I've ever encountered.  It is also the recipe that takes the longest to make.  Don't let that be off-putting though, because it is pretty easy. I know I've said it before, but any bread recipe that does not require me to knead for 3 days straight (or even 5 minutes), is a true winner.  In fact, all the work for this brioche is done in your KitchenAid mixer.  Other than that, most of the time involved is the phases of rising/proofing.  It is well worth the effort as it is surprisingly good.  And I don't mind telling you that I am always rather pleased with myself when I pull a loaf out of the oven.

Traditionally speaking, we are supposed to eat brioche like the French do — for breakfast (with a cup of coffee, plenty of cigarettes, and the perfect red lipstick, if you are really trying to be authentic).  As for me, I dream of a nice warm slice of brioche with a healthy smattering of butter and jam, and an enormous cup of tea.  Mmmmm. 

However, I am not the sort to wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning simply to get a nice breakfast on the table.  (Sorry, Michael.)  Instead, we do what Patricia Wells suggests, and we have it for dinner.  My favorite way to serve this brioche is with a roast chicken, a fresh green salad, and plenty of extra butter on the table.  Oh, and a nice crisp white wine also adds to the sheer loveliness of the table.

This recipe yields 2 loaves, so what I usually do is (again, following the advice of the trusty Patricia Wells) freeze half of the dough.  That way I can just pull it out of the freezer when I need, and there you go -- most of the work is done.  However, I have consistently noticed that the second loaf is never as pretty.  That is because I can never get a good second rise out of the dough, so it always looks much smaller and a bit runty, to tell you the truth.  However, it is still every bit as delicious to eat.  And it is much better to do this than have day old brioche, and that I can promise.

This time I baked both loaves at the same time and then (once completely cooled) I froze the second one.  It looks the way it is supposed to look, and I'm hoping that when I pull it out of the freezer in a week or so, it tastes the way it should, too.  We'll see.

Brioche

The Sponge
⅓ cup whole milk, warmed (about 100°-110° F)
1 package (2 ½ teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten

The Dough
⅓ cup sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

The Egg Wash
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water

Using your heavy duty mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the warmed milk, the yeast, and the sugar.  Let it stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).  Then stir in 1 cup of flour and the egg.  Stir until blended.  It will be quite sticky and dry.  Then put your second cup of flour over the top, kind of like a blanket, and go find something else to do for 30 to 40 minutes.  It should erupt a bit during this process.

Add the sugar, salt, eggs, and 1 cup of flour to the sponge.  Mix for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the ingredients start to come together.  With the mixer still running, add ½ cup of flour.  Once incorporated, turn the speed up to medium and beat for 15 minutes, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed.  This is not a good time to go find something else to do, by the way, as the mixer will hop all over your counter.  I actually walked back into the kitchen once just before the thing nearly went crashing to the ground, so consider yourself warned — the thing will move.

Before adding the butter to the dough, you need to make the butter the same consistency as the dough.  To do this, put your butter on a dish and using a rubber spatula or something, work the butter until it basically matches the dough.  I always like this part.  When it is ready to go, it will be smooth and soft and cool.

With the mixer on medium-low, add the butter, a little at time.  Once it has been added, turn it up to medium-high and mix for a minute.  Then reduce to medium for 5 minutes.  It should be nice and sticky.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size — 2 to 2½ hours.

Punch the dough down and then cover again tightly.  Pop it into the refrigerator and leave it overnight (or at least 4 to 6 hours).  At this point you can freeze the dough — punch it down, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and store in the freezer.  When ready to use it, thaw the dough (still in its plastic wrap) in the fridge overnight, and then use it directly from the fridge. 

Butter two bread pans.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a tight little ball, and then place 6, side by side, into each pan.  Cover with a clean cloth and let rise in a nice warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours.  The only way for me to get them to rise properly is to put them in a 200° pre-heated oven, that I have immediately turned off once it hits 200°.  Otherwise, it takes much longer for the dough to shake off all the cold from the fridge and rise properly.

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Lightly brush the brioche with the egg wash.  And then take a pair of scissors and quickly snip the tops of the bread dough.  (The reason mine looks slightly wonky is because I used a nasty old pair of scissors.  Not a nice sharp pair.  Normally it looks much prettier...)  Anyway, this will make it bake evenly, it will also make it look quite lovely when taken from the oven.  Place in the center of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Plunge a thermometer into one of them and when it says 200°, take the brioche out of the oven.  Put on wire racks to cool, and after a bit, turn out of their pans to finish cooling.

Now stand back and marvel at your success.  Even Patricia Wells can't help but say, 'I made this?' every time she pulls them out of her own oven.  (Recipe from: The Paris Cookbook by Patricia Wells.  Harper Collins, 2001.)