Bread Making (Brioche)

For the bread posters and anyone interested in making bread, I thought I would doccument my making of brioche with all the good, bad, and ugly involved. Well, not much bad, but it didn't quite hit the mark with the Brioche a tete because I didn't have the right size tins and my bread doth runneth over a bit, but flavor was spot on.


The recipe I used was a half recipe from a CIA textbook



(Makes 6 - 2LB loaf pans 4 1/2" x 8" x 3")

2 1/2 lbs Bread Flour (King Arthur Unbleached)
19 grams instant dry yeast
1 lb eggs
8 fluid oz of room temperature whole milk
227 grams sugar
22 grams kosher salt
1 1/2 lb softened butter
egg wash as needed



Combine flour and yeast in a mixing bowl

Add the eggs, milk, sugar, and salt to the mixer and then add the flour and yeast, and mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment for 4 minutes.




Gradually add the butter with the mixer running on medium speed, scraping down the sides as necessary. After the butter has been fully incorporated, mix on medium speed for 15 minutes or until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. (SEE ABOVE)



Line a 1/2 sheet pan with parchment paper and rub down with vegetable oil. Place dough on sheet pan, cover with wrap, and place in the refrigerater overnight.



Lightly grease six loaf pans

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide in 4 equal pieces. Keep pieces in refrigerator to keep cool when you're not working with them.

Lightly flour a work surface and get all purpose flour on your hands to make working with the dough much easier.

Portion dough into 2 oz./57 grams each, and roll into balls. When done with a batch, place dough balls back in refrigerator to keep cool or else you'll have a sticky unworkable mess on your hands. Then proceed to do the other 3 portions in the same manner until you have a sheet full of dough balls. Refrigerate all dough balls for 30 minutes.




Remove dough balls and place in greased loaf pans 2 rows of 4, brush egg wash, cover, and proof for 1-2 hours until doubled in size. Mine took a full 2 hours.

( I usually place at the front of my stove where the vents are located so to keep warm. I crank my oven to 400 degrees, and that does the trick.)




Once dough has proofed, remove wrap and brush with egg wash again.

Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes, or until golden on top and bread springs back fully when pressed.

Remove from pans and cool completely on racks. Use a knife to cut around the edges if necessary to release from pans.


Egg Wash

2 fl oz eggs, 2 fl oz of whole milk, and a pinch of kosher salt.





I call the ones from the tins "Saggy Brioche without a tit"

Learning curve. Tastes wonderful, but not exactly what I was shooting for.