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My first Brioche
September 07th, 2007 | Category: Baked Goods, Breakfast
Whenever I decide to go on a diet, something comes along and makes it impossible to carry on. Last week, it was my first brioche experiment to blame.
I don’t usually crave bread, so I thought I was safe. Well, so much for that diet. As soon as I smelled the yeast in the kitchen, I knew I was in trouble. How stupid I was… All that butter and I thought it wasn’t going to win me over?
Oh boy.. The instant I removed the baking pan out of the oven, its smell took my breath away. I felt weak.
Then I shrugged and dove right in. The temptation was just too strong.
As if it wasn’t enough, I accidentally smeared homemade apricot jam on top and gulped it down. Then, a piece of brioche fell into a huge jar of Nutella and silly me ate that one, too.
But wait, what about photos for my blog? Sh*t. I removed the second batch I was planning to freeze, waited for another two hours for it to rise and baked the second batch.
At least I took the photos on a (very) full stomach this time…
Brioche
recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours”
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup warm milk
- 2 envelopes active dry yeast
- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks, 12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
- Egg wash:1 egg, beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water
Method
- Place 1/3 cup warm water, warm milk and yeast in the bowl of a standing heavy-duty mixer; stir until yeast dissolves and let proof for 10 minutes.
- Add flour and salt, mix on low speed just until flour is moistened, about 1-2 minutes.
- Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the eggs on low speed, then add sugar.
- On medium speed, beat until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low. Add butter, two tablespoons at a time, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding next.
- Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- Punch the dough down to deflate it every 30 minutes until it stops rising (it will take 2 hours in total). Cover bowl with plastic and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, butter and flour 2 large loaf pans (8 1/2*4 1/2 inches). Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Cut each dough half into 4 logs. Arrange logs crosswise in bottom of each prepared loaf pan. Place loaf pans on baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush the brioches with the egg wash (be careful not to deflate, be gentle) and bake until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30-35 minutes.
- Let cool to room temperature, then run a knife around the side of the pans and turn the loaves out onto a rack.
- The loaves can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.
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I understand your struggle
I made the same brioche from Dorie’s book and it was absolutely irresistable!
OMG, your first ever brioche looks sooooo good! Excellent! Well-done!
You made me laugh
You accidentally smeared the jam on the bread, and another piece fell into the nutella jar 
And I, will accidentally find myself in my
kitchen this sunday trying this fantastic recipe. I will hide everything around that a piece of it may accidentally fall into or that I accidentally may want to try it with. Give up going on diets, what is not okay is always what you want the most
Great pictures again.
See you soon
Selin.
cenk, you are so cute and i soooooo understand your struggle. eline saglik, cok guzel ve yummy gozukuolar
Mandy - Dorie rocks!
Anh, Ayse - Thank you.
Selin - I hope you like it!
I’m a bread lover! What a temptation!
Hola!
What a great blog! love your pictures, posts and recipes!
As I´m also accident-prone I shouldn´t try the brioche! or well … mmmm … maybe I´ll take the risk!
Love your brioche!!!! My mouth is watering … I try to made someday but they did’t looks yummy like yours.Maybe is time to try again ,in this time with your recipe
You did a good job there! It looks wonderful!
Britt - They were delicious. You should try Dorie’s recipe.
Guru - Thanks so much. And you should definitely take the risk.
Sylvia - Dorie’s recipe is fantastic. With her directions, it is impossible to fail.
Rosa - Thank you!
Cenk - Your brioche turned out incredibly well, especially considering it was your first attempt. The texture is amazing - I love seeing the interwoven strands. A gorgeous job overall. And I’m sure you don’t need to go on a diet…
It is not unusual for me to make a 2nd or third batch of something we enjoyed because we already ate it all before taking pictures! You did a great job! Dorie’s recipe is easy and delicious (…butter!). I love that last picture.
Hi Shaun - Thank you for the nice comment
Tartelette - Thanks. That happens a lot with Dorie’s recipes.
Love brioche but never attempted to make my own. You made it look so easy and yummy that I think I’m going to try it soon.
Hello, what an accident filled weekend. I’ll take your advice on not accidentally leaving things like jam or nutella lying around when I attempt this, just in case
ps. Love the photos of the brioche.
Haha, love how the brioche “accidentally” fell into a jar of Nutella, and apricot jam “accidentally” made it on top of one. Looks great. I love warm fresh bread! I may have to try out that apricot jam idea…
My boyfriend once had a rocking brioche french toast at the Fountain Room and I’ve been meaning to recreate it ever since. Soon we will have an oven in our new place and then i can finally try out this brioche.
hi! I chanced upon your blog while doing a search on Brioches. I’d love to try Dorie’s recipe but I’d like to clarify the yeast amount stated above. It says 2 envelopes. The yeast sold in envelopes at my grocery store come in 7gm (Fleishman’s) or 11gm (a french brand).
Could you let me know the weight of each pack of yeast you use?
thanks so much,
melissa
Hi Melissa - I have used 7 gr version. I hope you like it!
thanks Cenk! My brioche is proofing now as I type this. Can I ask if it’s usual for the “dough” to be extremely soft? Also, my butter seems to be melting, is that normal? Thanks for your help, it’s my first time making Brioche and I’m not sure what to expect
Hi Melissa - Yes, it is completely normal for the dough to be extremely soft. Make sure not to deflate at the last stage where you apply the egg wash. I wouldn’t worry about the butter melting as well.
I totally feel for you! I mean, if that apricot jam fell onto MY brioche, I would eat it too.
Fab post!
Cheers,
Rachael