Brioche

Brioche is a beautifully golden traditional French bread whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb.

📝 Ingredients

• 2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup butter (, diced, and softened at room temperature)
• 3 eggs at room temperature (, lightly beaten)
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (, optional)
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons lukewarm water (, at 97 F / 36°C)
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon of white vinegar (, for browning)
• Butter (, for the mold)
• Flour (, for the mold)
• Stand mixer
• Mold for Parisian brioche
• Pastry brush

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1In a bowl, add the yeast in 3 tablespoons of lukewarm water. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.
2. 2In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add ⅔ of the flour and make a well in the center. Add the yeast into the center of this well.
3. 3Cover the yeast with the remaining flour and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
4. 4Make a well again in the center of the flour and add in the 3 eggs and the vanilla (optional). Add the sugar.
5. 5Knead at low speed for 3 minutes.
6. 6Add the salt, then knead again for 5 minutes at medium speed.
7. 7Once the dough is homogeneous, while continuing to knead at medium to high speed, gradually incorporate the softened butter to obtain a smooth dough.
8. 8Form a ball with the dough, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rise at room temperature and away from drafts for 5 hours.
9. 9At the end of these 5 hours, place the dough in the refrigerator, still covered with a cloth, for 3 hours.
10. 10After 3 hours, flour the hands and scoop out a quarter of the dough.
11. 11Place the remaining ¾ of dough in a previously buttered and floured Parisian brioche mold.
12. 12Make a small cavity in the center of the dough. Form a ball the reserved quarter of dough and place it in this cavity.
13. 13Mix the egg yolk and white vinegar well and, using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface of the brioche with this mixture. Reserve the rest for a second basting.
14. 14Cover the mold with a cloth and let the brioche thus formed rest for 1 hour in a warm place, away from drafts.
15. 1515 minutes before the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 430 F (220°C).
16. 16Using a pastry brush, brush the surface of the dough with the remaining egg and white vinegar mixture.
17. 17Bake the brioche for around 30 minutes, lowering the oven temperature to 375 F (190°C) after 15 minutes of cooking. The brioche should be nicely browned.
18. 18Turn out onto a rack and let cool or at least warm before serving.