"But perhaps one day, when you've awoken from a pleasant slumber to the scent of a warm brioche smothered in marmalade and fresh creamery butter you'll understand that life is not solely comprised of tasks, but tastes."
"Brioche"? What is brioche? And to my surprise, in my new favorite baking cookbook, Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan, there's a brioche recipe. It made two loaves, so I chose to do something different with the other half of the recipe ... Brioche Raisin Snails. Even the stale day old leftover brioche has a delicious use when topped with Almond Cream and toasted...Bostock.
I can not see how this recipe could work in a bread machine. It's very specific on how long to do each step involved. All seemed wonderful and correct except my bread did not rise beyond what it rose while in the final stage as you can see. While cooking it stayed right where it was when I put it there. While affecting the texture it did not affect the taste.
According to Dorie G a brioche is
"Elegant... rich, with golden color and unforgettable texture - pull on a slice and watch how it stretches luxuriously in thin, ever widening lengths (one sign of a superior brioche) - and slightly sweet, fully buttery flavor."
Oops! My poor brioche failed in the texture, but not the flavor! I will address this recipe and give it a shot again. Pull on my brioche and it pulls apart. No stretching involved. Oh well. Regardless, it's a fabulous recipe and she allows you to do so many things with this basic recipe. So give it a shot and I'll also share the wonderful Brioche Raisin Snails I made from the other half of this recipe.
The dough should be made 1 day ahead and then shaped and baked the next.
FOR THE BRIOCHE
2 packets active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm
FOR THE GLAZE
1 large egg
1 Tbs water
To Make the Brioche: Put the yeast, water & milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Turn the mixer on and off in a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour, then increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mass.
Scrape sides & bottom of the bowl, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-Tbs size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. Dough will be very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
Transfer dough to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40-60 minutes.
Deflate the dough by lifting up around the edges & letting it fall with a slap into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the covered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
The next day, butter and flour two 8.5 x 4.2 inch loaf pans.
Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours.
Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in over and preheat to 400 degrees F.
To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze. Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.
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