Living in France it's safe to say, Brioche is a way of life. I grew up eating brioche for ''Goûter'' at 4pm or just a delicious Sunday breakfast.
WARNING THIS BRIOCHE is not for the inpatient people as it take a while to prepare (9 hours or overnight)
Ingredients for brioche :
· 250g of strong white flour
more for dusting
· 30g of caster sugar
· 5g fast-acting yeast or 1 sachet
· 3g of salt
· 80 ml of milk
· 2 free-range eggs
· 130g of unsalted butter, softened plus a little more for greasing
· 150g of dark chocolate chips
You will need:
a large bowl
scales
spatula
1 kg loaf tin, a metal one is a goof one to have in your baking cupboard
a cooling rack
A freestanding mixer is useful but working with your hands can be amazing too
Method
· If you are using a freestanding mixer, fit it with your dough hook.
· Put the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a bowl (your freestanding mixer bowl)
· Pour in the milk and eggs, mix for about five minutes, to a smooth dough. If mixing by hand, this will take about eight minutes.
· Add the butter to the dough and mix for a further five minutes in the mixer, or 10 minutes by hand.
· Add the chocolate chips if you have not eaten them already. The dough should be shiny, elastic and sticky.
· Put the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and leave in the fridge overnight or for 6 hours.
· The dough should now be stiff and easy to shape.
· Tip your dough onto a floured surface. Roll into a sausage then cut into 8 pieces.
· Using your hands, shape the dough pieces into balls. Put each large piece of dough into a loaf tin. Following this style.
· Leave the brioche in a warm place to rise for 2 hours to proof.
· Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Brush the brioche with the egg wash. This is when I add my sugar pearls.
· Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden-brown. A skewer should come out clean.
· Transfer to a cooling rack, leave the brioche in a tin for 5 minutes. Leave to cool before serving with butter or jam
Making a recipe your own, all recipes can be changed to suit you.
You can add
* the rind of an orange
* replace the chocolate with dried fruit
* add sugar pearls
Becca Xx