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La Belle Cuisine
Brioche
 
Baking with Julia: Sift, Knead,
Flute, Flour and Savor the Joys of
Baking with America's Best...
Contributing Baker Nancy Silverton
by Dorie
Greenspan, based on the PBS Series
hosted by Julia Child, 1996, William
Morrow and Co.
Makes about 2
1/4 pounds dough
“Brioche is an
elegant yeasted dough, a cross between bread and pastry. It is rich with
butter and eggs, just a little sweet, pullable – a gentle tug, and the bread
stretches in long, lacy strands – and fine-textured, the result of being
beaten for close to half an hour.
There is nothing difficult about making this perfect brioche, but you do
need time and a heavy-duty mixer. Preparing this brioche will familiarize
you with the tex-ture and mixing pattern of other yeast doughs that include
butter: Babas, and
their sister, Savarin, Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves,
White Loaves, and
Fruit Focaccia [recipes included in cookbook] - all of
which come together like standard bread doughs, fall apart with the addition
of butter (a sight that strikes fear into the heart of first-timers), and
come together once again.
Of course, you can use brioche to make the traditional topknotted têtes in
fluted molds or soft, golden loaves, which slice beautifully for breakfast
toast or sand- wiches and, when just past peak, make sublime French toast or
Twice-Baked Brioche [recipe included in cookbook]. But it is also the base
of such glorious creations as plump Pecan Sticky Buns, custardy crème fraîche-topped Brioche
Tart and Savory Brioche Pockets, filled with mashed
potatoes, goat cheese
and asparagus tips [recipes included in cookbook].
In this version, the brioche is made with a sponge, which gives the yeast a
lei-
surely proofing period and deep flavor. You’ll notice that the sponge
instruc-
tions call for adding the dry yeast without a presoak to dissolve it.
This is an
unusual technique, one more commonly associated with the use of
fresh
yeast. If you have doubts, have
a bite."
The Sponge
1/3 cup warm
whole milk (100 to 110 degrees F)
2 1/4
teaspoons active dry yeast
1 large egg
2 cups
unbleached all-purpose flour
Put the milk,
yeast, egg and 1 cup of the flour in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Mix the
ingredients together with a rubber spatula, missing just until everything is
blended. Sprinkle over the remaining cup of flour to cover
the sponge.
Rest
Set the sponge
aside to rest uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes. After this
resting time, the
flour coating will crack, your indication that everything
is moving along
properly.
The Dough
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon
kosher salt
4 large eggs,
lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups
(approximately) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks
(6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Add the sugar,
salt, eggs, and 1 cup of the flour to the sponge. Set the bowl into the
mixer, attach the dough hook, and mix on low speed for a minute or two, just
until the ingredients look as if they’re about to come together. Still
mixing, sprinkle in 1/2 cup more flour. When the flour is incorporated, in- crease the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 15 minutes, stopping
to scrape down the hook and bowl as needed. During this mixing period,
the
dough should come together, wrap itself around the hook, and slap the sides
of the bowl. If, after 7 to 10 minutes, you don’t have a cohesive, slapping
dough, add up to 3 tablespoons more flour. Continue to beat,
giving the
dough a full 15 minutes in the mixer – don’t skimp on the
time; this is what
will give the brioche its distinctive texture.
Warning
Be warned –
your mixer will become extremely hot. Most heavy-duty mixers designed for
making bread can handle this long beating, although if you plan to make
successive batches of dough, you’ll have to let your machine cool down
completely between batches. If you have questions about your mixer’s
capacity in this regard, call the manufacturer before you start.
Incorporating
the butter
In order to
incorporate the butter into the dough, you must work the butter until it is
the same consistency as the dough. You can bash the butter into submission
with a rolling pin or give it kinder and gentler handling by using
a dough
scraper to smear it bit by bit across a smooth work surface. When it’s
ready, the butter will be smooth, soft, and still cool – not warm, oily or
greasy.
With the mixer on medium-low, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time.
This is the point at which you’ll think you’ve made a huge mistake, because
the dough that you worked so hard to make smooth will fall apart – carry on.
When all of the butter has been added, raise the mixer speed to medium-high
for a minute, then reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat the dough for
about 5 minutes, or until you once again hear the dough slapping against the
sides of the bowl. Clean the sides of the bowl frequently as you work; if it
looks as though the dough is not coming together after 2 to 3 minutes, add
up to 1 tablespoon more flour. When you’re finished, the dough should still
feel somewhat cool. It will be soft and sticky and may cling slightly to the
sides and bottom of the bowl.
First Rise
Transfer the
dough to a very large buttered bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and
let it rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Second Rise
and Chilling
Deflate the
dough by placing your fingers under it, lifting a section of the dough, and
then letting it fall back into the bowl. Work your way around
the
circumference of the dough, lifting and releasing. Cover the bowl tightly
with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight, or for at least 4 to
6
hours, during which time it will continue to rise and may double in size
again.
After this long chill, the dough is ready to use in any brioche
recipe.
Storing
If you are not going to use the dough after the
second rise, deflate it,
wrap
it airtight, and store it in the freezer. The
dough can remain frozen
for up to
1 month. Thaw the dough, still wrapped, in
the refrigerator
overnight and
use it directly from the refrigerator.
Working with
Brioche and Other Egg-and-Butter-Rich Doughs
-
Mix, mix, and
then mix some more. Once all of the ingredients except the butter have been
added, the dough must be beaten for a long time – sometimes as long as 25
minutes – to develop its fine texture.
-
Listen for the
slapping sound: The dough should wrap itself around the dough hook and
visually and audibly slap the sides of the bowl. If the dough doesn’t come
together, add a few sprinkles of flour and continue to beat.
-
Keep the
butter smooth and cool. The butter and the dough it goes into should have a
similar consistency – soft, smooth, and still cool (never oily). To get the
butter to the right consistency, beat it with a rolling pin or smear
it in
pieces across a work surface.
-
Add the butter
bit by bit. The butter should go into the dough a few tablespoonfuls at a
time while you mix at medium-low speed. Don’t
panic when you beautiful dough
breaks up with the first few addi-
tions of butter – press on. The dough will
come together and once
again make that satisfying slapping sound (music to a
baker’s ears).
The preceding
recipe yields enough brioche dough for 3 têtes or 3 loaves
“In France,
brioche is baked in several forms and used for everything from
keeping the
morning café au lait company to serving with foie gras and Sauternes or
caviar and Champagne. While function often allows form, the two most popular
forms, the Parisienne, or tête, and the Nanterre, or loaf, provide enough
flexibility to allow them to function deliciously in just about any
situation. The tête is perhaps the most familiar shape; made in a fluted
mold, it sports a topknot of golden dough and can be either large, the true
Brioche Parisienne, or small. Its cousin, the loaf-shaped Nanterre, is
elegantly designed, made by positioning six balls of dough in a loaf pan so
that when they rise they touch one another but maintain their inviting
knobby shape. (This is the bread that makes the most extraordinary French
toast. Don’t wait for a loaf to go stale to whip up this treat – set aside a
loaf for this purpose alone.) Each recipe of brioche will make with three
large Parisiennes
or three loaves à la Nanterre.
Têtes (Parisienne)
1 recipe
Brioche dough, chilled
1 large egg
beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water, for egg wash
Butter 3 large
fluted brioche pans, using a pastry brush to make certain
you get into the
flutes; set aside.
Shaping the
Têtes
Divide the
dough into thirds. Keep the remaining dough covered n the refrigerator while
you work with one piece at a time. Put one piece of
the dough on a lightly
floured work surface and, using your dough scraper, cut off a hunk of dough
that is scant one third of the piece. Work the larger piece of sough gently
and quickly between your hands and against the work surface to form a smooth
ball. Drop the ball into a buttered mold.
Roll the
smaller piece of dough into a pear shape. Use your fingers to make
a
depression in the center of the dough that’s in the mold and fit the narrow
top of the pear-shaped piece of dough into the depression. Pinch and press
the dough together as needed to make certain that the seam between the
large
and small pieces of dough is sealed. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Rise
Cover the pans with a piece of buttered plastic wrap and allow the dough
to
rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Baking the
Têtes
Preheat the
oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly brush the brioche with the egg wash, taking
care not to let the glaze dribble into the mold (it will impair
the dough’s
rise in the oven). Working quickly, use the ends of a pair of sharp scissors
to snip 2 or 3 slits in each larger ball of dough. Bake the brioche
for
about 30 minutes, or until they are deeply golden and an
instant-read
thermometer plunged into the center of the bread (plunge
from the bottom)
reads 200 degrees F. If the breads appear to be
browning too quickly, cover
them loosely with an aluminum foil
tent. Cool to room temperature on a rack.
Loaves (Nanterre)
1 recipe
Brioche dough, chilled
1 large egg
beaten with a tablespoon cold water, for egg wash
Butter three 8
1/2- by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans; set aside.
Shaping the
Loaves
Divide the dough into thirds. Keep the remaining dough covered in the
refrigerator while you work with one piece at a time. Using a dough
scraper,
divide the piece of dough into 6 equal pieces and, on a lightly
floured work
surface, shape each piece into a ball. Place the balls in a
loaf pan side by
side so that you have three short rows, each with
two balls of dough, Repeat
with the remaining dough.
Rise
Cover the pans with a piece of buttered plastic wrap and allow the dough
to
rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Baking the
Loaves
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Lightly brush the brioche with the egg wash, taking care not to let the
glaze dribble into the pan (it will impair the dough’s rise in the oven.
Working quickly, use the ends of a pair of sharp scissors to snip a cross in
each ball
of dough. Bake the brioche for about 30 minutes, or until they are
deeply golden and an instant-read thermometer plunged into the center of the
bread (plunge from the bottom) reads 200 degrees F. If the breads appear to
be browning too quickly, cover them loosely with an aluminum foil tent. Cool
to room temperature on a rack.
Storing
The brioche, whether têtes or loaves, are best the day they are made, but
they can be kept nicely at room temperature for a day or two; wrap them
in
plastic. Wrapped airtight, they can be frozen for a month. Thaw, still
wrapped, at room temperature.
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