Long weekends lend themselves to projects like classic French brioche. This iteration from respected food writer Ginette Mathiot is a tried-and-tested recipe.
Making brioche at home is a process that stretches over a long period of time, but no step is complicated. It just needs a little effort to knead and some patience. The smell wafting out of the oven when it is baked— ideally in time for breakfast—is heavenly. Every region of France can boast one or several types of brioche, from the pompe marseillaise to the northern cramique, from the pastis des Landes near Bordeaux to the Alsatian Kugelhopf. The following version is the classic brioche à tête you will find at the bakery next to the croissants and pains au chocolat, with a plump base supporting a smaller round “head” of dough.
2 1/2 Tbsp active dried yeast
4 Tbsp milk, warmed
2 1/2 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
125 g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
1 egg yolk
- Begin preparing the day before. If using fresh yeast, mix it with the warm milk, stir to dissolve, and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Place the fresh yeast batter (or dried yeast, if using), flour, sugar, and salt ensuring the salt does not directly touch the yeast before mixing - together in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment, and mix together.
- Mix in the warm milk (if not already added with the fresh yeast) and the eggs to make a very soft, sticky dough. Knead for 5 minutes with the dough hook or by hand.
- Cover with buttered plastic wrap (clingfilm) and let rise in a warm place overnight, until doubled in size.
- When risen, add the butter, a lump at a time, to the dough, either in the mixer or by hand. To add it by hand, put the dough on a floured work counter, bury a lump of butter in it, then knead the butter in with an up-and down motion until the dough is silky and smooth, with no visible butter.
- When all the butter is incorporated, cover again, and let rise in the refrigerator until doubled in size, 4-8 hours. Chill in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 200C, and butter and flour a brioche mould or round cake pan.
- Turn out the dough on to a floured work counter, shape two-thirds of it into a ball, and place in the prepared mould or pan to half-fill it. Shape the remaining dough into a small ball and place it on top.
- Dust the handle of a wooden spoon with flour and push it vertically through the top ball to join it to the bottom one. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or at room temperature for 1½–2 hours.
- Beat the egg yolk in a small bowl. Brush the dough with the beaten egg yolk to glaze and then bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Recipe from Classic French Recipes by Ginette Mathiot, $80, published by Phaidon.
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