Brioche Bread

Brioche is a light but rich French bread  made with a yeast dough enriched with eggs, milk, and butter. This recipe i am sharing is one which is made with oil and in a bread machine.  A brioche dough is quite difficult to handle but with the bread machine, it is effortless.  The hardest part is in shaping the dough.  The first time i made these brioche following the instructions from a cookbook which i thought were practical enough, not knowing that bread dough had an atitiude of it's own when baked.    The instruction on how to shape the brioche was to make 2 round balls, one smaller than the other, then make a dent on the bigger dough and place the smaller one onto the dent.  The shaping and proofing of the brioche were easy but?????  when the brioche had it's spring in the hot oven,  the smaller balls of dough which sat so prettily on top popped out, dislodged onto the baking tray.  The ones which were not disloged, hung on for dear life at the side of the brioche mold.  Looking into the oven, I just don't know whether i should cry or laugh.  The small balls on the baking tray reminded me of the guillotine of the French Revolution, no wonder brioche is a french bread.   Brioche  is traditionally baked in a fluted tin and since i do not have any brioche fluted tins , i used these fluted tart molds which  are available online from Browncookie.com. 

Ingredient:


1/3 cup water
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsps sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/4 tsp Instant Yeast

Egg Glaze
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp water




Method:

Place all ingredients according to the order in the list, starting with water and ending with the instant yeast on top, in bread pan of your bread machine.

Select dough setting and press start.

Check the dough (don't be afraid to open the lid). It should form a nice elastic ball. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add more water (a tablespoon at a time).

When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. Form dough into a ball, cover with a cotton towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

After resting, turn dough bottom side up and press to flatten.

Divide dough into into 120 grams portions and follow this video Brioche a true classic on how to form the brioche or firmly roll each portion of dough on the table in a circular motion with the palm of your hand to form a smooth ball.

Using the edge of your hand (holding it as you would if performing a karate chop), gently roll the dough ball into a shape resembling that of a squat bowling pin, creating a small ball (the "head" of the brioche) that's roughly a third the size of the larger mass (or "body").  Make a hole in the center of the larger ball and pass the smaller ball through.

Lift the brioche by the head and place it into a greased brioche mold.

Repeat with the remaining dough balls, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven; heat oven to 375°f.

Brush the top of each brioche with the egg glaze and bake until deep golden brown, 25–30 minutes.

Let cool in the molds for 10 minutes before serving.

Brioches are the best when eaten straight from the oven but, once cooled, may be stored in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.