Classic Brioche

makes one large loaf. Start this dough the day before, and make sure you have 2 hours the next day for a final rise and bake. Plenty of time to let the hunger set in.

1 3/4 sticks (7 oz, 196 g) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (60 mL) milk
2 1/4 tsp (9 g) dry yeast
2 cups (280 g) bread flour, divided
2 tbsp (21 g) granulated sugar 
1/2 tsp (3 g) salt 
3 eggs

For the eggwash:
1 egg
1 tbsp water

1. Let the butter come to room temperature. It needs to be soft and yielding. Meanwhile, proceed with the recipe.

2. Microwave the milk for 20 seconds. Yeast is alive. ALIIIIVE!!! And it wakes up in warm milk (it especially loves the sugars in the milk). You can certainly measure the temperature of the milk with a thermometer, which ideally should be 110-115 degrees F, but I’m a firm believer in learning to gauge these things with your senses. I stick my finger in the cup (I know. Stop laughing.). It should feel like a warm bath. If I flinch after holding it in there for 5 seconds, it’s too hot and I wait a minute for it to cool down, otherwise it’s likely to kill the yeast. If it seems lukewarm, I warm it for 10 seconds more.

3. Once the temperature is good, I pour the milk in my standing mixer. The yeast gets sprinkled on top. I stir it up and let it dissolve for 5 minutes.

4. Then I add in about 1/2 cup of the flour (56 g) and mix that up on medium speed. (You can also do these steps manually, in a bowl with a wooden spoon.) We now have our “sponge”, which basically means: a mix of yeast, liquid, and flour, that starts off a bread.

5. On top of this mix, sprinkle on another 1/2 cup (56 g) of flour. Make sure it covers the sponge. Leave it alone for about half an hour to 45 minutes, and you will see the telltale cracks in form on the surface of the flour. This is a good indicator that the sponge is active and fermenting.

6. Next, add the eggs, and give it all a quick stir.

7. In goes the rest of the flour and salt. Do not leave out the salt. It is critical to the flavor of this bread. I once forgot to add it in, and felt like I was eating cotton balls.

8. Switch to a dough hook attachment (or if making manually, stick with a wooden spoon), and mix on medium speed until it starts to form a ball. You know it’s good when it wraps itself around the hook attachment.

9. Add the butter a few pieces at a time, and let them incorporate on medium speed before adding more pieces. This will take about 5 minutes. If the dough looks like it’s separating at any point, don’t worry. Keep mixing and it will come together. Scrape down the sides as needed for even mixing.

10. Once all the butter is in, let it knead for a good 5 minutes. The dough ends up very soft, stretchy and supple.

11. Grab a large bowl, at least twice the size of the dough, and give it a spritz with non-stick cooking spray (or grease the inside of the bowl with a small piece of butter.) Scrape in the dough, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let it hang out at room temperature for one and a half hours, until it’s about double the size.

12. Press it down gently to deflate it and release the gasses. Then wrap the bowl tightly and refrigerate the dough over night.

13. Ok, it the next day. The cold dough may look a little dried out, and that’s ok. It’s managed to grow again and is now quite firm from the butter having resolidified.

13. Get  a loaf pan ready by giving it a little spritz with the handy-dandy nonstick cooking spray. My loaf pan is 4″ x 12″, but you can get away with a smaller loaf pan, 4 x 11. If you have even smaller loaf pans, you can divide this dough into a couple of pieces.

14. Now I’m going to shape the loaf. I want the crumb (interior texture) to have that swirly look to it. First, flatten out the dough into a rectangular shape, a little shorter than the loaf pan. Then, fold the edge over on itself, pressing it down along the whole length with the heel of your hand. The fold should be tight, to avoid forming air pockets.

Do the same thing again, folding it over itself, again pressing with the heel of your hand.

Do this as many times as needed, until there is no more folding that can be done. The seam of the loaf is on the underside. Tuck the ends under.

12. Transfer it to the loaf pan for the final rise. Cover loosely with plastic wrap to keep the loaf from drying out.

13. Let this bread rise for 2 hours at room temperature. Again, it will double in size. This time, we will not deflate it.

14. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. The bread will get an “egg wash” before baking, which gives the bread that coveted golden color. Whisk together an egg, and 1 tablespoon water in a bowl.

15. Gently brush the surface. Be careful not to get any on the sides of the pan. The egg may set up while baking and impede the bread from rising to its full potential.

16. Bake. Mine took 30 minutes. It should be deeply golden on the surface and the underside. Let cool before slicing.

17. Once cooled, this bread will keep wrapped in plastic for about 3 days. Also great toasted.