Brioche

Hey Everyone,

It has been such a long time since I last updated! I've just been busy with so much - exams, work experience, too much homework, exams, cycling (injuries), revision and exams! It's been great! Hopefully, now that I'm on my summer holidays I'll be able to update a lot more regularly - maybe even more than twice a week, which would be very organised for me... I have the memory of a sieve and I can spend the day doing nothing, realising at 9.30pm that I haven't written up my blog!

Anyway, to start up fresh I've made a beautiful brioche that  I'd definitely recommend to anyone - particularly if you enjoy making a really satisfying loaf. The end result is certainly any bakers dream. This is an enriched loaf, perfect with butter - a delicious light lunch when toasted, though it could easily pass as a perfect breakfast! I serve mine as a dinner for the family, fried and served with fired mushrooms, crème fraîche, salt and pepper, chopped parsley and fried ham, an amazing combination that really enhances the buttery flavour of the brioche!

Classic Brioche - From "Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding" By Justin Gellatly

Prep Time - 25 Minutes
Proving/Resting Time - 5 Hours, plus overnight
Cooking Time - 25 Minutes

Makes 1 750g loaf

Ingredients -

• 500g Strong White Bread Flour
• 12g Fine Sea Salt
• 30g Caster Sugar
• 15g Fresh Yeast, crumbled (or 7g Dried Yeast)
• 6 Eggs
• 250g Softened Unsalted Butter, plus extra for greasing
• 1 Egg, beaten, to glaze

1. Put the flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer. Crumble the yeast in s bowl and break in the eggs. Whisk the eggs and yeast together to dissolve the yeast. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and the, using a dough hook attachment, mix on a medium speed for 6-8 minutes, or until the dough starts to come away from the sides. Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

2. Start the mixer up again on a medium speed and while it is running slowly add the butter to the dough, a little at a time, until incorporated (don't add the butter too quickly, otherwise it will ruin the dough). Once the butter is incorporated, mix on a high speed for 4 minutes, until the dough is smooth glossy and elastic when pulled, then cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave until it has doubled in size (this will take about 2 hours). Knock back the dough, then re-cover and put into the fridge overnight to chill.

3. The next day, grease a 750g loaf tin, measuring about 28cm x 12cm x 10cm. Take the dough out of the fridge, mould it into a loaf shape and place it in the prepared tin, pressing the dough down into each corner so that it is even. Leave somewhere warm to prove until it reaches the top of the tin, which will take about 3 hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas Mark 4. Glaze the brioche with the beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes, then take it out of the tin and put it directly on the oven shelf for another 5 minutes.

5. Put on a rack to cool down, and serve warm or toasted.

Please Enjoy!!!