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Brioche: Place the
flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of your
electric stand
mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until combined. Add the eggs and
milk and beat until combined. Replace the
paddle attachment with the dough hook, and knead the dough on 1st speed for four minutes. Increase your mixer speed to
2nd speed, and continue to
knead the dough for another three minutes. Next, with the mixer on 2nd speed, gradually add the sugar
over five minutes.
Place the cold butter between
two sheets of parchment or wax paper. With a rolling pin, pound the
butter until it's pliable but still cold. Cut the butter into pieces and add it to the
dough. Knead the dough, on 2nd speed, for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the
dough cleans the bowl and is smooth (not sticky) and elastic. To check to see if the dough is
fully kneaded, use the 'windowpane' test. (See video
for demonstration.) To do this, start with a small fistful
of dough. Gently stretch it. For a fully kneaded dough you should be able to
stretch the dough quite thin, without it tearing, so that you can almost see
through it.
Place your dough in a large,
lightly oiled
bowl,
cover with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature
73 - 76 degree F (23 - 24 degree C)
for one hour. Then you need to
stretch the dough to equalize its temperature and it also helps to strengthen
the dough. To stretch the dough, gently take one edge of the dough and stretch
it and then fold it onto the top of the dough. Turn your bowl 180 degrees and
stretch the dough in the same way. Then turn your bowl a quarter turn (90
degrees) and stretch the dough in the same way. Then turn your bowl 180 degrees
and repeat the process. After that flip your dough so the bottom is now the top.
Cover with plastic wrap and place the covered dough in the
refrigerator to chill overnight. (This makes the dough much easier to shape and
also improves the flavor of the Brioche.)
Next morning, line two
baking sheets with
parchment paper.
Then remove the dough from the
refrigerator and
divide into about 19 equal-sized pieces
(about 52 grams each). Then, working
with one piece of dough at a time, flatten into a round. (You may want to lightly
flour your hands.) Place a small piece of chocolate in the center of the dough (See video
for demonstration).
Then take the edges of the dough
and fold them into the center and gently seal. Then flip your dough over so the
smooth side is facing up. With the palm of your hand rotate the ball of dough on
your surface to create surface tension and to seal the edges of the dough
completely. (See video
for demonstration.)
Place the rounds of the dough
onto the baking sheets, spacing them several inches apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap
that has been sprayed with a non stick spray or lightly oiled (this will prevent the buns from
sticking to the plastic wrap) and let proof
at room temperature (about 73 - 76 degree F) (23 - 24 degree C) until nice and
puffy and almost
doubled in size (because the dough is very cold, this
could take 1 1/2 to 2 hours).
Next, preheat your oven to 350
degree F (180 degree C) with
the oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of your oven.
When ready to bake, remove the
plastic wrap and, with a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the Brioche
with the beaten egg. (This will help with browning and gives the Brioche a nice
shine.) If desired, using kitchen scissors, cut an "X" into the center of the
brioche dough (See video for demonstration). Sprinkle the Brioche with pearl sugar. Place the two baking sheets
of Brioche in the preheated oven and bake about 16 minutes or until golden
brown. Rotate your baking sheet top to bottom and front to back about halfway
through baking.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about five minutes before
transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Can be covered and stored for
two to three days or they can be frozen for about one month.
Makes about
19 Chocolate Brioche.
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