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Serves : 6 people

Wait : 10 hours

Ingredients

For the brioche
6.8 fl oz of whole milk
1 fine salt
17.6 oz of cake flour T45 or T55—no "low-gluten" flour. If you can't find any, use "high-gluten" flour.
2.8 oz of unsalted butter
2 eggs means
2.8 oz of granulated sugar
0.7 oz of fresh baker's yeast or…
0.3 oz of dried baker's yeast

For the glaze
1 egg
1 water

Kitchen tools and appliances
mixing bowl
Maryse
stand mixer or…
bread maker
cake pan
parchment paper
Charlotte made of silicone or oilcloth
pastry brush for gilding
baking mat optional, but convenient and hygienic for working with dough on the countertop

Instructions

Preparations

Set aside the required amount of milk outside the refrigerator so that it returns to room temperature.
Cut the butter into pieces and let it soften at room temperature.

If you're short on time, you can also place it on your radiator in the winter (not too hot, because it shouldn't melt—just soften!).
You can also microwave it at 400W for 30–40 seconds.
Attach the "dough hook" to your stand mixer, and put on the splash guard if you have one.

On the Kenwood Kmix (but this is likely true for other food processors as well), the splash guard has the major advantage of allowing you to add ingredients without having to stop the machine and remove the bowl. This will come in handy in a few minutes 😉

Preparing the dough (fresh yeast)

If you're using fresh yeast, there's no need to heat the milk.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the eggs and milk. Then
add salt, sugar, and flour.
Crumble the fresh yeast into the bowl and attach it to the stand mixer.
Knead for 7 minutes on speed 1

Preparing the dough (dry yeast)

If you're using dry active yeast, the process is a little different because you'll need to activate the yeast first. To do this, the milk should be lukewarm—not too hot.

I don't recommend sprinkling the yeast into the milk because it will form lumps. Instead, I recommend proceeding as follows…
Warm the milk (be careful not to let it reach 40°C, otherwise the yeast won’t survive).
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, add the salt, sugar, and flour, and sprinkle the dried yeast evenly around the bowl.
Attach the bowl to the mixer, and knead for 7 minutes on speed 1, gradually pouring the warm milk into the dough.

Kneading the dough

After the "slow" kneading phase, knead for 5 minutes on speed 2.

At the end of this step, you should see that the dough is starting to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it hasn't reached this consistency yet, continue kneading.
Set the mixer to speed 1, then add the butter pieces one by one through the splash guard. This will
allow the butter to be gradually incorporated into the dough. This should take about 7 minutes.

If you notice that the butter hasn’t fully incorporated into the mixture yet, lift the bowl and scrape down any butter clinging to the sides with a spatula, then mix for another few minutes until no butter pieces remain.
Finish by kneading on speed 2 for 3 to 5 minutes.

Stop kneading as soon as you have a completely smooth and viscous dough that slowly slides down the dough hook when the mixer is turned off.
The more you "work" the dough, the more the butter heats up, which can make the brioche dense.
As a general rule, the dough should never exceed 26°C. If it does, return it to the refrigerator before working with it again.
If you’d like to add extra treats to your brioche—such as chocolate chips, candied fruit, chopped walnuts or hazelnuts, or even raisins soaked in dark rum—now’s the time 😉
Give the dough a few turns on speed 1, but don’t knead for too long, as your fillings may melt or fall apart (raisins in particular).

First fermentation

Place the dough ball in a mixing bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel.
Let it rise in a warm place (25–27°C) for at least 1½ to 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

In winter, you can, for example, place the mixing bowl near a radiator.
Now you need to "de-gas" the dough. To do this, place it on your lightly floured work surface or baking mat.
Stretch it from the center toward the edges, then fold it over on itself. This is called "making a fold." Gently press
down on this fold to release the excess carbon dioxide from the dough.

Don’t press too hard, because the goal is only to remove the excess gas, not all of it—otherwise your brioche is ruined! If your dough is already full of gas, you’ll even hear a slight “farting” sound during this step; don’t worry, that’s normal 😉

Second fermentation

Return the dough to the mixing bowl. Cover
it tightly (not just with a dish towel).
The Chef’s Tip
To cover your dough tightly, you can use either:

a food cover (see kitchen tools),

the lid of your mixing bowl, if it has one,

or, if not, plastic wrap.
Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for overnight, or at least 6 hours.

By allowing it to rise slowly in the fridge, the dough will have plenty of time to develop its flavors without rising too much. No need to worry about this cold rise—you can keep it chilled for up to 24 hours without any issues before shaping and the final rise.

Design and variations

Gently deflate the dough by stretching it out and folding it over once.
Roll it into a log shape.
Line your loaf pans with parchment paper.

If your loaf pan is nonstick, you can place the dough directly inside; it will come out easily once baked.
Now it’s time to choose how you want to shape your brioche! Below
are the three most common variations: the classic round brioche, the more original horizontal or vertical rolls, and the famous traditional braided brioche.

Brioche balls

To make a brioche in rounds, cut the dough log into 6 or 8 equal-sized pieces and place them side by side in the loaf pan.

Brioche rolls

To make a brioche with rolls, cut the dough log into 6 or 8 equal-sized pieces. Gently
roll out each piece with a rolling pin, taking care not to flatten it too much, as this could cause it to lose too much air.
Then roll each piece up and place it either upright or flat in the pan.
The result will be more "neat" with horizontal rolls, and more "unstructured" with vertical rolls.

Braided brioche

If you want to make a braided brioche, start by dividing the dough into three equal portions.
Then roll each portion into a long log (about 1.5 times the length of the pan).

The Chef’s Tip

You can press them with your hands and stretch them to achieve this tapered shape.

Once you have your strands, place them on your work surface and seal them at one end.
Fold the strand on the far right between the other two strands. Then
do the same with the leftmost log, and alternate until you reach the end of the logs.
Seal them at that end, just as you did on the other side.

Third shoot

Place the dough balls in the loaf pan according to the type of brioche you’re making.
Cover the pan with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise until it doubles in size and completely fills the pan (at least with 500g of flour!).

This will take at least 1 to 1½ hours. Choose a warm spot, just as you did for the first rise.

Cooking

Preheat the oven to 160°C in conventional mode (convection baking will interfere with the brioche’s rise).
In a bowl, mix the egg yolk with one teaspoon of milk and one teaspoon of water.
Brush the dough pieces with this mixture using a pastry brush.

The Chef’s Tip

If you’ve opted for a “roll-style” brioche and have arranged the rolls flat, slit them in half lengthwise using a paring knife, running the blade the full length of the pan. Once scored, they will rise with different shapes and heights on either side of the brioche, creating a stunning visual effect!
You’ll also achieve lovely, voluminous results by arranging the rolls upright.
Place your brioche on the lowest rack in the oven.
Bake for about 50 minutes (500g of flour), or 30–40 minutes with 250g of flour.

These times are approximate, so check on the brioche regularly.
When the brioche stops rising, test it with the tip of a paring knife. The knife should come out clean, with no traces of raw dough. The brioche should be golden brown all over, but not burnt.
Once the brioche is out of the oven, use the parchment paper to gently lift it out of the pan.
Let the brioche cool outside the pan, after peeling the parchment paper away from the sides.

Don't let the brioche cool in the pan. It will get soggy from condensation!
Enjoy your brioche warm or cold, plain or topped with whatever treats you’d like to spread on it😋

HOW TO STORE BRIOCHE? To store brioche properly, the key is to keep it moist while preventing it from drying out or becoming stale too quickly. Follow the tips below for best results:

Once completely cooled, store your brioche at room temperature. The refrigerator is not recommended, as the cold will cause the crumb to go stale faster, and the brioche will become drier and less pleasant to eat.
Wrap it in a clean dish towel or place it in a cloth bag to minimize moisture loss. I avoid plastic bags because they cause excessive softening,

Under these conditions, you can keep your homemade brioche for 2 to 3 days. If you want to keep it longer, freezing is the best option:

Carefully wrap the brioche in a freezer bag or an airtight container to prevent frost from forming, which will make the brioche soggy when thawed,
Freeze your brioche whole or in slices,
Let your brioche thaw at room temperature, out of the bag or container,
If you’re in a hurry, you can place it in a low oven (100°C) for a few minutes,

Your brioche will regain its soft, flaky texture and delicious buttery flavor 😋

My homemade braided brioche—light and fluffy