Monday, May 12, 2014

Brioche - easy baking without fancy tools or kneading











It's been a while since I posted on this blog and I thought why not do something new!  This is my first time making bread and I never attempted it because I thought I need a big surface to knead the dough and that's just too much hassle.  This recipe is super easy, without the need for fancy dough mixer or kneading.  You just need a big bowl, a spatula and a loaf pan!

I didn't want to use too much butter in this brioche (bakeries often use a lot of butter for this and it's too greasy) but it has the right amount to make it taste really good!







For the dough:
1/3 cup lukewarm milk 

3 1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 3/4 oz butter (about 60 gram)
3 tablespoon sugar

For brushing:
1 tablespoon milk + 1 egg yolk 

Instructions:
1. Milk and Yeast - warm milk in a pan over low heat for 30 secs and add yeast (yeast doesn't need to dissolve completely)
2. Flour, Salt, Eggs, and the above Yeast mixture - combine and mix with a spatula in a medium size bowl
3. Butter and Sugar - mix in a separate medium size bowl until it becomes a creamy texture. (I used an electric hand mixer)
4. Incorporate the butter mixture into the above flour mixture with the spatula, a little at a time, cutting the butter into the dough and keep rolling the dough in the bowl with a folding motion for 8-10 mins, until the dough has an elastic and sticky texture.  The dough should not stick to the side of the bowl. (see Pic 1)
5. Let the dough stand for 2 hours in a warm place to rise.
6. The dough should inflate to 3x the size to original dough. (see Pic 2)  Cover the dough in the bowl with cling wrap and transfer to fridge for 8 hours (overnight).  The dough will deflate as soon as it's in the fridge (don't worry)!
7. Next day, grease loaf pan with butter to avoid sticking while baking.  Also, prepare the egg yolk and milk mixture for brushing.
8. Take dough out of fridge and divide it into 6 pieces. Place the 6 pieces side by side onto the loaf pan. (see Pic 3)
9. Brush the egg yolk mixture onto the surface of divided dough in the loaf pan.  Let the dough rise for 2 hours until it doubles in size in the pan. (see Pic 4)
10. Lightly brush the remaining egg yolk on the loaf and bake for 10 mins at 200C(400F) until dark golden brown. (see Pic 5)
11.  Reduce heat to 160C (330F) and bake for another 20 mins.
12.  Remove from oven and cool for 5 mins.  Run a knife around the edge until the loaf comes off the sides of pan.  Let the loaf sit on a rack to cool. (see Pic 6)

Pic 1

Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6

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