Poor Man's Brioche

Many of us bake our own bread at home, or are used to making various pastry recipes. But few of us have tried making our own brioches. Miriam, food blogger from El Invitado de Invierno and an expert on everything related to bread, suggests making them today. On this occasion she has used the ideal ceramic brioche mold from Emile Henry. Below she tells you how to make them.

You shouldn't think that the brioche is what they sell in most shops, no, no, no. Brioche is a wonderful bun with tons of eggs and butter; when made with care and correctly it smells nourishing and tastes fantastic. It doesn't need to be covered in sticky glazes or anything like that to look its best. A brush of egg to make it shine, maybe a bit of granulated sugar, and that's it.

This 'poor man's brioche' term comes from the fact that depending on the number of eggs and amount of butter used to enrich the base, the bun will cost us more or less money. It will also cost more or less to knead, because the more fat the dough contains the less manageable it is. Therefore this is the easiest brioche we can make; the recipe comes from Peter Reinhart's book The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Ingredients

For the preferment:

• 65 g of bread flour
• 5 g of dry baker's yeast (or 15 g of fresh yeast)
• 120 ml of whole milk

For the final dough:

• Preferment
• 3 large eggs (about 190-200 g)
• 30 g of sugar
• 10 g of salt
• 400- 420 g of bread flour
• 120 g of softened butter
• 1 egg for glazing.

Preparation

1. We start by preparing the preferment. Mix all the ingredients, cover and let it ferment. After a while it will have risen and be bubbly (the time to see it ready will depend greatly on the kitchen temperature and the condition of the yeast, but with that amount of yeast it can take around an hour approximately).
2. When the preferment is ready add the eggs, sugar and salt, and mix well. Next add the flour (starting with 400 g) and mix thoroughly. Begin kneading, by hand or with a mixer or bread machine; you will get a rather stiff dough, but don't worry because once the butter is added it will become much smoother. If the dough is too sticky add a bit more flour.
3. Knead for a minute and let the dough rest, always covered, about 10 minutes. Repeat the short kneading and another rest the same. Then begin adding the softened butter (note, neither melted nor at room-creamy stage) in pieces, until the dough has absorbed it all.
4. From here knead in periods of 1-2 minutes, with rests between them of 10-15 minutes, as many times as necessary to obtain a smooth and elastic dough, at least four. Shape the dough into a ball, transfer it to an oiled bowl, cover and let it double in volume.
5. When it has doubled transfer it to the work surface, press it well with your hand to remove the bubbles and divide it into two equal portions. Shape the portions according to the mold you are going to use; you can shape them in the form of a brioche à tête like the photos (although this time my tête or little head turned out a bit spread out), for which make a ball with 2/3 of the dough, which you will place in the mold. With the remaining third make the small ball, shaping it into a teardrop. To join both portions press a finger into the large ball, making a hollow in the center where you will insert the tip of the teardrop, almost touching the bottom of the mold. Again let the dough ferment; in this second rise it should almost triple in volume.
6. When the dough is well risen brush with beaten egg and put the molds in the oven preheated to 210° (no fan) with bottom heat and bake the brioches for 20 minutes. After that time they will have risen and lower the temperature to 180°; bake another 15 minutes. If they brown too much you can cover them with aluminum foil.
7. When done remove them and when the molds can be handled unmold them and cool on a rack.