ULTRA-BUTTERY Brioche Bread (+ Burger Buns)

Time to grab your oven mitts and your sense of humor, because we're diving headfirst into the deep end of French baking with the culinary equivalent of a velvet smoking jacket: Brioche Bread. This is the bread that sips single malt scotch and flirts outrageously with the Camembert. A glamorous, audacious little number, Brioche Bread basks in a decadent entourage of butter, eggs, and sugar. Imagine biting into a piece of heaven that's high on life and definitely on the naughty list.

Brioche isn’t the quiet, bookish type of bread loaf that fades into the background. No, Brioche is the daring, front-of-the-line, first-on-the-dance-floor party animal of breads. It’s soft, with a subtle sweetness that waltzes harmoniously with a buttery richness that would make Julia Child blush. The science of this bread is like a deliciously twisted romance novel—gluten and fat entangled in a passionate dance, pushing and pulling in a tender tango that results in a melt-in-your-mouth crumb.

While its French origins offer it an air of sophistication, don't be fooled into thinking this is some uppity, too-good-for-your-sandwich kind of bread. Brioche is like that multi-talented friend who excels at everything yet remains delightful. Slather it with jam, use it for a ritzy sandwich, or simply tear off a chunk and savor its unapologetic indulgence. It's an artisanal experience that'll make you scoff at the mere thought of store-bought bread. Strap on your apron, it's about to get baking hot in here. 🤘🏼 Adam

Yield: 1 loaf, or 10-12 burger buns

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Ultra-Buttery Brioche Bread (2 Ways)

Ingredients

Sponge

• 50g Bread Flour
• 50g Water (110F or 43c)
• 10g Active Dry Yeast

Dough

• 450g Bread Flour
• 70g Caster Sugar
• 10g Salt
• 250g Eggs (5 large eggs)
• 250g Unsalted Butter, room temperature cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Egg Wash

• 2 Egg Yolks
• 2 tsp Water
• ***a yolk-only egg wash gives the bread a vibrant yellow coloring.

Optional Toppings for Burger Buns

• Sesame Seeds
• Poppy Seeds

Instructions

1. Make the sponge. Activate the yeast in the warm water until bubbly, 3-4 minutes. Add flour and cover with plastic wrap. Proof in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. Once the sponge is ready, add it to the bottom of the stand mixer with the eggs, add the flour on top, then the sugar and salt. With the dough hook attached, mix on low-medium speed until everything comes together, 4-5 minutes. Once the mixture become homogenous, increase the speed to medium and mix another 3-5 minutes until it is able to stretch a bit more.
3. Start to slowly add the butter in increments. Only add more butter to the dough when the previous batch is fully incorporated into the mixture. Once all of the butter is worked into the dough, continue mixing until a proper gluten has formed and a “window” is achieved, another 6-8 minutes after all the butter is added. The dough should be smooth, shiny and glossy, this can take anywhere from another 8 to 15 minutes.
4. Tip the dough into a greased bowl and let it bulk ferment in the fridge for 7 hours or overnight.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the dough from the bowl and tip it onto a lightly floured surface and shape it. When oven is preheated, brush egg wash on the top of the bread and bake for 20-30 minutes. Test with cake tester - should read 200-205F.
6. Remove bread from the oven, let cool for an hour before slicing. Store at room temperature in a plastic bag.

Adam's Notes

• Making a sponge helps the bread develop flavor and hydrate slightly, making the gluten in the dough easier to develop.
• We bulk ferment the dough in the fridge to let it rise, ferment and develop flavor, but also to firm the butter up which allows us to work and shape it. Without the butter hardened, the dough would be super slack and impossible to shape.
• For a loaf, divide the dough into 3 equal parts, about 275g each, roll them into balls using the “hand cage” method. Stick each ball in a buttered loaf pan, then cover and let proof until the balls reach the top of the pan. 1-3 hours depending on the environment. A plastic bag works great for insulating the dough.
• For burger buns, divide the dough into 100 gram balls, shape using the “hand-cage” method and set either on a tray, or in a ring mold to proof until doubled in size. 1-3 hours depending on the environment. A plastic bag works great for insulating the dough. Optionally, add poppy and/or sesame seeds to the loaves after the egg wash (next step).