apple gorgonzola brioche

Brioche with apples and gorgonzola? It tastes as amazing as it sounds, I mean if you're into a rich, buttery bread with salty and savory finish.

Yield: One large loaf
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 240 minutes

ingredients

2½ cups high gluten flour

2 teaspoons yeast

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk, white reserved

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1/4 cup softened butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1¼ cup gorgonzola, crumbled

4 apples, diced

preparation

1. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Combine all the remaining ingredients into your stand mixer bowl. I freeze my cheese so it is easier to work with. See "wild rice bread" for more.

3. With your dough hook attached, pour in the yeast mixture and “stir” until a shaggy dough forms.

4. Increase the speed to 2 and knead until a cohesive dough forms, about 10 minutes. The dough will be sticky . If your dough seems dry, you may need to add additional water, one tablespoon at a time.

5. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside until puffy, about 1 hour.

6. Turn the dough out onto your lightly floured counter top, shape into a loaf, place in a parchment lined loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

7. About 30 minutes into the final proof, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

8. Brush the loaf with the reserved egg white, bake the loaf for 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, tent the loaf, and bake until a deep brown, about 40 minutes. The top browns quickly because of the high fat content in this bread.

9. Turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool.

Original recipe found here.

pain de mie

Like the parker house rolls I made this spring, this bread has a very light crumb, buttery finish, and is the perfect base to a sandwich or side to some chili.

Yield: One loaf
3,000 calories per loaf
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 240 minutes

ingredients

2/3 cup milk

1 cup lukewarm water
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup potato flakes
4¾ cups high gluten flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast

preparation

1. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. In your stand mixer bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

3. With the dough hook attached, add the yeast mixture and “stir” until a shaggy dough forms.

4. Increase the speed to 2 and knead until a smooth and cohesive dough forms, about 5 minutes.

5. Shape the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to proof until the dough doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.  

6. Turn the dough out onto your counter top and shape into a log.

7. Place the log into a parchment lined loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to double in bulk, about 1 hour.

8. With about 30 minutes remaining in the final proof, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

9. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

10. Remove the bread from the oven and turn it out onto a rack to cool completely. 

Original recipe found here.

brioche

This recipe calls for three sticks of butter and five eggs. Of course it tastes amazing. :) 

Yield: 1 large loaf

4,500 calories per loaf

Active time: 30 minutes

Total time: Overnight proof required, about 18 hours

Looking for a no-knead brioche? Check out my other blog post.

ingredients

the sponge

1/2 cup high gluten flour
2 teaspoons yeast
1/2  cup whole milk, lukewarm

the dough
5 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups (13.75 ounces) unbleached bread flour
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 sticks  unsalted butter, at room temperature 

preparation

the day before:

1. In your stand mixer bowl, combine “the sponge” ingredients and stir until a shaggy dough forms.

2. Use your hands to knead the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to ferment for 30 minutes.

3. Add the eggs to your stand mixer bowl which already contains the sponge and beat at medium speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the sponge mixture and mix with paddle attachment on speed 2 until all the ingredients are hydrated and evenly distributed, about 2 minutes.

5. After the mixture is hydrated, let the dough rest for 5 minutes. 

6. With the paddle attached, work in 1/4 of the butter, mixing on a speed of 4.  Repeat with the remaining butter 1/4 at a time, only after the butter is fully incorporated. This takes about 8 minutes and you may need to scrape down the bowl between butter incorporations.

 

7. After all the butter has been incorporated, mix the dough on a speed of 4 for about 5 minutes.

8. Using your hands, knead the dough a few turns, shape into a ball, place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place the bowl in the fridge to proof overnight. The dough will be very smooth, almost like Gak!

the day of:

9. Turn the dough out onto your counter top and shape it into a loaf/brioches a tete/buns.  The mold/pan should be left half full to allow for expansion.

10. Place the dough in a parchment lined loaf pan/baking sheet/well-oiled molds, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to double in bulk/fills the mold. This can take anywhere from 2-5 hours.  My loaf to about 4½ hours to double in bulk.

11. Brush the loaf with egg wash, sprinkle on sesame seeds, and set aside for 15 minutes.  

12. While the loaf is set aside, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

13. Bake the bread for 20 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

14. Bake until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 40 minutes. Given the high fat content of this bread, it will brown very quickly. You’ll want to look for other signs of doneness and may have to tent it to prevent over-browning. I tented my loaf when I turned the oven down to 350 degrees.

Original recipes found here and here.