I haven't made a bread like brioche before. It's a sticky dough, with butter and eggs worked into it. To date, I've only baked crusty peasant loaves, so this was a little different. As I stared at the butter-streaked mess being mechanically kneaded by my KitchenAid mixer, I wasn't sure it was going to come together cohesively. I closed my eyes and decided to just go with it. As promised, ten minutes later, I had a nice, smooth ball of dough. Always trust in The Dorie.
The recipe wasn't hard, but it was inconvenient. It proofed for an hour and then needed to be refrigerated and de-poofed every half hour until the yeast slowed down. This took me about two and a half hours. It wasn't labor intensive, but the process did use up a giant chunk of the day. It's best left for a day when you have no plans to leave the house.
The dough sits in the fridge overnight. Three little balls of dough each go into 12 muffin tins, and then proof again. They get an egg wash, are baked, and come out of the oven beautifully browned and smelling buttery and rich. I immediately inhaled one. And then a second. And then a third.
I will say, the finished texture didn't have "lovely spring and stretch," as Dorie said it would. A minor complaint about a tasty roll, but it tips me off that I probably didn't produce a perfect version.
I'm hoping that another Dorista made the loaf version of this recipe, because when I read it, I could not figure out how the logs of dough were meant to be placed in the loaf pan.
Conclusion: Liked it. Bread makes me happy. As with most bread-products, it's Charlie Approved.
Bread always makes me happy :-)
ReplyDeleteIt was kind of scary when I was adding in the butter pieces one by one by one by one. Even though I knew it would work out, I started having my doubts.
Glad these were a hit!
You are so right...I cant stop at two. I took four for breakfast and hubby finished the rest. It was so good that he requested for another load for next Sunday breakfast ! Thanks Dorie for giving us such a wonderful recipe :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a bread-loving baker so I was happy to start off the year with this recipe too :). I just wonder why my brioche bottoms were still pale when everyone else's looked nicely browned? Perhaps I couldn't wait long enough to get them out of the oven and straight into my mouth! These were tres yummy, weren't they?
ReplyDeleteYour rolls look picture perfect! Great job.
ReplyDeleteAnd I made the loaf version. If you look at the picture in Dorie's Baking book, the log explanation will make more sense.
If you thought this recipe was cumbersome, the first brioche I tried had me rising and deflating the dough for almost four hours. This one felt so much easier. Your rolls look perfect though! I froze my leftovers and they have been reheating well.
ReplyDeleteYour bubble tops look perfect! I agree completely, this isn't hard but inconvenient. Delicious, but a lot of work for a middle-of-the-week project.
ReplyDeleteYour brioche rolls look great. We loved them too, but lovely spring and stretch wasn't what we got either. A good roll and really tasteful.
ReplyDeleteYour rolls look beautiful, and I completely agree about the inconvenience factor. I will need to really be in the mood for brioche before I make the time commitment again!
ReplyDeleteYour brioche looks beautiful. Although I have made bread many times I became a little dismayed as I mixed this dough. I thought I did something wrong, the texture was so wet, but in the end it came out great! Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it feel good to have a baking project like one successfully completed!
ReplyDeleteWhile brioches are a lot of work I think Dorie streamlined this recipe for us quite a bit. The overnight rest is kind of a make ahead convience, I think.
Your brioches look delicious and might be a a good choice to make again when you're not under any pressure, plus you'll have this experience under your belt, no pun intended,lol!
I'm with you on the bread baking--it makes me happy to make it and happy to eat it. Even if you don't think yours were perfect, they look it.
ReplyDeleteLOL - I am picturing you inhaling those rolls. They were pretty good, although Dorie's golden brioche loaves from BFMHTY are in my opinion better. Great job on the rolls - so cute!
ReplyDeleteI laughed at your "de-poof" comment...is that a professional baker's term I missed during culinary school? Lol...
ReplyDeleteI stopped at two too, but I made them into cinnamon rolls, so I also felt like I was going to pop!
I agree. Way too much babysitting, but your rolls look worthy of the time. Great post!
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny that unlike most bread recipes, I found the scheduling on this one much easier to manage. I think because the overnight rest gave more flexibility on the baking. Though I don't make bread often, I agree with you about enjoying the physically of kneading. That was one downside of this recipe because the Kitchenaid did all the work. I hope someone made a loaf too because I want to see how that worked out. All my loaf pans were bigger than what Dorie said was best max size.
ReplyDeleteYour rolls look perfect - just like the picture in the book. I confess to skipping the "depouffing". I just put the dough in the fridge and walked away. It was fine, really. I think for the loaves, the logs go in the pan the short way so you have four rows of bread logs.
ReplyDeleteYour brioche looks just right! I loved this recipe but I skipped the 'depouffing'. I checked several recipes and none of them call for it and I think my brioches came out great.
ReplyDeletelove the comment about three being too much...so the reason I didn't even trust myself to make these and take them to work...I'm so impressed with everyone for taking this one on.
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute post! I can picture you inhaling the rolls. :) I also thought all that deproofing was so time consuming, but I was afraid if I didn't do it they wouldn't have turned out. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThese look wonderful. I am new to your blog, so I took some time to browse through your earlier posts. I'm so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteFunny post! I have such a hard time stopping myself when I have freshly baked bread products. They're just so great, and not going to be nearly as good later...
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up! We each ate 2 - the rest are going into Bread Pudding today! Very nicely done!
ReplyDeleteYour brioche is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteBread makes me happy too. It looks like it turned out perfectly.
ReplyDelete