Chef Alain’s Brioche

From Rolling Dough into a Paycheck: The Bread Project opens doors to employment

 

Chef Alain Delangle developed this recipe for instructing his Bread Project students in how to turn out a perfect loaf. (Photo courtesy of The Bread Project)

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Chef Alain’s Brioche


  • Author: Chef Alain Delangle
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: Makes four -x-3¼-inch loaves 1x

Description

During the five-week Bread Project training, Chef Alain Delangle teaches a total of 35 recipes. He starts with muffins, scones, pizza dough, and focaccia, then moves on to brioche and puff pastry, and finally teaches the more complex items like croissants, baguettes, and sourdough. 


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the dough

  • 6 eggs
  • 100 milliliters milk
  • 98 grams sugar
  • 5 grams salt
  • 14 grams dried yeast
  • 482 grams bread flour (plus more for dusting the table)
  • 311 grams unsalted butter (soft)

For the glaze

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 30 milliliters milk
  • Pearl sugar

Instructions

Tools & Equipment:

  • Stand mixer with hook attachment
  • Measuring cup for liquids
  • Scale
  • Plastic scraper
  • Loaf pans/brioche mold

Add eggs, milk, sugar, and salt into the mixer bowl, then place the bowl into a warm water bath until ingredients are lukewarm (100–110°F). Add the dry yeast.

Put the bowl into place on the stand mixer and mix on a low speed for a few minutes. Add the soft butter to the bowl and mix for a few minutes more.

Pour the dough onto a flour-dusted table. (Stainless steel, butcher block, or marble countertops work well, but try to avoid tile.) Work the dough by stretching it out, then folding it back over itself and repeating the stretching and folding until the dough is shining and less sticky. Do not add extra flour.

Put the dough back into the mixing bowl and cover it. Let it ferment by sitting at room temperature for approximately 2 hours. When the dough rises to three times its original volume, push it down and refrigerate it overnight.

The next day, divide the dough evenly into 4 rectangular cuboids. Divide each cuboid into three balls rolled in your hand. You will have a total of 12 balls.

Prepare four 5¾-x-3¼-inch pan loaves, using either nonstick pans or pans lined with parchment paper. Place 3 dough balls into each pan and allow the dough to ferment by sitting at room temperature for 1 hour. 

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To make the egg wash, whisk egg yolk and milk in equal parts. Brush the top of each loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with pearl sugar.

Bake loaves for 25 minutes in the preheated oven.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes + next day
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Bread