Brioche Loaf

This buttery French bread classic usually made as a braided loaf, but this recipe for a bread-pan loaf. This is a great bread to have with jam or to use as an appetizer crust. There are many ways to bake brioche but my favorite is to take three long strands of dough and braid them into a loaf.

It takes two days to make this bread, but it’s worth the wait.

Ingredients

• 420 g Bread Flour, ~3.5 cups
• 28 g water, ~3 oz at 110 F
• 12 g sugar, ~ 1TBL
• 6 g Kosher salt, ~1 tsp
• 8 g dry yeast, ~1 TBL
• 225 g butter, 1 cup – slice sticks 1/4″ wide
• 4 Eggs
• Glaze – Optional
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp cold water

Process

1. Mise in Place: Measure and prepare ingredients prior to starting.
2. Pitch Yeast:
   1. Add dry yeast to warmed water.
   2. Sprinkle sugar on top.
   3. Let stand for ten mins to activate.
3. Make dough
   1. In a mixer with a bread hook, add the flour and salt.
   2. Turn on to speed #1.
   3. Add yeast mixture.
   4. Add eggs and mix until incorporated.
   5. Add 1/3rd of the butter and increase mixer speed to #4 to knead.
   6. Once butter is incorporated, repeat step 3.5 two more times.
4. 1st Proof:
   1. Place dough in bowl and cover with film.
   2. Let rise (proof) for 1 hour.
   3. Roll dough out into a long rectangle ~12″ wide and fold the dough at half the length (like closing a book).
   4. Place dough on baking tray, cover with film and put in fridge overnight.
5. Day 2 Make bread
   1. Remove dough from fridge and separate into two equal sections.
   2. Press each section into a rectangle 8″x12″. Fold along the 12″ side 1/3rd the length and then fold the other end over the top.
   3. Roll to the length of your bread pan.
6. 2nd Proof :
   1. Let rise (proof) for 1 hour.
   2. With 20 mins remaining, preheat oven to 400 deg F (325 fan).
7. Optional Glaze: Mix egg yolk with water and brush on top of each loaf.
8. Bake: bread 30 mins (~20 mins fan).
9. Remove from pan and place on cooling rack.