Middle Class Brioche Recipes

Steps:

• Proceed as described for Rich Man's Brioche, extending the fermentation for the sponge to 30 to 45 minutes.
• Middle-Class Brioche, made with a 50 percent butter to flour ratio, is a very versatile dough, perfect for cinnamon or sticky buns, soft loaves, and brioche à tête. It is the most common form of brioche because it costs less than Rich Man's Brioche and requires less gymnasium time to work off the butter (though 50 percent fat to flour is still workout worthy!). It is also easier to handle than the richer version.
• Middle-Class Brioche %
• (SPONGE)
• Bread flour: 14.1 %
• Instant yeast: 1.4 %
• Milk: 25 %
• (DOUGH)
• Eggs: 51.6 %
• Bread flour: 85.9 %
• Sugar: 6.3 %
• Salt: 1.9 %
• Butter: 50 %
• Total: 236.2 %

Steps:

• Put the flour in a bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the salt to one side and sugar to the other. Pour in the yeast to the side with the sugar. Mix each side into the flour with your hands, then mix it all together with the dough hook.
• Heat the milk until warm to the touch, but not hot. Mix into the flour mix until combined. With the dough hook on medium, gradually add the eggs and mix for 10 mins.
• Gradually add the softened butter, one or two cubes at a time, until combined. This will take 5-8 mins. Scrape down the sides, the dough will be very soft.
• Scrape the dough into a large bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for 1 hr 30 mins-2 hrs until doubled in size and well-risen. Once risen, put in the fridge for 1 hr.
• Line the bottom and sides of a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Portion the dough into seven equal pieces (the easiest way to do this accurately is to weigh it). Lightly dust a work surface with flour, take a piece of dough and pull each corner into the middle to form a circular shape. With a bit of pressure, push down and roll into ball. Repeat with the six remaining pieces.
• Put the balls into the tin, four on one side and three in the gaps on the other side. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 30-35 mins until almost doubled in size. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly brush the dough with the egg wash and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and risen. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 mins, then remove and cool completely.

Steps:

• For the sponge: Put the flour, yeast and milk in a medium bowl and mix with your hands until smooth and well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rest at room temperature for about 12 hours.
• For the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the eggs, sugar, salt, flour and the sponge and mix on medium speed until a smooth dough forms, about 2 minutes. The dough should spring back to the touch of your finger.
• With the mixer on medium speed, add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, allowing it to be incorporated after each addition. Continue beating until the dough is smooth (and to allow the gluten to develop), about 10 minutes. The dough will be very dense.
• Lightly coat a large bowl with melted butter. Add the dough to the prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rest for about 1 hour at room temperature. (This helps promote the formation of air pockets during baking.)
• While the dough is proofing, brush three 9-by-5-inch loaf pans generously with melted butter.
• Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Divide into three 1-pound pieces. Gently press each piece of dough into a rectangle that's slightly smaller than a loaf pan, with the shorter end facing you. Pick up the top two corners of dough and bring them to the center, stretching the dough slightly as needed for the corners to meet. Roll this folded end over the dough to form a loaf shape.
• Gently but quickly pick up the shaped dough and place it seam-side down in the prepared loaf pans.
• Cover the pans with a damp towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until it fills the pan and reaches about 1 1/2 inches above the rim, about 1 hour.
• For baking: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk the yolks and cream together for the egg wash, then brush evenly over the dough.
• Bake until the loaves are a deep brown on top and the center reaches 180 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack, then remove the loaf from the pan and cool completely, top side up.

Steps:

• Heat milk in a small pot over medium-low heat until just warm. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and swirl to dissolve. Add the yeast and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let mixture sit a few minutes until you notice a few foamy bubbles start to form on top. (This lets you know the yeast is alive and well.)
• Whisk all-purpose flour, bread flour and remaining sugar together in a medium bowl. Add 8 eggs to the milk mixture, followed by half the flour mixture. With the mixer on low, start to incorporate the dry ingredients into the egg-and-milk mixture. Add remaining half of flour and knead a minute or two, until no dry spots remain.
• Turn the speed up to medium and continue to knead until dough is starting to look smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Add salt and continue to knead until dough is firm, springy and elastic, another 4 to 6 minutes.
• Add butter, a few pieces at a time, fully incorporating each one before continuing, and scraping down the dough hook and bowl as needed. (It will start to crawl up the hook as you mix.) The first few additions take the longest, but have patience. It will take 30 to 40 minutes to work in all the butter.
• Once all butter is incorporated, continue kneading on medium speed for another 5 to 7 minutes, until the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic. It should look well emulsified and feel a bit sticky.
• Lightly grease a large bowl and transfer dough to the bowl. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough has doubled in size and firmed up, at least 12 and up to 24 hours. (The slow rise will develop better flavor, and the chilling will make the dough easier to handle and shape.)
• When you're ready to shape and bake the bread, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a dough scraper or chef's knife, divide the dough into two equal portions.
• Working with one piece at a time, flatten the dough into an 8-by-5-inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Working from the longer edge at the top, tightly roll the dough, using your thumb and index finger to press the seam to the dough each time it's rolled. Pinch the dough at the last roll, so it is a well sealed, tightly compact log. Tuck the ends under, pinching to seal them as well.
• Transfer the dough to a greased (even better, nonstick and greased) 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan, seam-side down. Repeat with remaining piece of dough.
• Tightly wrap both loaf pans individually with plastic wrap and place them in a warm, draft-free place. Let the dough rise until it's touching the plastic wrap and looks as if it's trying t o break out, about 2 hours. (For very warm kitchens, this might take closer to 1 hour and 45 minutes, for a cooler kitchen, it may be closer to 2 hours and 15 minutes.) A good idea is to write the time on masking tape stuck to the plastic wrap, so you don't lose track of how long it's been.
• Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 375 degrees. Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water (this is your egg wash) and brush it over the tops of the dough.
• Place loaf pans in the oven and bake, rotating halfway through, until the tops and sides are deep golden brown and bread is baked through completely, about 50 to 65 minutes. (If you have a probe thermometer, it should register 200 degrees when inserted into the center of the loaf.) If the loaves seem to be browning too quickly, tent lightly with foil. A good way to tell if the bread is fully baked is to tap the top: It should feel firm and make a light, hollow sound. (This indicates that the bread has lots of air, meaning it has risen properly and is fully baked and not dense and underbaked.)
• Using an oven mitt or kitchen towels, remove brioche from the oven and immediately remove them from their pans (run a knife around the edges if you have trouble dislodging). Place on a wire rack to cool completely. (If left to cool in the loaf pans, the bottoms and sides will steam and become soggy.) Let cool completely before slicing. Brioche, if wrapped tightly in plastic, will keep at room temperature for 5 days, refrigerated for 1 week and frozen for up to 1 month.