So I loved the last, my first, brioche that I made. But I've read about other ways of proving this lovely sweet dough and wanted to try a different recipe. I saw a Pin for this lovely Raspberry Swirl Brioche from Hint Of Vanilla which drew me in and although it has more stages than my last brioche, I knew I wanted to try this one next.
This recipe uses very exact quantities of ingredients, in particular the eggs which need to be weighed. The first addition was around 2 eggs. The mixing of initial ingredients is all very straightforward, but then it came to full gluten development (* this is when you stretch a little dough between 2 fingers and it should be so elastic that you can see through it without it breaking) I wasn't sure how long this would take and it actually took around 15 - 20 minutes in a mixer with the dough hook to get there. This heats up the mixture so after the final egg addition, I measured the temperature and it was 25 degrees (needs to be less than 27 degrees).
The fermenting was again pretty straightforward and then I transferred the dough to the fridge. The recipe suggest between 1 and 12 hours - I left mine for around 1.5 hours. When it came out of the fridge it's rolled into a rectangle and covered with a gorgeous Raspberry Smear. Now this smear is absolutely delicious. A raspberry flavoured butter that is rich and creamy. Megan made her smear with powdered raspberry and since I didn't have any of this I used a tube of freeze-dried raspberries that I blitzed in the food processor (then sieving the powder to remove the remaining raspberry seeds) and mixed this with butter, sugar and lemon juice. I also didn't have vanilla sugar so I just used regular caster sugar.
Then it came to the plaiting. I was to leave 2 inches at the top (which I measured!) but I think I should have cut it a little higher as I didn't get the raspberry ribbons successfully through that part; and also I should have plaited it much tighter as Megan's raspberry ribbons are really visible and mine not so much. When it proves again for the final time, Megan suggest 1.5 - 2 hours until it's doubled in size. I check mine after a few hours and it hadn't risen too much so I left it overnight and it had a lovely rise by the morning. I also see the added benefit of this is that you can bake it fresh for breakfast and eat it warm from the oven. Yum :)
I also forgot to glaze the brioche with egg wash before going in the oven. Doh! (or should that be *dough*!!) I didn't get the usual lovely shiny top customary of a brioche but I will not forget my egg wash next time! Also a warning that you do really need to let it cool a little before trying to get it out of the tray. If mine (tin-less) looks a little misshapen it's because I decided I needed it out of the tin the moment it was from the oven which also meant it collapsed a little...
This brioche was absolutely delicious. So delicious that I'm thinking of making another one this week. Hmmm...what flavour combinations to try next? Or maybe just a plain simple brioche that everyone can dress as they like. The possibilities are endless.
In my quest to perfect my bread-making, I am going to keep reading up on brioche recipes but this one is definitely a keeper :)
Raspberry Swirl Brioche (from Hint Of Vanilla)
Brioche Dough
- 335G BREAD FLOUR
- 9G SALT
- 50G SUGAR
- 4G INSTANT DRIED YEAST
- 78G WHOLE MILK AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
- 135G EGGS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
- 2G VANILLA EXTRACT
- 170G UNSALTED BUTTER (this needs to be softened slightly so it's pliable, but if it's too soft you should refrigerate it again)
Raspberry Smear
- 100g UNSALTED BUTTER AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
- 7G RASPBERRY POWDER (I used a tube of freeze dried raspberries that I blitzed in the blender although this only made 5g raspberry powder)
- 30G VANILLA SUGAR (or regular caster sugar)
½ LEMON, JUICED
Brioche Method
- Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a bowl
- In a mixer, combine the milk, vanilla extract and 117 g of the eggs and stir to combine
- Pour the dry ingredients on top and mix on low speed until just incorporated
- Add 1/3 of the butter and switch the mixer to medium speed
- Ensure the butter is fully incorporated and add the next 1/3 butter
- Repeat with the final 1/3 butter
- Continue to mix until full gluten development is achieved*
- Add the remaining 18g of egg and mix until just incorporated (keep the remaining egg for the egg wash before baking)
- Check the temperature doesn't exceed 27 degrees (insert a thermometer in the middle and check this)
- Remove the dough and place on a lightly floured surface, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it to ferment for 45 mins
- Transfer the dough to a baking tray lined with silpat or greaseproof paper, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 - 12 hours.
- To make the Raspberry Smear, mix all the ingredients together until you get a smooth pinkish butter
- Grease a bread tin
- Roll out the brioche into a rectangle 12 inches by 6 inches, keeping it all as straight as possible
- Cover the whole surface with the Raspberry Smear
- Tightly roll the brioche from the long side and trim both ends
- Cut the dough in half along the length leaving around 2 inches at one end
- Twist the two lengths so the cut sides are facing up
- Gently braid the dough by putting the left-hand one over the right, then keep repeating until you get to the end of the dough and press the end together
- Carefully tuck the ends of the loaf under and put it in the bread tin
- Cover with plastic wrap and let it prove the bread for 1.5 - 2 hours until doubled in size (or leave overnight) in a cool place
- When you're ready to bake it, preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius
- Brush the top of the brioche with eggwash
- Bake the loaf for 16 minutes then lower the temperature to 160 degrees and bake for around 30 minutes until the loaf is golden all over
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool completely
- Try not to eat it all at once!!