Brioche

This is the recipe for brioche loaves that we use to make yummy Chocolate Star Bread. We modified the original brioche recipe, which appeared on the Martha Stewart website, as it was unnecessarily complicated, in our opinion. Here is what we do, which works just great:

1 scant Tbsp. yeast
1/3 C. warm milk
4 C. all-purpose flour
1 T. salt
1/4 C. confectionery sugar
6 eggs (reserve 1 yolk for brioche loaves, or 1 egg white for Chocolate Star Bread)
3 sticks butter, softened (I used 2 sticks and added some extra milk to make the dough smooth.)

1) Proof yeast in warm milk in bowl of KitchenAid mixer. (Dissolve yeast and add a pinch of sugar, making sure yeast is activated by looking for the tell-tale foamy bubbles. These will be slight.)

2) With the dough hook fitted on the KitchenAid and the speed set on low, alternately add some of the combined dry ingredients and some of the softened butter to the yeast/milk liquid mixture, blending well with each addition.

3) Once all ingredients have been incorporated, increase the speed to medium-low and continue mixing until it is smooth, shiny, and elastic, and it comes away from the sides of the bowl clean. This will take a few minutes. (Fluctuations in the atmosphere of your room and in your measuring methods can make a difference in how wet or dry your dough turns out on a given day. Watch carefully to see if you need to add either a little extra flour or a little extra liquid to make the dough smooth—you don't want it too sticky and wet, but you don't want it too dry and stiff, either.)

4) Butter a large metal bowl and transfer your dough into it. Cover dough lightly with buttered plastic wrap and wait until dough is doubled in size (about two hours).

5) If you have the time, repeat this process one or two more times by lifting the dough and dropping it back into the bowl to deflate it, then letting it rise again. (We did not do this.)

6) Cover the dough one last time and put it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.

7) The next day, remove the dough from the fridge and return it to room temperature. It will be stiff and cold, and this will take a while. Leave it covered with the buttered plastic wrap for this step.

8) Divide the dough into two equal parts and proceed with your recipe, either turning it into two brioche loaves, or turning it into two Chocolate Star Breads. Instructions for the latter can be found here. For brioche loaves, proceed as indicated below.

9) For the first loaf, divide the first lump of dough into 8 equal parts, rolling each into a ball and placing it into a buttered loaf pan, side by side. Repeat for the second loaf.

10) Brush each loaf lightly with a mixture of one egg yolk mixed with a teeny splash of milk. Reserve this mixture. Cover loaves again with buttered plastic wrap, letting them rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about two hours.

11) Brush lightly again with egg yolk mixture, then place in oven preheated to 425 degrees. Bake until loaves just begin to turn golden (about 15 minutes), then reduce heat to 375 degrees and  continue baking until loaves are a deep golden brown, around 20-25 more minutes.

12) Remove from oven and let brioche loaves cool in the loaf pans for five minutes. After five minutes, remove from loaf pans and cool completely on wire rack.