The quick brioche method is a faster, easier way to make this delicious French sweet bread, resulting in a fluffy, tender brioche in less time.
It’s made with flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and yeast, and can be enjoyed in both sweet and savory versions. It’s perfect for breakfast.
Recipe Information
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Rest time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Dish: Side dish, Snack, Bread
Kitchen: French
Portions: 1 brioche loaf
Calories: 2365 kcal
WHAT WILL YOU NEED?
- 1 large open mold
- 1 large cooling rack
- 1 bowl
- 1 scale
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| El Amasadero strong flour | 300 g |
| Salt | 5 g |
| Sugar | 36 g |
| Dried baker’s yeast | 12 g |
| Lukewarm whole milk | 75 ml |
| Large whole eggs | 2 |
| Salted butter (taken out of the fridge an hour before using) | 120 g |
| Whole egg with a little salt for glazing | 1 |
Instructions
- Beat the two eggs in a bowl, add the milk and yeast, and stir until the yeast has dissolved. Add the flour, salt, and sugar, and work everything by hand until you create a sticky dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes with the bowl covered.
- On the table or countertop, knead the dough, bringing the edges towards the center and pressing down. A few seconds will be enough to complete the process. Let it rest for another ten minutes. Repeat this step two more times with identical resting times between kneadings.
- Now it’s time to incorporate the butter in soft, small pieces. Do this following the same kneading process as before. If a few seconds were enough before, now it will take a little longer. Let it rest for ten minutes and knead one last time, making sure the butter is completely incorporated into the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for one hour.
- You’ll see that the dough has risen considerably. Press it down (no need to flatten it) to release the gas and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal parts and work them into three spheres. If you’ve used a lot of flour on the surface, this will be more difficult. Move the dough balls around on the surface, rotating them in all directions without pressing them down; this will help them become spherical and develop some tension.
- Place the three dough balls side by side in the El Amasadero loaf tin or a 600‑gram loaf tin that you’ve previously greased with butter. To determine the size, keep in mind that if the tin is too small, the brioche will overflow as it rises, and if it’s too large, it won’t reach the top and you won’t get the classic mushroom shape. Don’t worry, though, it will still be delicious. Ideally, when you put the dough balls in the tin, they should be slightly less than half full.
- Cover the pan and let it rest for about 40 minutes. If your kitchen is very cold, place it near a radiator. The dough should double in volume; if it hasn’t, let it rest a little longer.
- When ready, brush it with egg and make a straight cut with scissors at the top of each ball. Place the mold on the lower rack of the oven, which you will have preheated to 200 degrees Celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit). Add a cup of water to the bottom of the oven when you put the brioche in. Place the water in a shallow dish or metal container that you have also preheated, so that when you add the liquid, steam will begin to form immediately.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove it from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack. If possible.
Grades (Notes)
There are a thousand ways to bake brioche. This one, described by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou in his book “How to Make Bread,” is one of the simplest and quickest. Others (stay tuned for future posts on this blog) use higher proportions of butter and are made with a preferment.
Brioche keeps wonderfully for a week if you wrap it in aluminum foil or put it in a tin, and it doesn’t need refrigeration. However, the delicate crust loses its crispness after the first day, although you can toast slices of it, and I assure you, it will be a delight.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 2365 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 274 g |
| Protein | 56 g |
| Fat | 116 g |
| Saturated fat | 68 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 7 g |
| Monounsaturated fat | 31 g |
| Trans Fat | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 758 mg |
| Sodium | 2939 mg |
| Potassium | 764 mg |
| Fiber | 11 g |
| Sugar | 41 g |
| Vitamin A | 3837 IU |
| Vitamin C | 0.04 mg |
| Calcium | 248 mg |
| Iron | 17 mg |