WHAT IS BRIOCHE ?

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What is Brioche?

Brioche is a pastry of French origin that is akin to a highly enriched bread, and whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It is “light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs” It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust, frequently accentuated by an egg wash applied after proofing.

Although there has been much debate about the etymology of the word and, thus, the recipe’s origins, it is now widely accepted that it is derived from the Old French verb “brier”, ‘a Norman dialectical form of “broyer”, to work the dough with a “broye” or “brie” (a sort of wooden roller for kneading); the suffix “-oche” is a generic deverbal suffix “Pain brié” is a Norman bread whose dense dough was formerly worked with this instrument’. The root—bhreg—is of Germanic origin.

Brioche is considered a Viennoiserie. It is made in the same basic way as bread, but has the richer aspect of a pastry because of the extra addition of eggs, butter, liquid (milk, water, cream, and, sometimes, brandy) and occasionally a bit of sugar. Brioche, along with pain au lait and pain aux raisins — which are commonly eaten at breakfast or as a snack — form a leavened subgroup of Viennoiserie. Brioche is often cooked with fruit or chocolate chips and served as a pastry or as the basis of a dessert with many local variations in added ingredients, fillings or toppings.

“Brioche is eaten with dessert or tea, but also has numerous uses in cuisine. Common brioche dough is suitable for coulibiac and fillet of beef en croute. Brioche mousseline surrounds foie gras, sausage, cervelat lyonnais; . . . individual brioches serve as containers for various chopped and sauced stuffings, savoury or sweet, as warm appetizers or intermediate courses.”

Brioche à tête or parisienne is perhaps the most classically recognized form: it is formed and baked in a fluted round, flared tin; a large ball of dough is placed on the bottom and topped with a smaller ball of dough to form the head (tête). Brioche Nanterre is a loaf of brioche made in a standard loaf pan. Instead of shaping two pieces of dough and baking them together, two rows of small pieces of dough are placed in the pan. Loaves are then proofed (allowed to rise) in the pan, fusing the pieces together. During the baking process the balls of dough rise further and form an attractive pattern.

Brioche can also be made in a pan without being rolled into balls to make an ordinary loaf.

Brioche dough contains flour, eggs, butter, liquid (milk, water, cream, and sometimes brandy), leavening (yeast or sourdough), salt, and sometimes sugar. Common recipes have a flour to butter ratio of about 2:1.

The normal method is to make the dough, let it rise to double its volume at room temperature and then punch it down and let it rise again in the refrigerator for varying periods (according to the recipe), retarding the dough to develop the flavor. Refrigeration also stiffens the dough, which still rises, albeit slowly, making it easier to form. The dough is then shaped, placed in containers for the final rise (proof), and the tops are generally brushed with an egg wash just before baking to give the top a burnished sheen during baking, and then baked at 230 °C (446 °F) until the crust browns (Maillard reaction) and the interior is done (reaches at least 90 °C). The first rise time for small rolls is 1 to 1½ hours, for larger brioche the time is lengthened until the loaves double.

          brioches

Recipe

Water- dosage depends on flour quality   Replace : yeast  200gr.

By : Fresh Yeast 600 gr.

Mixing

• Start mixing without the yeast and butter.
• Add the yeast 1 to 2 minutes after commencement of mixing and add the butter as the last ingredient.
• Mixing time.

• Advised dough temperature 27⁰C (81⁰F)

Proofing:

• First proof 45 minutes.

Moulding:

• Scale at the desired weight
• Shape and place into greased tins
• Brush with egg-wash

Final proof:

• Approx. 60 minutes

Baking:

• Bake in a moderate hot oven
• Baking temperature 2100C(4100F)
• Baking time approx. 20 minutes