LEAVEN
75 gm bread flour
75 gm warm water (26-30°C)
15 gm sourdough starter
(see recipe p114)
DOUGH
65 gm milk
3 eggs
400 gm (2½ cups) bread flour
2½ tsp dried yeast
80 gm caster sugar
180 gm softened butter
EGGWASH
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Start by making the leaven.
Either make a starter from
scratch a week before you
intend to bake, or use a mature
starter if you have a healthy one
bubbling away. In a small pot
with a lid – a jam jar is perfect –
mix the starter, flour and warm
water. Leave in a warm place
for 3-5 hours until there are lots
of little bubbles and it smells
mildly fermented. If you like your
bread on the sour side, leave
for a further 1-2 hours. You
can also make a leaven the
Brioche
MAKES 14 BUNS OR 2 LARGE LOAVES
“This recipe is suitable for both buns and loaves,” says Snapes. “Feel free to experiment with the
amount of sugar and butter; I’ve increased the butter and sugar a touch from a standard brioche
recipe. If you do add more fat, the dough is likely to take longer to prove, but you could always
add a gram or two more yeast to counteract this.” Start this recipe a day ahead to prove dough.
day before you want to make
your dough. In that case, once
the leaven ingredients are
combined, leave at room
temperature for 1-2 hours
until signs of fermentation
appear (tiny bubbles and
a slight increase in size),
then refrigerate overnight.
2 The next day, to make the
dough, mix the leaven with
the milk and eggs in an electric
mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Add the flour, yeast, sugar and
2 tsp salt (keeping the salt and
yeast on opposite sides of
the bowl, so the salt doesn’t
deactivate the yeast).
3 Mix on low speed until the
ingredients are combined, then
increase speed to high and mix
for a further 3-6 minutes, or until
the dough starts to come away
from the bowl. Let the dough
rest in the bowl for 5 minutes.
4 With the mixer on its lowest
speed, gradually add the butter,
a spoonful at a time, mixing until
it is completely incorporated.
Roll the dough into a large balland place it in a large bowl.
Cover with a damp tea towel
and rest at room temperature
for 45 minutes. Remove the tea
towel, cover bowl with plastic
wrap and put the dough in the
freezer for 1½-2 hours, then
transfer to the fridge and
chill overnight – this will stop
it over-proving.
5 The next day, line 2 large
oven trays with baking paper.
Bring brioche dough to room
temperature, then flour the top
of the dough and encourage
it out of the bowl onto a work
surface. Roll out to 1-1.5cm thick,
using minimal flour.
6 If making burger buns, use
a metal scraper (or a knife)
to divide the dough into
70gm squares. Take one of
the squares and fold the four
corners into the middle. Place
seam-side down on your work
surface, then cup your hand over
the top, making sure your palm
is touching the dough. Using a
circular anticlockwise motion,
roll it into a tight ball withouttearing, then place on a lined
tray. Repeat with the rest of the
dough, leaving a generous 8cm
space between buns. Prove in
a draught-free place at about
26°C for 1½-3 hours until the
buns have just more than
doubled in size. (One problem
you may encounter is a skin
forming on the buns before they
have fully proved. If this
happens, try using your oven as
a proving chamber: with the
oven off, place your trayed-up
buns on the shelves, then put
a bowl of hot, but not boiling,
water underneath – this will
create enough moisture to
prevent a skin forming. Remove
the buns when they are almost
doubled in size and set aside.)
7 If making loaves, grease
2 x 900gm loaf tins with butter.
Either add 8-9 x 70gm balls of
dough, or 2 x 250gm balls
of dough. Prove for 3½-5 hours,
oruntil trebled in size (using the
oven as your proving chamber if
necessary, as described above).
8 Place a roasting pan on the
base of the oven, then preheat
to 180°C. If your buns or loaves
look ready before the oven is up
to temperature, you can transfer
them to the fridge. (In fact, this
can be quite a useful thing to do
even if you’re not waiting for the
oven to heat up. When you chill
your proved brioche, it firms
up slightly, making it easier to
brushwith egg wash.)
9 Brush buns or loaves with
eggwash, place them in the
oven and carefully pour
just-boiled water into the
roasting pan on the base to
generate steam – this will help
the brioche rise. Bake buns for
14-20 minutes until dark golden.
Loaves will need 25-30 minutes- if they’re looking golden
after 20 minutes, turn the oven
down to 160°C and continue
baking until well-risen and dark
golden on top. Remove from
the oven and turn out on a wire
rack to cool.●