Brioche Bread

I rarely bake yeast dough pastries, although I love them. I only try to eat as less white flour (all-purpose flour) pastry cakes as I can. My all time favourites: the ribboned carnival doughnuts, my grandma’s sweet braided bread and the cinnamon rolls. All these pastries are light because of the all-purpose flour. If we bake them from whole wheat flour… well, the experience is not the same. So every once in awhile I let myself to be tempted…

And I encourage you to do it too! This coming weekend indulge yourself and your loved ones with this beautiful sesame seeds brioche bread. Is there anything better than having a slice of lukewarm brioche spreaded with creamy butter and homemade jam for breakfast? What do you think?

The first time I saw Peter’s video about making this brioche, I fell in love with this bread. Let’s just say I didn’t hesitate too long to bake it.

Brioche Bread

Ingredients

- 250 ml lukewarm water
- 3 and 1/2 tablespoons lukewarm milk
- 8 g dried yeast
- 4 tablespoons cane sugar
- 490 g plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
- 40 g butter, cubed
- 2 organic eggs
- 2 teaspoons salt
- sesame seeds

Method

In a small bowl combine water, milk, dried yeast and sugar. Allow yeast to proof (until it gets foamy).

In a big bowl combine flour, butter and salt. With your fingers rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add foamy yeast, one egg and mix everything with your hands until you get a sticky dough. Lay the dough on a floured board and knead for 5 minutes. If it’s necessary add a little more flour to it but not too much or the bread will be tougher. Shape the dough into a ball, place back into the bowl, cover with a clean cloth and let it rise for 30-40 minutes or until it has doubled in bulk.

Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto the floured board. Knead again for a few minutes and shape it to fit in a loaf pan (25 cm / 9,75 inch long). Cover with the kitchen towl and let it rise again until 30-40 minutes (doubles in size).

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C (360F).

In a small bowl beat the egg and brush a generous amount over the brioche. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 180C (360F) for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before slicing.