29 April 2022

French Puff Brioche

Stop everything that you are doing right now. Take the time to read through the recipe. Run to your nearest shop to buy (a lot of) butter and start cooking. You won’t regreat it believe me! Because when you will have this brioche in your mouth, you will never want this sensation to end. If you don’t trust me, try it and come back to me. I bet I’m right 😁.

On Sunday, you can eat whatever you want for breakfast, brioche, croissants, scones… Everything is allowed (well maybe it’s allowed everyday I know but this is just an excuse to bake this one this weekend 😁).

In Finland, there are not too many bakeries opened early on Sunday mornings where you can get fresh croissants and a baguette! Especially outside Helsinki center. So as I don’t want to drive 30 minutes and go down town in my pyjamas to find the best croissant in the country I’m making my own puff brioche. I won’t lie, it takes time on the Saturday! But on Sunday morning, all you have to do is to turn your oven on and put your brioche in while your tea is getting ready, you are still in your pyjamas, with your hair ~~in a mess~~ styled. And maybe next time I will give you a recipe for croissants (I should start working on it then 🤔).

So, yes it’s not really healthy, not really good for the summer body (but guess what, we don’t care about that!) and it’s sooo good for the mood!!

It’s a recipe from Philippe Conticini’s cookbook called Sensations.

I have made it over and over, and it always has been approved at 100%. It takes time to make, but it is not that difficult if you follow each steps. I promise it’s worth the effort.

French Puff Brioche

Servings: 12 individuals brioches or 2 long ones

Ingredients

Brioche Dough

510 g pastry flour
1 tsp salt
40 g caster sugar
15 cl milk
20 g fresh yeast (or 7 g of active dry yeast)
3 eggs (150 g)
50 g soft butter (just take it out of the fridge 30 min before starting)

Butter laminating

300 g butter (ideally you would use special butter for laminating, but as I can't find it here easily I just buy a really good quality butter)

Syrup

50 g caster sugar
50 g water

Final touch

150 g pearl sugar (the same as the one used for waffles from Liege, I bought it in Belgium)

Instructions

Brioche Dough

Mix the yeast with the milk at room temperature.
In the stand mixer with the hook, mix the flour, salt and sugar. Then add the milk and yeast and finish with the eggs previously beaten. Add the soft butter.
Knead the dough during 3 minutes on low speed, then 8 minutes on medium speed. Scrub the sides of the bowl to put the dough together in the middle. You should have a smooth and homogeneous dough.
Leave the dough to rest for 1 h in a warm place without draughts. It has to double. After 1 h, remove the air from the dough and reshape it. Put it in the fridge to stop the fermentation.

Laminating

Start by prepping the butter for laminating: put it between two sheets of baking paper and beat it with a rolling pin to soften it. Roll the butter out to obtain a rectangle of 20×25 cm and 0.5 cm of thickness.
Roll the brioche dough out to have a rectangle of 45×25 cm. Put the butter in the middle and fold the dough on it. Then if you are familiar with puff pastry it will be simple for you, if you're not there is really good videos online to help you. We will now start the laminating by giving "turns" to the dough with the butter inside.
To start with, put the dough with the butter inside in front of you, fold side down with the opened edged on the right and left. Roll out the dough and shape it on a 70 cm long rectangle. Pay attention to the butter – it has to stay inside. Then, fold the dough in thirds, like a wallet: fold the upper third on the middle and the bottom side on the upper side. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and that it! You have done the first laminating step! Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest for 30 min in the fridge.
Repeat the same process: put the dough in front of you, this time the closed edge has to be on your left, like a book. Roll out on a 70 cm long rectangle, fold in thirds and wrap the dough in cling film. Let it rest again for 30 min in the fridge.
Repeat the same process for the third time and let the dough rest 1 h in the fridge.

Shaping

Make the syrup by boiling the water and the sugar. Take it off the heat when the sugar has dissolved.
Take the dough and roll it out in a 35×45 cm rectangle and 5 mm thickness. Sprinkle the top with the pearl sugar, leave a 5 cm space on the bottom. Sink slightly the sugar in the dough with a rolling pin.
Brush the sugar-free bottom with the syrup and roll up the dough, make sure it's tight. Close the roll with the syrup and put it in the fridge for 20 min to make it firm, it will be easier to cut.
After the resting time, cut the roll every 4-5 cm, you should have around 12 rolls. Put them in muffins moulds or in individuals rings buttered.
Cover with cling film and let it rise for 2 h at room temperature.
Cook the brioches at 180 °C during 30 min, they should be golden and well cooked inside.

Notes

If you prefer to have big brioches you can put the rolls in two cake tins. You will have a whole brioche to share with your family and friends.

If you want to cook your brioche in the morning, you have to do the last rise in the fridge overnight. Be sure to cover the brioche. Then on the morning, first take out the brioche out of the fridge to let it warm up a bit while you preheat the oven. Cook it as usual and enjoy :)!