These puffy and festive buns are extremely easy to make, I’d say they are speedy as there’s no long proofing stages, no punching and generally hardly any effort put in.
These brioches are soft, light, with a slight creamy flavour and millions of air pores in the crumb. They are perfect for dipping into one’s favourite jam, sweet dip or sauce. And since these buns are so easy to put together, why stressing about the glaze, here is an easy option using white chocolate and crushed lollies as decoration.
The recipe makes 6 muffin-sized brioches or 1 6″/ 15 cm brioche.
Brioches:
Adapted from Pierre Herme
- 2 T/ 1 oz/ 30 g light cream, luke warm
- 1 t active dry yeast
- 1 c/ 155 g all-purpose flour
- ½ t salt
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ egg white
- ½ t vanilla extract
- ¼ c/ 50 g white sugar
- 6 T/ 80 g unsalted butter, cubed
Prepare 6 muffin tins or 1 6″/15 cm spring form with tall borders if you are making 1 brioche.
In a cup, combine the cream and yeast and stir to dissolve it, then set aside for 10 minutes or until the mixture starts to bubble up.
In a bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, add the flour, salt, egg yolks, egg white, vanilla essence and activated yeast mixture. Start mixing the ingredients on the lowest speed setting, let it form into a stiff dough. Continue mixing for another 2-3 minutes, then increase the speed by 1, add the sugar and mix the dough for further 15 minutes. Gradually add in the butter, mixing well after each addition. After all the butter is in, mix the dough for another 5-7 minutes, it should start coming out well from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
Divide the dough into 6 equal parts 2.45 oz/ 68-70 g each if you are making minis. Shape each part into a ball and put each into muffin tins smooth side up. Cover the tins with cling film and leave to proof at room temperature for 2,5-3 hrs, until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 338ºF/ 170ºC. Bake the brioches for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown and baked through (for a single brioche it should take about 30-35 minutes to be ready). Remove from oven, take out from the tins and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Decoration:
- 100 g good quality white chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 t vegetable oil
- a few hard candies/ lollies
Put the chocolate and oil in a small heat-proof bowl and set it over a water bath or pulse in a microwave (with 20-30 second intervals, stirring the contents of the bowl each time). Crush the candies in a mortar with a pestle.
Spread the chocolate glaze over brioches and sprinkle with crushed candies just before serving.
The best taste and texture of these brioches are the day they were made. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.