I was in need for a new bread recipe and begun flipping the stack of cookbooks I got from the library. I wanted something different from the typical loaves and something DIFFERENT caught my eye in the Donna Hay cookbook.
Brioche: A French bread with melty chocolate enclosed within a tall buttery bun with tender crumbs.
Can anyone resist that?
Not me.
But I do know that making all eight of these brioches with chocolate centres ain't gonna please the mister. And I know what he will love to see these made with! CHEESE.
The first weekend I made these, I had to search high and low for something that will hold the dough for the second rise because I didn't have any brioche tins. So, I gathered 4 pairs of my ovenware of different shapes and sizes and they worked out fine. Maybe the next time I will try using my silicone muffin cups!
the golden tops
The first batch of eight brioches were so well received by the mister that it didn't last for a week. And I thought I should enlighten him with another batch! The first week, I used block Cheddar and my Belgian dark chocolate coventure. Both of which didn't melt enough! I heeded the mister's advice and used a type of Indian cheese which we still have in our fridge. For the chocolate version, I switched to using JW's Chocolate and Hazelnut Spread. This, again, is another recommendation of my bright guy. He said instead of going for the BIG BOY - Nutella, why don't we try something else? And we never looked back. The spread melted nicely and was extremely pleasant with the brioche bun.
As usual, I hand kneaded these. When kneading entirely by hand, you mix all ingredients, except the butter, together. Then you gradually knead in the butter, bit by bit. Each time you add a few pieces of butter, you are greeted with an oily mess. But, if you keep the faith and knead on, you will be rewarded me a beautiful buttery dough.
The first time I made these, I was running low on all-purpose flour and substituted it with bread flour and it worked beautifully. But if you want a softer bun, you might want to stick to all-purpose flour or mix half all-purpose flour with half bread flour. I used only 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast instead of the 1.5 teapsoons of active dry yeast as indicated in the recipe. The rise is slower but it worked fine. And remember to have your warmed milk cooled down to no more than 30ºC as anything hotter than that will kill the yeast as Fanny once told me.
Ingredients
adapted from Donna Hay's Dining cookbook
2 cups Bread Flour
1/2 teaspoon Instant Yeast
1/2 cup warm Milk, between 23ºC to 30ºC
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
3 tablespoons Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
125 grams Butter, softened and chopped
8 tablespoons of Chocolate Hazelnut Spread or 120 grams of melty Cheese, chopped into chunks of 15 grams each
How to?
Using the Mixer
Place Flour and Yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook
Place Warm Milk, Vanilla and Sugar in a separate bowl and mix until combined
Add Milk mixture and Egg Yolks to Flour and beat on medium speed until dough is a smooth ball
Continue beating, adding Butter, a little at a time, until it is all incorporated and well beaten
Kneading by hand
Mix all ingredients except Butter in a bowl until a soft dough forms
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead adding Butter, a little at a time until combined
Cover dough and set aside for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until it has doubled in size
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until it is soft and elastic, then divide it into 8 equal pieces
Flatten dough slightly in the palm of your hand
Place a tablespoon of Chocolate Hazelnut Spread or 15 grams chunk of Cheese in the middle of dough and fold over excess dough to enclose
Place brioche in greased and floured high muffin moulds or Brioche tins, cover and set aside for 1 hour or until it is well risen
Bake in preheated 350ºF (160ºC) oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until brioche are golden brown
Release the Brioches from their tins immediately to avoid soggy bottoms
Serve warm


































