Brioche

The brioche is a French pastry preparation that has been widely adopted in Italian cuisine as well, especially for breakfast and snack time.

Ingredients

• 500 g of all-purpose flour
• 250 g of soft butter
• 100 g of sugar
• 15 g of fresh yeast
• 5 eggs (plus one yolk for brushing)
• 100 ml of lukewarm milk
• 1 pinch of salt
• Grated zest of one lemon (for an Italian touch)
• Vanilla seeds or vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation

1. Dissolve the fresh yeast in lukewarm milk with a teaspoon of sugar.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour and create a well in the center where you will pour the beaten eggs, milk with yeast, lemon zest, and vanilla if using.
3. Start kneading by gradually adding sugar and salt.
4. When the dough starts to take shape, gradually incorporate the soft butter in pieces, working well until you have a smooth, homogeneous, and elastic mixture.
5. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until it doubles in volume.
6. Gently deflate the dough and form balls weighing about 50-100 g each for classic brioches, or create shapes as you like.
7. Place the balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leaving enough space between them.
8. Let rise again until they double in volume (about 1 hour).
9. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
10. Gently brush the surface of the brioches with a beaten egg yolk to give shine and color.
11. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until they are well golden.
12. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Curiosities

In some Italian versions of the brioche, especially in Sicily, you will find that brioches are used as an accompaniment to ice cream, particularly in the famous “brioche con tuppo e gelato”. The “tuppo” is the top part of the brioche that resembles the chignon hairstyle typical of Sicilian women of the past.