Brioche

Brioche is so so good and such a treat.  When we were in France last fall we bought a loaf of brioche for simple breakfasts and lunches... recently I was working on our album from that trip I decided that I need to try to made this delicious bread. 

If you have made bread before then brioche is pretty easy, even if the process is quite different (raising in the fridge- what!?).  My primary source was the recipe in our trusty Joy of Cooking but I referenced the Craft of Baking as I really love how the recipes are written in that book. 

The main thing I did differently from the Joy of Cooking is that I used the mixer for all of the kneading.  I had zero interest in trying to knead the sticky dough by hand.  I love kneading when the dough is soft but not so much when it is sticky.  And brioche dough is so very different from your basic bread dough given all of that butter!

We enjoyed a most excellent fried egg sandwich and then a very yummy bread pudding from this loaf, in addition to snacking on slices here and there.  This bread is definitely worth the time.

Brioche

from the Joy of Cooking

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup whole milk, warmed to 105 to 115 degrees F
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups bread flour
• 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened

Combine in a the bowl of your stand mixer the yeast and warm milk.  Let stand until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Add the AP flour, eggs. sugar, milk, salt.  Mix by hand or on low speed.  Gradually stir in the bread flour.

Mix for about 5 minutes until all the ingredients are blended.  Knead, using the dough hook on low to medium speed for 7-10 minutes until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl.

Add the softened butter and vigorously knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth.  Place the dough in a buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough, knead briefly.  Refrigerate, covered, for 4 to 12 hours.  If the dough has doubled, punch down and shape it.  If it has not yet doubled let it finish rising in a warm place, punch down and refrigerate for 30 minute and then shape it.

Divide the dough into quarters and roll each quarter into a round. Nestle the rounds together in a buttered loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.  Whisk an egg with a pinch of salt, brush over the the top of the dough. 

Cover the pan loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until the dough is doubled and fills the pan.  About an hour.

Preheat pan to 375 degrees F.  Brush the loaf again with the egg wash.  Bake until golden brown and a knife, inserted in the center, comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Unmold onto a rack and let cool.

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Homemade {Overnight} Cinnamon Rolls with the Morning Coffee

Homemade cinnamon rolls are divine.  They  make the house smell so incredibly homey and taste amazing. 

But who wants to wake up early enough to have them ready before it is time to transition to lunch?  The hands one prep time isn't that bad it comes down to the hours the dough needs to raise.  And while I get that some people naturally wake up at those wee hours of the morning and could make homemade cinnamon rolls before 9 or 10am, neither Dan or I are one of those early bird types.  So it has been a long time since I made cinnamon rolls.

I was pleasantly surprised when one of the recipes Dan printed off for his list of 'recipes to try' was Overnight Cinnamon Rolls.  When I mentioned that it was a yeast dough Dan was ready to put this recipe to the back of the stack but my sweet tooth was already anticipating the cinnamony goodness so I offered to help.  This truly was a "Two Cooks" recipe as we both contributed. 

In reality, my story about how how cinnamon rolls can be pretty tough to get just right and it is quite the disappointment after all that work might have scared Dan a little bit.  But this recipe from Alton Brown is a great one for someone with less baking experience; I might even call it pretty easy.  He has great instructions with just enough detail.  I learned to make cinnamon rolls with all the kneading done by hand and this was my first yeast dough recipe using the dough hook on our mixer; it is much easier and quicker to mix the dough with the dough hook.  I kind of missed the oddly relaxing task of kneading.  But one of my adaptions was to stop adding the flour via the mixer and to do it by kneading.  In my opinion this is how you get the best feel for the dough consistency and for when it is ready to move on to rising.  Other than doing a little more kneading and a small adaption to the icing, the rest of the recipe is really right on based on the taste test! 

These rolls came out so lovely.  And it was so nice this morning to simply give them a little steam to fluff the up and then bake, all while I sipped my first cup of coffee.  It was the lowest level of effort in the morning, which is perfect for a Saturday.  And I would imagine these would be quite fantastic to make for a house guest... what sweet 'hostess with the mostess' to wake your guests by the wafting scent of homemade cinnamon rolls!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

Dough ingredients:
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 large whole egg, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar (2 oz)
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter (3 oz), melted
6 oz buttermilk, room temperature
4 cups all-purpose flour (20 oz), approximately
1 package instance dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Filling:
1 cup packed light brown sugar (8 oz)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 oz), melted

Icing:
1/4 cup cream cheese (2 1/2 oz), softened
3 Tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (5 1/2 oz)
1 teaspoon clear vanilla

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 20 - 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

~ Tara