Brioche Recipe (Easy and Fail Proof) - Rasa Malaysia (2024)

FAQs

Why is my brioche not fluffy? ›

If the kneading is not done correctly and the dough is not kneaded enough or is kneaded too much, this will affect the texture of the brioche. The dough should be left to rise in a warm place, away from any draughts.

Let the dough rise overnight.

Overnight proofing also allows the dough to develop more flavor, and it means that you can sleep in and still have fresh baked bread ready in time for brunch.

Use a high-quality flour with a high protein percentage. Brioche requires gluten to hold its shape despite the large amount of butter in the recipe. The more gluten (protein) you have, the better. In Alberta, all-purpose flour is of great quality and usually has around 13% protein which is perfect for this recipe.

Gently press your finger into the dough on the top. If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed. If it springs back very slowly, it's properly proofed and ready to bake. Finally, if it never springs back, the dough is overproofed.

Add Sugar

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

Too much butter will result in a very soft, sticky dough that's difficult to shape, and bakes up greasy and dense.

An overproofed dough won't expand much during baking, and neither will an underproofed one. Overproofed doughs collapse due to a weakened gluten structure and excessive gas production, while underproofed doughs do not yet have quite enough carbon dioxide production to expand the dough significantly.

If the dough is ready a little before an hour or a little after an hour or if the dough needs another 30 minutes to rise, that's just fine. If the dough completely deflates when you press a finger in, that means it overproofed. Don't panic. Brioche is incredibly resilient.

Why should butter be added slowly to brioche dough? Adding the butter into your brioche dough is a fairly lengthy process, and the butter should only be added approx. one tablespoon at a time. This is so the dough maintains the stretchy gluten we've built up, and the butter is absorbed slowly.

Kneading with a stand mixer is highly recommended for brioche dough. Cold proof your dough: According to Martin, letting the dough proof in the fridge overnight provides extended fermentation time, which in turn develops more flavor.

How sticky should brioche dough be? ›

It will be smooth and still very soft – much softer than typical bread doughs – but shouldn't stick to your hands.

Challah would be a good substitute for brioche. Both of these are made with a “rich” dough — meaning dough that has more than flour and water in it. Brioche is French in origin and is made rich with the addition of butter and eggs. Challah is of Jewish origin and contains eggs, oil and a bit of sugar.

Hydration in Brioche is low (25-30%), only small amount of sugar is added. Some recipes recommend using bread flour, some all purpose flour. For this recipe we stick with all purpose flour (lighter texture) and compensate with short bursts of kneading/rest and refrigeration.

Overproofed is when the dough has rested too long and the yeast has continued making carbon dioxide while the strength of the dough (gluten bonds) have begun to wear out. The dough will look very puffy, but when you touch it or move it you may notice it deflate or sag.

Lightly flour your finger and poke the dough down about 1". If the indent stays, it's ready to bake. If it pops back out, give it a bit more time. The poke test is especially helpful for free-form breads like cinnamon rolls.