Brioche

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup Whole Milk, warm (100-110 deg)
• 2¼ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
• 1 Large Eggs
• 2 cups Flour, Unbleached, All-Purpose
• ⅓ cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 4 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
• 1½ cups Flour
• 1½ Butter, Room Temperature

Method

Sponge: Put milk, egg, 1 C. flour, yeast into mixer bowl. Mix with rubber spatula until just blended. Sprinkle over the remaining flour to cover the sponge. Let rest for 40 minutes. Flour coating will crack.

Dough: Add sugar, eggs, 1 C. flour, salt to sponge. Mix with dough hook on low for a minute, till ingredients start to come together. Add ½ C more flour. When incorporated increase speed to medium. Give a full 15 minutes. Soften butter by beating. Then add bit by bit on Low. Raise speed to Medium for 1 minute, then slower for 5 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl as necessary.

Rise 1: In buttered bowl, covered tight, until doubled in bulk - at least 2 hours.

Rise 2: Deflate by placing fingers under dough, lifting a section and letting it fall back in the bowl. Work around circumference. Cover and refrigerate over night.

Dough can now be frozen.

Notes

Use for pecan sticky buns.