Brioche Rolls

   

I love bread.  I love the aroma of freshly baked bread in the kitchen.  There is nothing more satisfying than baking your own bread for the family.  Today, I did just that.  

I cannot be certain if brioche is considered bread or pastry.  I would say it's pastry because of the high egg and butter content.  I like its light and fluffy texture and the slightly flaky crust.  

Since I don't have any individual brioche molds, I simply divided the dough in 12 equal portions in a muffin pan.  It worked just as good.  

Recipe adapted from Essentials of Baking, William-Sonoma:


Ingredients:


2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
4 large eggs, plus 1 egg, beaten, for glaze
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature


- In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy.
- Beat in 4 eggs and the sugar with a wire whisk.
- Add the flour and salt.
- Place the bowl on the mixer, attach the dough hook, and knead on low speed until smooth and elastic.
- The dough will be thick and sticky.  Periodically stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the dough hook with a plastic pastry scraper.
- Add the butter and continue kneading until it is completely incorporated.
- Scrape the dough into a clean, buttered bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 6 hours or for up to overnight.
- Divide the dough into 12 portions and place the dough in a muffin pan.  Cover the pan loosely with a dry kitchen towel and let them rise in a warm, draft-free spot until they almost fill the pans, 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
- Lightly brush the breads with the beaten egg.
- Bake until golden brown, for approximately 15 minutes.  
- Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and serve.