Bubble Top Brioche

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have been loyal to Julia Child's recipe for brioche for several decades now. It is delicious and dependable but it needs more attention than some of the other recipes that have found favor in recent years. I've been flirting with Dorie Greenspan's recipe for a while now, and because we have a special dinner planned for Saturday night, as well as a brunch on Sunday, I thought I could use Dorie's much simpler recipe to make rolls for both occasions. I made a triple batch of her bubble top brioche today and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I started the rolls yesterday because they require an overnight chill, but other waiting for that interim rise, these are easiest fancy rolls I've ever made. You'll need a stand mixer to beat the dough, but the mixer literally does all the work and, save for killing the yeast, it would be hard to spoil these rolls. If you start with ingredients that are at room temperature and slowly incorporate the butter into the dough, you can't go wrong. The dough does not have a pleasant hand. It is shaggy and difficult to work with when it is not cold. That long chill is an absolute necessity for shaping the brioche. The recipe states that it makes a dozen rolls. You should be aware that those 12 rolls are voluptuous and will spill into each other as they bake. If you are a fussbudget and want perfectly formed and contained buns, aim for 16 rather than 12 buns per batch. Appearances aside, this is a terrific recipe and I hope you'll give it a try. The brioche freeze well and I know that any of you who make them will be delighted. Here's the recipe.

Bubble Top Brioche...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Dorie Greenspan and Epicurious

Ingredients:
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup warm whole milk
3 teaspoons active dry yeast (measured from two 1/4-ounce envelopes)brioche.
2-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Directions:
1) Combine 1/4 cup warm water and warm milk in bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Sprinkle yeast over liquids and stir to moisten evenly. Let stand until yeast dissolves, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
2) Add flour and salt to yeast mixture. Blend at medium-low speed until shaggy lumps form, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in sugar. Increase mixer speed to medium; beat until dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
3) Reduce speed to low. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until blended after each addition, about 4 minutes (dough will be soft and silky). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and climbs paddle, 8 to 9 minutes. Trust me, it will do this butyou'll have to be patient.
4) Lightly butter a large bowl. Scrape dough into bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.
5) Gently deflate dough by lifting around edges, then letting dough fall back into bowl, turning bowl and repeating as needed. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill, deflating dough in same way every 30 minutes until dough stops rising, about 2 hours. Chill overnight. (At this point, use the dough to make 12 brioches, or 6 brioches and 1 tart, or 2 tarts.)
6) Butter 12 standard (1/3-cup) muffin cups. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces; cut each piece into thirds. Roll each small piece between palms into ball. Place 3 balls in each prepared cup (dough will fill cup).
7) Place muffin pan in warm draft-free area; lay sheet of waxed paper over. Let dough rise until light and almost doubled (dough will rise 1/2 inch to 1 inch above top rim of muffin cups), 50 to 60 minutes.
8) Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Place muffin pan on rimmed baking sheet. Gently brush egg glaze over risen dough, being careful that glaze does not drip between dough and pan (which can prevent full expansion in oven).
9) Bake brioches until golden brown, covering with foil if browning too quickly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Cool 10 minutes. Remove brioches from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: 12 rolls.






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