Brie in Brioche

I’ve been prolific with brioche postings. Who can resist playing with this rich, buttery, fine-textured, yeasted dough? When I find another glorious brioche creation, there won’t be any resistance in going along with another test drive. Maybe I’ll discover something new, that I don’t know about, on the many techniques and uses of brioche.

So far, in a little over a year, I’ve made Chad Robertson’s Tartine brioche with natural leaven, Tartine brioche with olive oil, Nancy Silverton’s brioche tart with an overnight sponge, twice-baked brioche or bostock, and a one-minute microwave brioche. It is clear that I’m partial toward the Tartine leavened brioche due to its delicate complexity of flavor. Not counting the microwave quick dough, brioche dough requires intensive mixing, literally beating the dough to submission, in order to develop its smooth fine texture.

The brie in brioche recipe, contributed by Lora Brody in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking with Julia, is no exception, when it comes to extended mixing time. That’s where the similarity ends. What’s different? The higher amount of butter in this dough. Two sticks of butter relative to 3 1/4 cups of flour or 60% to total flour weight. (I thought 45% of butter in Tartine brioche was high.)

While most brioche dough calls for cool butter, this recipe stands out in using melted butter. I guess with the melted butter, you gain in convenience of mixing all the ingredients (1T active dry yeast, 3T nonfat dry milk, 3T sugar, 1 1/2 t salt, 3 1/4 C all-purpose flour, 2 sticks of unsalted butter, 3 large eggs and 1/3 C water) in the standmixer all at once. This recipe is bread-machine friendly and among the easiest to make. The dough seems loose after mixing. It then goes straight into the fridge. Following a 24-hr chilling, the dough becomes firmer and ready to be shaped.

Layers of onions and one wheel of ripe brie are wrapped in the brioche dough and set in a springform pan. After a 40-minute final rise at room temperature until the dough doubled in volume, the pastry is ready to be baked in a 425°F oven for 15 minutes and 375°F for an additional 30 minutes. I worried that the brioche may be browning too much. Since taste or texture was the guide, not the color, my worry was misplaced. You do need to shield the edges to prevent uneven browning.

Cut open the beautifully browned pastry ….

and see the awesome sight of lava flow inside

There were several changes I’ve made to the recipe. I used bread flour for 50% of total flour weight instead of using all-purpose flour entirely, making the dough stronger and easier to roll. Instead of slow cooking three pounds of onion for 24 hours, I opted to caramelize three large red onions over the stovetop for about a half hour. I used a smaller wheel of brie, instead of a 9-inch wheel. Halved the brie wheel horizontally and packed the caramelized onions between the halves. Finally, I put the brie wrapped in brioche dough in an 8-inch, rather than a 9-inch pan, for a smaller package.

Braiding strips of brioche dough can be a pain. But the handsome parcel of brie in brioche is winsome. The sweet savory taste of the pastry with caramelized onion and brie is sublime, showcasing the versatility of brioche dough to the next level.

To see what other bakers thought about this recipe, visit TWD blogroll.

Happy Giving Tuesday!