In my early bread baking days, I made a lot of brioche, primarily using a sourdough starter. My experience with the brioche dough has been generally positive, except for breaking a KitchenAid mixer, or two. This time I am making a brioche sandwich buns from a recipe in Baking with Dorie. The only available mixer I have up in the mountains is a handheld mixer. Therefore, I proceed with a lot of skepticism and pauses.
The brioche dough is an enriched yeast dough. I made half a recipe, as much as my handheld mixer, or I, can efficiently handle.
First, combine flour (238g) with salt, sugar (25g) and yeast (2 tsp) in the mixer bowl with a dough hook. Stir in milk and water (40 ml each) and mix at low speed until the ingredients form a shaggy mess. Gradually pour in the eggs (1 1/2) and continue to blend at a medium speed until well combined. That takes about 5 minutes.
The real work begins when you add the butter (1 stick, 113g), one or two small pieces at a time. This step will really test your patience. It takes me at least half an hour until my arm is falling off from the constant gripping of the handheld mixer. Not only that, the machine sputters and actually stops a few times. I have to wait until the motor cools down so that it does not overheat and go kaput on me. (It happened before when mixing a brioche dough.) When the whole stick of butter is smoothly incorporated, spin the mixer for another 10 minutes until the dough comes together in a glossy mess. The dough stretches without tearing and passes the windowpane test. Finally, I took a deep breath of relief for not ruining another mixer.
Regarding the fermentation schedule, I have to draw on my own experience and adapt to the higher altitude and colder temperature here in Vermont. During bulk fermentation, I perform a few rounds of stretch-and-fold to strengthen the dough in the first two hours, until the dough doubles in volume. I skip the cold ferment, due to time constraint. Then shape the dough in rounds and let them rest and rise until they are ready to bake. More or less along the line of my go-to brioche process and schedule, displayed below.
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