Delicious Homemade French Brioche

I am never making this recipe again.  Like ever.  

This is what a loaf looks like when it comes out of the oven:

And here's a picture taken maybe just 2 hours after that:

This is too tasty for its own good. Or really, for my own good.

And when I say that I'm never making this again, this translates to: I will most probably make this again next weekend.  If I don't end up making it again sometime before that.  

Perhaps obsessively making brioche will speed up the count down to our upcoming trip to Paris??

Logan absolutely loved this, and gobbled down two slices on his own.  In fact, we were playing outside when it came out of the oven, and Jérôme ended up going back into the house three times to get him more.

Rockin' a piece of brioche in each hand,
in true Logan style

Have I convinced you to make this yet?

Brioche is a super tasty, slightly sweet French bread.  Well, it's actually more of a pastry than a bread, in line with croissants and all those other delicious French treats.  I have fond memories of eating this at my exchange student's house in France, upon our return from school, when I did a 3 month exchange to Crolles when I was 15.  Always with jam.  And Jerome tells me likely butter, as that's the way it's eaten in France.  

It had never crossed my mind that it would actually be possible to make brioche.  Well, obviously possible.  Just didn't think it was possible for me.  I certainly can't see myself trying to make croissants any day soon.  But Maryam, who also dragged a French man home with her from her time in France, sent me this recipe, convincing me that it was a relatively easy undertaking.  And that it was.  Could life be any better now that I know I can make my own French brioche at home in a jiffy??

Never been to France?  No plans to go in the near future?  Make this and you will feel like you're strolling down the Champs Élysées or sipping a coffee in Montmartre.

500g of white flour (approximately 3 1/4 C)
5 eggs
5 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
20g of dry active yeast (2 1/2 of the packages)
3 tbsp. of lukewarm water for the yeast
250g butter (just slightly over 1/2 of a one-pound block of butter)
turbinado sugar to decorate (I bought this at the Bulk Barn)

1.  Mix the yeast with the 3 tbsp. of lukewarm water in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.  Stir to mix.

2.  Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl.  Create a well in the centre and place the eggs, cooled melted butter and the yeast/water mixture in the middle.  Mix well.  The dough should not stick to fingers or to the edges of the bowl.  Cover with a dish towel and leave one night in the bottom of the fridge.

This is what the dough looked like the next morning

3.  The next day, roll the dough into one long piece.  Fold it in four and roll it again (the dough is fairly elastic - you can flatten it with your hand or with a rolling pin.  This works best if the dough is nice and cold).  Repeat three times.

4.  Roll the dough onto itself into a long sausage.  Divide it into 6 pieces.  

5.  Place the pieces into two well greased bread pans.  Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. (If you are having a hard time getting the sugar to stick, you can lightly brush the tops of the breads with water and then sprinkle with sugar - I forgot to put the sugar on until after it had risen and had to use some water).

6. Place a dish towel over each bread pan and let rise at room temperature for a few hours (the dough needs to at least double in volume).

7.  Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for approximately 30 minutes.

Makes 2 loaves.

Difficulty level: moderate 

And here is one that we cooked in a bundt pan (all 6 balls of dough in the same pan):