BRIOCHE BUNS

This recipe is from my cookbook 'My Garden Kitchen'. Use it to make buns for burgers or find my 'Pulled pork with slaw and a homemade BBQ whiskey sauce' recipe in my book. Brioche is a French dough and is a total favourite of mine. It’s so buttery and slightly sweet makes for the perfect base for savoury fillings. This dough can also be used to a loaf  (great sliced and turned into french toast) or even fried or baked into doughnuts.
 

Makes: 12 burger buns or 24 slider buns

Time: 20mins prep | 2 ½ hours to prove | 16mins to bake
 

For the dough
¾ cup (160ml/5.4oz) milk
1 ½ teaspoon (7g/2oz) active dry yeast 
6 free-range egg yolks
2 2/3 cup (370g/13oz) flour (+ extra)
3 tablespoons (40g/1.4oz) castor sugar
1 teaspoon salt
150g (5.3oz) butter, at room temperature

To top
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Heat the milk in a small pot until it is lukewarm (37°C/100°F) – I do this by touch. Once warm, pour half the milk into a bowl and set aside. Leave the remaining milk in the pot, add the yeast to it and whisk well to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes in a warm spot until the yeast is frothy. Meanwhile, beat the yolks and the remaining milk together and combine well, and then set aside.

In a stand mixer, with a dough hook attached (or you can do this step by hand) mix the flour, sugar, and salt together. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast and the egg mixtures. Mix for around 3 minutes until you have a sticky dough that begins to look smooth. Now you want to add the butter, bit by bit until it is all incorporated. If it hasn’t been fully mixed in completely, you can do this by hand in the next step. 

Turn out dough on a lightly floured bench and knead for 10 mins until the dough is smooth and elastic. You have to add a little extra flour as you go (all flours are different, and with bread making, the humidity etc on the day will change the amount of flour you need) to stop the dough from sticking to your hands and to help bring the dough together. Only add the minimal amount of flour needed – the dough is meant to be light.  Put the kneaded dough into a greased bowl, cover with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm spot to prove until doubled in size, about

1-2hours.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and set it aside. Once the dough has been proved, knock the air out of the dough by giving it a quick knead and form a rectangle shape. Cut horizontally into two pieces and cut each log into 6 portions so you have 12 altogether. Check to make sure (by feel) that the buns are roughly the same weight. Shape into buns (see video). Put them on the lined tray, cover and set aside. Let them prove for a further 20mins. While they are proving, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

After 20mins of proving, brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in the centre of the oven for 16 minutes or until golden.

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Eat the same day that you bake them. Best eaten warm.