In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the milk until just
warm, about 110 degrees F. Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. Whisk in
the yeast and 1 cup of the flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside
at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients. Don't worry if it
rises a bit.
Cut the butter into 6 or 8 pieces and combine with the sugar
and the salt in a mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix ingredients with
the mixer running at low speed until the mixture is soft and smooth. Scrape the
insides of the bowl often. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until smooth,
about 10 minutes. If it curdles (from using cold eggs), mix for 1 minute more
until almost smooth; it may still look somewhat curdled.
Switch to a dough hook. Add the remaining 1-1/4 cups flour,
and scrape the milk-yeast-flour mixture, previously prepared, into the
flour-butter-egg bowl with a rubber spatula. Starting a low speed and soon
advancing medium, mix the ingredients until they form a soft, smooth dough.
Process another 30 seconds.
Turn the dough onto a generously floured work surface. Fold it
over onto itself several times to make it elastic. Press the dough into a rough
rectangle, if using a loaf pan or a disk, if using a Brioche one. Fold each side
about an inch towards the center and press firmly to seal. Then starting at one
edge, fold the rectangle or disk towards the middle. Fold the other half of the
dough towards the middle. If folding a rectangle, fold the remaining edges, one
at a time, past the seam and pinch to seal. With the disk, fold the remaining
edges, one at a time, towards the center and seal.
Place the dough, seam side down into a well buttered pan
(cover bottom and all sides). Press the top of the dough firmly with the palm of
your hand. This will flatten the dough and fill the pan evenly. Cover the pan
with a piece of plastic wrap, either buttered or sprayed with vegetable oil,
facing the dough or with a towel. Allow the dough to rise about an inch above
the rim of the pan, about an hour.
Using the corner of a razor blade (be careful) or the point of
a sharp knife, cut a slash from about 1-inch before the end of the loaf down the
middle of the top, to 1-inch before the end. If baking in a Brioche pan, do the
same, but make 2 slashed like an "x".
After about 40 to 45 minutes after placing the dough in the
pan, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap from the brioche
dough. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. After 10 minutes, rotate the
pan to ensure even cooking. When baked, immediately remove to a wire rack and
let cool to room temperature.
Use immediately or store. To do so, wrap tightly in plastic
wrap and refrigerate or freeze. Bring to to room temperature or reheat and then
cool to room temperature before serving.
Recipe is from
Nick Malgieri, How to Bake, HarperCollins, 1995
