A classic recipe from my Baking with Julia cookbook. I've put my KitchenAid to the test by making brioche with this recipe which requires beating with a dough hook in an electric mixer for 15 minutes. It didn't come out all together unscathed, though. The metal ring that sits around the mixing arm just above the beater attachment popped off during mixing. Also, the metal bowl became lodged on the base so tightly after all that kneading that I couldn't get it undone and had to wait for my roomie's more muscular boyfriend to come to the rescue so I could wash the bowl. Other than my mixer being somewhat the worse for wear, my brioche came out quite well.

Brioche
From Baking with Julia

The Sponge

• 1/3 cup warm whole milk (100°F - 110°F)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  

Directions:

• Put the milk, yeast, egg, and 1 cup of the flour in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer.
• Mix the ingredients together with a rubber spatula, mixing just until everything is blended.
• Sprinkle over the remaining cup of flour to cover the sponge.
• Rest. Set the sponge aside to rest, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes. After this resting time, the flour coating will crack, your indication that everything is moving along properly.

The dough

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups (approximately) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  

Directions:

• Add the sugar, salt, eggs, and 1 cup of the flour to the sponge.
• Set the bowl into the mixer, attach the dough hook, and mix on low speed for a minute or two, just until the ingredients look as if they're about to come together.
• Still mixing, sprinkle in 1/2 cup more flour.
• When the flour is incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 15 minutes, stopping to scrape down the hook and bowl as needed. During this mixing period, the dough should come together, wrap itself around the hook, and slap the sides of the bowl. If, after 7 to 10 minutes, you don't have a cohesive, slapping dough, add up to 3 tablespoons more flour. Continue to beat, giving the dough a full 15 minutes in the mixer--don't skimp on time, this is what will give the brioche its distinctive texture. (Warning - your mixer will become extremely hot. Most heavy-duty mixers designed for making bread can handle this long beating.)

Incorporating the butter:

• In order to incorporate the butter into the dough you must work the butter until it is in the same consistency as the dough. You can bash the butter into submission with a rolling pin or give it a kinder gentler handling by using a dough scraper to smear it bit by bit across a smooth work surface. When it's ready, the butter will be smooth, soft, and still cold--not warm, oily, or greasy.
• With the mixer on medium-low, add the butter a few tablespoos at a time. This is the point at which you'll think you've made a huge mistake, because the dough that you worked so hard to make smooth will fall apart--carry on. When all of the butter has been added, raise the mixer speed to medium-high for a minute then reduce the speed to medium and beat the dough for about 5 minutes, or until you once again hear the dough slapping against the sides of the bowl.
• When you're finished, the dough should still feel somewhat cool. It will be soft and sticky and may cling slightly to the bottom of the bowl.
  

• First Rise. Transfer the dough to a very large buttered bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

• Rise and Chilling. Deflate the dough by placing your fingers under it, lifting a section of dough, and then letting it fall back into the bowl. Work your way around the circumference of the dough, lifting and releasing. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refridgerate the dough overnight, or for at least 4 to 6 hours, during which time it will continue to rise and may double in size again.

About this recipe: You must have a heavy duty electric mixer to make this bread. I don't know how they used to make this in the olden days, I guess just a lot of kneading by hand and elbow grease. That being said, the brunt of the work of this recipe goes to the mixer, leaving you free to fret over how hot your mixer is getting and whether or not it will jump off the counter in its efforts.

I honestly thought the whole making the "sponge" step would not work at all. When I mixed the first set of ingredients it seemed so dry that it wouldn't support life. I bought enough yeast and had enough flour just in case but happily, didn't need it. My sponge actually started cracking the surface of the flour after just 10 minutes, although I let it go for a full 30.

Adding the rest of the ingredients and bringing it together was no trouble for my trusty kitchen side-kick. The hardest part was getting the dough to stick to the hook so it could be tossed and kneaded about in its quest to find that ideal slapping sound. I found that starting slow and then speeding up helped it get on the hook, otherwise it was just rolled around the bowl and mashed against the sides.

I didn't have to scrape the sides much at all because my dough formed a nice ball early on. After 15 minutes of mixing on a medium high speed I did indeed hear the fabled slapping and felt confident I had successfully completed the second step.

I covered the ball of dough in its buttered bowl anxiously. Me and yeast don't get along and I've made more than a few loaves of bread that have only risen minimally. I was tipped by my roommie who passed a long a secret given to her by her mom that Red Star yeast was the way to go. After 2 hours I was elated and my dough was inflated to at least twice its size--a more considerable rise than I have ever achieved with bread! All hail Red Star!

I deflated the dough gently, as indicated and covered it for its chilly night in the fridge for the second, cold rise. The next day the ball had risen, but not as much. I think it may have been hindered by a slight crust that formed on the outside skin. Next time I'll put the plastic wrap right on the dough instead of tightly across the top to prevent this.

I made brioche loaves because I don't have the classic brioche pans. I formed the dough into little roundish balls and lined them up in their pan. The last rise took a bit longer than 2 1/2 hours but eventually happened.

The result: A rich and buttery, ever-so-slightly sweet bread with a nice firm, spongy texture. I think it turned out although I don't know for sure if I've ever had brioche to be able to say for certain if it turned out right. I would say I cooked them a little too much--the crust was rather dry and hard. But time and storage in a plastic bag will remedy that. Overall, I'm proud of my brioche. There are also some sweet roll recipes that use the brioche dough that I think I will try next time. Other than that I'd have to say this is definitely a weekend activity since you must have the time to let it rise, etc.