The Crazy Kitchen: The Great Bloggers Bake Off - Week 2 - Brioche

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Wednesday, 28 August 2013

The Great Bloggers Bake Off - Week 2 - Brioche

Week 2 of the Great British Bake Off is here and the theme is bread. The smell of freshly baked bread is one of the best smells. the smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns is even better. I've made quite a lot of bread myself, mostly in a breadmaker but more recently I've been using my Kitchen Aid mixer to knead the dough and have made bloomers and french sticks using Mr Hollywood's recipes from his 'Bread' book. The main thing to remember when making bread is that it can't be rushed. If you become impatient and don't leave to prove for long enough the bread won't be soft and light. Often you need to prove the dough twice and recipes can take as long as 7 or 8 hours to make from start to finish.

I spotted a recipe for brioche in the book a while ago so thought I would give it a try this week as I've never made it before. I did expect it to be similar to making other bread and was surprised that the mixture resembled cake batter at one point. I thought it had gone wrong and read the recipe over and over to make sure I'd added the correct quantities and very almost added some extra flour. I carried on though, and I'm glad I did as it turned out just fine in the end - you just need a little patience. If you do try this recipe don't be put off by the consistency of the mixture, it will be fine in the end.

It's actually a very simple recipe that doesn't involve all the usual kneading that comes with making other breads and you can make the dough one day and leave overnight to prove and bake the next if you're short of time.

Chocolate Orange Brioche

Chocolate and Orange Brioche

250g strong white bread flour
3g salt
30g caster sugar
5g dried yeast
80ml tepid milk
2 eggs, at room temperature
grated zest of 1 orange
juice of half an orange
130g butter, at room temperature
100g dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
egg beaten with a little milk for the glaze

  • Put the flour in a food mixer fitted with a dough hook
  • Add the salt and sugar to one side & the yeast to the other
  • Add the milk, eggs, zest and juice and mix on a slow speed until fully combined
  • Turn up to a medium speed and mix for 4 minutes
  • Add the softened butter a little at a time and keep mixing for another 4 minutes
  • Add the chocolate and mix briefly

**DO NOT DESPAIR AT THIS POINT IF YOUR DOUGH LOOKS LIKE CAKE BATTER**
  • Tip the dough into a greased bowl, cover & chill for at least 5 hours
  • Once the dough has chilled tip it onto a floured surface and form into a sausage & cut into 8 pieces
  • Lightly roll the pieces into balls and place in a greased loaf tin,place in a large plastic bag and leave to prove for around 2 hours until the dough has risen above the rim of the tin
chocolate orange brioche

  • Brush the brioche lightly with the egg wash glaze and place in a 200C preheated oven for around 20-25 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean)
  • Leave in the tin for 5 minutes to cool before removing and leaving on a wire rack to cool
  • serve warm or cold


If you want to join in with the Great Bloggers Bake Off please take the time to read the rules below, link up your own recipe and show some comment love on the other entrants.



Rules
  • all recipes must be a new post and not an old one linked up
  • all recipes must fit the themes set by that week’s Great British Bake Off episode
  • all entries must carry the GBBO badge (designed by Annie – thank you)
  • all entries must also carry these links to Jenny and myself please  http://www.thecrazykitchen.co.uk/p/the-great-bloggers-bake-off.html  and http://www.mummymishaps.co.uk/category/gbbo
  • all entries must be linked up on either mine or Jenny Berry’s blog by 8pm each Sunday night (click on our GBBO badges to find the linky posts)
  • please tweet myself @jessies_kitchen and/or @JennyPaulin using the hashtag #GreatBloggersBakeOff and we will RT all entries that we see
GreatBloggersBakeOff
Grab our button
and join in

We can't wait to see what you've baked!

10 comments:

  1. I am so going to give this ago. Choc & orange are my fave combo and it doesn't look too difficult x

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  2. These looks amazing, you know you and Jenny are an inspiration. Off to check out the others x

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  3. Oh yum. My friend on Learncliki sent me here and I'm glad she did! I love baking with my children and they're always begging for me to find a recipe for something other than cake.So thank you very much!

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  4. Oh Hels bells your a woman after my own heart i love brioche and thanks for sharing how to make it so easy i will defo try this

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  5. I've never tried making brioche but I like the way it doesn't need complicated shaping. Yours looks delicious!

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  6. Brioche is one of my favourites, yours looks lovely and soft, love the choccy bits in it too!

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  7. Oh my lord that looks amazing. I'm drooling!

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  8. Totally giving this a free from go! x

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