To me brioches and Easter go hand in hand. They make great gifts or a lovely breakfast option for yourself ;)
Brioches just scream comfort food! The smell that encloses the kitchen.. The soft and delicate dough that you get to enjoy when they are finally done.. This is what pure happiness tastes like :)
Brioches are really simple, but a lot of times the simple things are just the best, don’t you think?
I like to eat my brioche plain or if I’m feeling naughty I smear Nutella on top (very likely on a Sunday) :P
My mom is the Queen of brioches! She makes these very cute and delicious mini braided brioches, perfect for a quick breakfast on the go or lovely to enjoy on a Sunday when you have all the time in the world. And she makes it seem so effortless and easy to make them that I wanted to share with you her famous recipe. I included a step-by-step guide and some gifs, so you won’t have an excuse this Sunday ;)
Enjoy!
- 42g fresh yeast
- 1/2 l whole milk
- 150g caster sugar
- 500g all-purpose flour
- 500g whole wheat flour
- pinch of salt
- 100g butter, melted
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 2 tbsp dark rum
- coarse sugar
- 1. In a heatproof pan, slowly heat the milk on medium heat and add the caster sugar. To activate the yeast, crumble it in the warm milk and turn down the heat. Make sure that the milk is not boiling as this will kill the yeast. Leave the pan on the stove at very low heat until the yeast is foamy and bubbly, about 10 minutes.
- 2. While you are waiting for the yeast to be ready, sift the all-purpose and whole wheat flour in a large bowl and add a pinch of salt. Add your activated yeast to the dry ingredients. Whisk the egg yolks and egg together with the rum and add it to the mixture as well as the melted butter. Using an electric mixer with dough hooks thoroughly knead your dough until everything is combined and smooth. Don't worry if the dough is sticky, you can add more all-purpose flour later on. Once everything is well combined, wet a clean towel and cover the bowl with it. This prevents the dough from drying out. Place your bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in volume.
- 3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C and line baking trays with parchment paper. Lightly flour your counter.
- 4. To make mini brioches: Do not to divide the dough into individual pieces. Start rolling the dough out into a rope and cut it as you are making your brioches. First form a loop with the rope of dough and pinch the end. Eye-measure the length of the rope that you will need, it should about the same length as the loop you just formed and cut the dough. Now pull the end of the dough through the loop, twist the loop you just formed and pull the rope through the same loop again. It does sound more complicated than it actually is. If you are confused by my instructions, follow the pictures below. Once you have 'braided' all your mini brioches, dip the top of them in a bowl with water and transfer them onto baking trays lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle coarse sugar on top and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
- 5. To make large brioches: Halve the dough, then divide it into in 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope. To make the braid, pinch the ends of the ropes together at one end. Then do a normal braid and pinch the ends together once reaching the end. Carefully transfer the brioches onto two baking trays lined with parchment paper and brush the dough with a little bit of water. Generously sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Bake the brioches for 30 to 35 minutes.
- 6. Once they are done and golden brown, transfer the brioches to a wire rack to let them cool.
- You can freeze the baked brioches in ziploc bags.
- For this recipe I've used half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour but you could substitute the whole wheat flour and only use all-purpose.
See, it’s really easy! :)
Step-by-step guide to make the mini brioches:
1. Form a loop and pinch the end.
2. Pull the rope through the loop.
3. Pull the rope.
4. Twist the loop.
5. Pull the rope through the loop.
6. Tada! You have just made a mini braided brioche :)
And for the big ‘guy’, follow the gif!
Do you have any Easter traditions in your family? I would love to hear about them and try new recipes! :)
Last year’s Easter DIY: Easter Meringue Nests is still a favorite of mine!
I will be posting more Easter-inspired recipes this weekend, including some last minutes ones ;)
6 Comments
Bettina
June 6, 2014 at 8:41 pmI’ll hopfully have the time to try this recipe out this weekend!:)
Vicki
June 10, 2014 at 2:15 pmLet me know how like them! :)
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Michi
April 8, 2023 at 12:38 pmI love the brioche recipe and follow it every Easter :-) Thank you!