hard
16 - 18 HOURS
italy
Brioche is one of the most recognised and celebrated bread in the world, brioche Italian or Italiano is my preferred versions. Packed with flavour, brioche Italian is lighter and softer than authentic French brioche. There are quite a few techniques that are used to make brioche, one of the most challenging is shaping brioche à tête.
Fantastic fun, and absolutely delicious! Give this a go - you'll love it! This bread is fantastic eaten with ice cream as done in the isle of Sicily.
How to make Italian brioche by video tutorial
Ingredients
For the dough:
500g White bread flour
200g Milk
250g Eggs (5 medium)
25g Fresh yeast (12g active dried)
8g Salt
80g Caster sugar
250g Salted butter (at room temperature)
For baking:
1 egg and a pinch of salt for the egg wash
A tablespoon of butter for greasing.
For the sugar glaze:
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
A cup of hot water
First, weigh all the ingredients and dice the butter into cubes. If using dried yeast follow the instructions below.
Excluding the butter, add the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and set a 6 minute timer. Then with a plastic dough scraper make sweeping movements to combine the ingredients in the bowl. Once the dough forms a mass, knead slowly on a table, using a stretching motion. Continue this until the timer beeps, by now the dough should have an even consistency. Scrap the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover with a bag and place it in the fridge.
After 25 minutes, take the dough out onto the table and knead fast, setting a 5 minute timer. Use the stretch, slap and fold technique for maximum efficiency. Add the butter and keep kneading to incorporate it and then an extra two minutes. Cover, and place back in the fridge again for 20 minutes.
Remove from the fridge again, and knead on the table using a fast technique for 8 minutes. Place back in the bowl, covered with a bag or plastic wrap in the fridge for 12-14 hours.
The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and remove from the bowl onto a floured table. Using a metal dough scraper, divide the dough into 70g pieces.
Leave to rest for 10 minutes on the table whilst greasing the brioche tins with butter if using, or lining a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
Then, starting with the first piece that was cut, shape into balls. Shape into brioche à tête: Watch the video at 08:00 for the best demonstration of how to do it, don’t worry these Italian versions are a little more forgiving if the shaping isn’t perfect than the original French brioche.
Break an egg, add a pinch of salt and whisk. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over the shaped brioche and allow them to proof.
Proof for 3 hours depending on the temperature of the room, test with the finger poke test to check they are ready. Preheat the oven to 180C (355F).
Egg wash again before baking for 15-20 minutes (underbake them slightly as the eggs continue to cook when they are out the oven).
Once baked, turn out of the cases and allow to cool on a wire rack. Mix the sugar and a couple of drops of boiling water in a cup until the sugar dissolves into a liquid. Add the sugar glaze over the top of the Italian brioches for a nice shiny surface.
Method using a dough mixer
First, weigh all the ingredients and dice the butter into cubes. If using dried yeast follow the instructions below.
Excluding the butter, add the ingredients to a dough mixer that is fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix on slow speed for 5 minutes. Increase the speed and mix at fast for 8 minutes, then add the butter a few cubes at a time. Continue mixing for another 5 minutes until the butter is incorporated and nice, luscious, gluten strands are visible in the dough.
Using a dough scraper, put the dough in a large mixing bowl, cover with a bag or plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 12-14 hours.
The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and remove from the bowl onto a floured table. Using a metal dough scraper, divide the dough into 70g pieces.
Leave to rest for 10 minutes on the table whilst greasing the brioche tins with melted butter if using, or lining a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
Then, starting with the first piece that was cut, shape into balls. Shape into brioche à tête: Watch the video at 8:00 for the best demonstration of how to do it, don’t worry these Italian versions are a little more forgiving if the shaping isn’t perfect than the original French brioche.
Break an egg, add a pinch of salt and whisk. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over the shaped brioche and allow them to proof.
Proof for 3 hours depending on the temperature of the room, test with the finger poke test to check they are ready. Preheat the oven to 180C (355F).
Egg wash again before baking for 15-20 minutes (underbake them slightly as the eggs continue to cook once out the oven).
Once baked, turn out of the cases and allow to cool on a wire rack. Mix the sugar and a couple of drops of boiling water in a cup until the sugar dissolves into a liquid. Add the sugar glaze over the top of the Italian brioches for a nice shiny surface.
Using dried yeast
If using instant yeast, divide the amount of fresh yeast used by 3 and follow the same method as the recipe. Active dried yeast needs to be activated before use. In this case, warm the milk and water using 10 second bursts in the microwave until it reaches 35C (95F) - no higher. Add the dried yeast and a teaspoon of sugar to the milk, whisk and leave for 10 minutes to bloom. Add the yeasty milk to the recipe when required.
Top tips for the best brioche rolls
You can use unsalted butter for this brioche recipe, just increase the salt to 10g.
When making bread with high amounts of sugar in the recipe, try to use osmotolerant yeast. This type of yeast thrives in high sugar environments where common yeasts often struggle. That said, I used fresh yeast in this recipe and it works great!
Brioche is a sticky dough which is why it has to go into the fridge to cool. It warms up quickly too so work fast when dividing and shaping your rolls.
