Now

It was inevitable. I’ve known that for quite some time and wasn’t particularly avoiding it. I wasn’t intimidated by the prospect, but I was waiting for something to come along that said, “Now.” This past Wednesday I got that, “now.” It was time to make brioche.

I’ve been recycling old posts from this blog on gather.com. Gather is one of those social networking sites like MySpace, but oriented (at least initially) toward NPR and PBS listeners. Topics run the gamut from politics to religion to my particular interest; food.*

Recently I got a comment on the cinnamon bun recipe I’d posted from a baker who used brioche when making them.

This was the “now” I’d been waiting for. So I started reading up on brioche, and then I made it.

This is one strange dough. After mixing the dough it has the consistency of a gooey batter. It’s very nearly pourable. You literally can’t handle it and I can’t imagine how it was made before the advent of stand mixers — well actually, I can, and it must have been a terrible mess. I can’t imagine how it was made before refrigeration at all. After mixing, the dough has to be refrigerated for two hours before it can be handled, and then it has to be refrigerated again for a recommended six hours before it can be shaped.

The results were outstanding. Soft, light, and slightly chewy, the buns themselves weren’t overly sweet. The icing is quite sweet and you may want to use less of it than I’ve called for below.

Cinnamon Buns

Basic Brioche
(from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum)
Starter:
2 tbsp water (at 70F – 90F)
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 ea egg

Dough:
1 c + 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 ea eggs, cold
8 tbsp butter, very soft

Filling:
1 c packed brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
8 tbsp butter — very soft

Icing:
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Dough:
One day before: By hand, whisk together all starter ingredients until very smooth and to incorporate air — about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides and clean out whisk as needed. The starter will be the consistency of a thick batter. Cover with plastic and set aside for at least an hour. (For a deeper flavor, refrigerate the starter after the first hour for up to 24 hours before proceeding.)

Whisk together the flour, sugar, and yeast for the dough in a bowl. Whisk in salt (adding the salt after mixing in the yeast prevents it from harming the yeast. Sprinkle flour mixture over starter, cover tightly, and let sit for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (The starter will bubble up through the flour in places, which is fine.)

Add eggs and mix dough with a stand mixer, using the dough hook, at low speed for about 1 minute until dough is moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat for two minutes then scrape down the sides with an oiled spatula. Continue mixing at medium for five minutes until the dough is smooth and shiny. Note, it will remain soft and very sticky and won’t pull away from the bowl.

Add the butter a tablespoon at a time and mix until almost completely incorporated before adding next tablespoon. The dough will still be soft and sticky but **don’t add more flour.

Grease a large bowl with cooking spray, then used the oiled spatula to scrape dough in bowl. Spray top of dough lightly with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise until doubled — 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Refrigerate for 1 hour then gently deflate dough with oiled spatula, recover, and chill for another hour.

Turn dough out onto well-floured board, dust top with flour, and press or roll out into a rectangle about 8″ by 12″, dusting with additional flour as needed. brush off excess flour and fold dough like a business letter pressing to seal, rotate 90 degrees, press or roll out again and fold again.

Dust dough with flour, wrap loosely in plastic wrap, place in a large zippered bag, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 2 days. The dough is now ready to be shaped and baked.

Make Rolls:
Mix the filling in a small bowl. Butter an 8″ by 13″ baking pan.

Roll out dough to 12″ by 16″ rectangle. Spread with butter called for in the filling leaving one long edge free of butter. Sprinkle sugar cinnamon mixture over butter (keeping the un-buttered edge clear) and then gently spread and press with the back of a spoon. Beginning with the edge opposite the free edge, gently roll into a tube stopping just short of clear edge. Moisten clear edge with water, complete roll, and press gently to seal.

Cut roll in half, then cut each half in half, then cut each quarter in thirds for a total of 12 rolls. Arrange rolls in the baking pan with space between them. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until doubled in size — about 1 1/2 hours.

Heat oven to 350F. Then bake rolls for 15 to 20 minutes until browned.

Icing:
In a small bowl using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, milk, vanilla, and lemon juice. Gradually whip in powdered sugar. Spread icing over rolls.

*Check out Gather and if you want to sign up, click here — I earn points for people I invite that I can use for, say, yet more cookbooks.

Technorati: Food | recipe | bread | breakfast | brioche | cinnamon bun

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