My Sweet & Saucy said...
May 8, 2008 at 11:06 pm

Ever since pastry school I have been in love with good brioche! These look especially wonderful with your lovely lemon curd!

zoe said...
May 9, 2008 at 5:10 am

Hi My Sweet & Saucy,

Do try this recipe, it is unlike anything you did at pastry school. It is far easier and less fussy to deal with. The crumb may be a little bit cakier, but just a little time on a stand mixer will give it the stretch you want.

Enjoy!

Zoë

toontz said...
May 9, 2008 at 6:03 am

That is just beautiful. I know it probably tastes just as good as it looks. I just love Brioche, and have not made it in years. (BC—Before Children)lol.

zoe said...
May 9, 2008 at 6:19 am

Thanks toontz,

This one is far easier and it will satisfy your craving. If your kids are old enough perhaps they will make it for you???

Happy Mother’s Day!

Zoë

Rosemary C said...
May 9, 2008 at 9:20 am

I made the brioche several weeks ago, (minus the tete) and it was delicious! I bought 2 ceramic molds from the King Arthur web site (on sale, to boot) so, one for us, and one for gift giving.(No, they don’t get the mold, too) They look lovely un-molded and wrapped in clear cellophane with a pretty bow. This next statement is going to sound too weird in light of the elections, the war, and natural disasters, but: your book and your bread making method has added so much to our lives. It is SO friggin’ easy and we feel in control of what we are putting into our bodies. PLUS, it impresses the heck out of our friends and family.

zoe said...
May 9, 2008 at 9:34 am

Hi Rosemary,

In light of all that is going on in the world it is especially important to find some hope and joy in our lives. If baking fresh bread can bring you some of that then fantastic!

I’m going to see if KA has any more of the Brioche molds. I can never get enough baking supplies.

Thanks, Zoë

Suzy said...
May 10, 2008 at 9:03 pm

Thanks so much for the step by step colored photos. I received your book as a *prize* from an online friend who had a little drawing. The first person whose name was pulled never claimed the prize so another name was drawn..MINE! I was so excited. The brioche is next on my list to try. The baguette was super easy. Great book!

zoe said...
May 12, 2008 at 5:57 am

Hi Suzy,

Congratulations on winning the book. I hope you are enjoying your prize.

Enjoy the brioche! Let us know what you think.

Zoë

Emilie said...
May 14, 2008 at 4:49 pm

I just bought a brioche pan today so I could try that recipe from the book, so this topic is perfect timing. Thanks! And I’ll also chime in that your recipe has been such an exciting addition to my cooking & our family meals. Since I discovered you on the internet a few months ago, I’ve made more boules than I can count, have given the book twice as gifts, and have sung your praises to whoever will listen! In fact I think the guy at Williams-Sonoma today got a little tired of me going on and on about how “Artisan Bread in Five” is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Literally!

jeff said...
May 14, 2008 at 5:07 pm

Emilie: We hope the Williams-Sonoma guy is getting sick of us!– we noticed that they sold out of those thick square baking stones right after our book came out (see page 13, “Baking Stone). Seriously, it’s a nice chain.

Thanks for all your enthusiasm… Jeff

Britt said...
October 16, 2008 at 10:02 am

Hello Zoe and Jeff,
I absolutely love your book, which I bought after I read the piece in the NY Times about your bread recipe. It had never occurred to me to make bread before, and I was quite amazed that I managed it, and that it was so easy.
My question is: I usually find it much easier to weigh ingredients, so could you please tell me how heavy a cup of flour is using your scoop and sweet method.

With many thanks,
Britt
Oxford, England

jeff said...
October 16, 2008 at 12:18 pm

Hi Britt: Welcome to the site, we’re getting more and more visitors from the U.K–thanks for the kind words.

1 U.S. cup of all-purpose white flour (10% protein) weighs close to 5 ounces (closer to 4.9 but we’ll use the round number). That’s 32 ounces per full Master Recipe from page 26 (2 pounds, or 910 grams). If you want to weigh the 3 cups of water, that’s 1.5 pounds (680 grams).

Let us know how you make out with this. Jeff

Britt said...
October 17, 2008 at 11:24 am

Many thanks! Regarding your master boule recipe(P26), I doubled it and it worked well. Even better, it was easy to make without any fancy equipment. I just put everything into a plastic bucket and mixed it with a sturdy wooden spoon. I left the dough in the bucket for the first rising and clean-up was a piece of cake, so to speak. Instead of using a lid, I just put a towel over the top and it seemed to work.

Many thanks again,
Britt

jeff said...
October 17, 2008 at 11:30 am

One other tip, Britt. You don’t actually have to clean the bucket, assuming you’re going to be mixing new dough all the time. The residue at the bottom helps the new batch get a head-start on sourdough flavor. You can even leave in some dough from last batch, up to a pound. Break it up well with a spoon in the fresh mixing liquid, or check out my new post on this today or in the next several days (coincidence!).

About the towel… some of our readers who’ve tried that and kept it longer than a few days in the refrigerator said that the dough got really dry and hard, but maybe your fridge environment is more humid? Jeff

Britt said...
October 18, 2008 at 1:59 am

Hello again, Jeff:
Thanks for the tip. Up to now I’ve baked all my dough immediately so I didn’t keep any in the fridge — I only used the towel during the rising. Since I live alone and don’t need all that bread, I freeze most of it, which works fine. But I’ll check your new post and try baking bread as I go along.

Yesterday I moved on to brioche… To be on the safe side, I divided the quantities for your brioche loaf by 4 and baked just the one loaf, which is quite delicious. Next time I want to try using fresh orange juice instead of water to vary the flavour. Do you think this would work?
With many thanks — Britt

jeff said...
October 18, 2008 at 5:42 am

I think the flavor will be nice, but the acid will change the dough. Acid breaks down gluten, so you are likely to get a larger hole structure. The dough may get soupy after a few days because of this. Curious what you’ll find. I’d make a small batch and think of it as an experiment. Jeff

zoe said...
October 18, 2008 at 6:43 am

Hi Britt,

It sounds wonderful, but instead of adding orange juice I would add a tablespoon of orange zest. This will give you the flavor without all of the added acid as Jeff mentions above.

Please let us know how it goes.

Thanks, Zoë

Britt said...
October 18, 2008 at 8:19 am

Hi again,
I’m sure you’re right about using orange zest instead of the juice, given all your experience. I’ll try it and let you know.
With many thanks — Britt

Britt said...
October 21, 2008 at 11:44 pm

Hello Zoe and Jeff: I tried the brioche loaf again (using 25% of the recipe) and added 1½ TBsp orange zest and an additional fluid ounce of honey, which I thought it would need. There was no question of shaping it into a ball (No. 5 P190), even after I’d chilled it and dusted it with flour, presumably because of the extra moisture and the zest. So I just put it into the pan as best I could. It worked out pretty well (though there were small holes in it). While it may no longer be a proper brioche loaf, I like the orange flavour. Perhaps it would be nice with a little marmalade?
Many thanks again — Britt

jeff said...
October 22, 2008 at 7:04 am

It sounds like it would be PERFECT with a bit of marmalade!

To get larger holes, you could try a longer rest time before baking, see if that helps.

What’s No. 5 P190? Jeff

Britt said...
October 22, 2008 at 8:21 am

Hello Jeff,
That’s instruction #5 on Page 190 of your so wonderful book!
Cheers — Britt

Challah à tête – how do you celebrate a yeast geneticist’s birthday? « Toxo Bread said...
November 13, 2008 at 10:09 pm

[...] but shaped it like you would for brioche à tête as demonstrated by Zoe François on the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day [...]

Berta said...
February 20, 2009 at 4:00 pm

I am sorry if I missed it, but what is the recommended diameter of the mold? (I need to buy one and am torn between the 5.5″ and the 8″) Thanks. Berta

jeff said...
February 21, 2009 at 7:59 am

Take the 5.5 inch, they’re easier to deal with and bake through more predictably.

clarice said...
March 1, 2009 at 8:12 pm

Britt, KA has a flavoring called fiori di sicilia which I think would be a glorious addition to brioche and you use so little of it 1/8 tsp per loaf, I don’t think it would change the composition of the dough at all. I think it has a somewhat vanilla citrusy taste.

clarice said...
March 2, 2009 at 10:45 am

I made mini tetes this morning with the brioche dough I made last night. (It rose so high it was coming over the top of the large container so I decided to make up some of it right away.)
I’ve made brioche before using Julia Childs’ recipe..I think your recipe is the easiest and best. The brioche tasted absolutely fantastic..perfect texture..buttery and rich tasting..

zoe said...
March 2, 2009 at 7:57 pm

Hi Clarice,

Wow, you have made my day! Just using the brioche in the same sentence with Julia Child is very high compliment. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

I totally agree about the fiori di sicilia, sounds great!

Thanks, Zoë

linda said...
April 9, 2009 at 4:02 pm

i bought a package of 6 small brioche cups from sonoma. each is an 8 cm size. i wonder if you have made this smaller brioche size for individual servings? If so, how long do you suggest baking them?

wish i had my copy of your book on my trip to see that you baked them in the larger size…

thank you very much. linda

zoe said...
April 9, 2009 at 9:35 pm

Hi Linda,

Oh your brioche pans will be absolutely wonderful. You will love them and the individual size is lovely!

You will want to fill them about 2/3 full. Let them rise for about 45 to an hour and then bake them for about 20 minutes or until caramel brown.

Enjoy, Zoë

linda said...
April 11, 2009 at 7:27 pm

the small brioche came out perfect with the 20 minutes. i just made some brioche bunnies for easter morning! thank you so much for your wonderful book, and your speedy response to my question! linda

Helen in CA said...
August 24, 2009 at 4:05 pm

This is a comment on Britt’s soupy bread dough where she couldn’t shape it.

If she added 1 fluid oz of honey…..perhaps she should subtract 1 fluid oz of water? Or, given her experience maybe even a bit more?

So the liquid weight would stay about the same…………

Janet said...
March 10, 2010 at 3:30 pm

Zoe, Thank you for the site on the Brioche but my question is the size of the brioche pans. There are so many different ones.
Janet

zoe said...
March 11, 2010 at 6:17 am

Hi Janet,

Sorry about that I thought there was a link to Amazon’s Brioche pan that is the right size. When I filled mine to the very top with water it holds 4 cups.

Thanks, Zoë

Kat said...
July 25, 2010 at 2:29 pm

I have bought both books and from the website fell in love with the French Toast idea. We’ve made it twice. Once on mother’s day which was HUGE! The other was for a church wide breakfast and that was very successful. People who didn’t like french toast loved it! I used a Pampered Chef mini loaf pan to make four mini loaves at a time and that gave us the equivalent of silver dollar pancakes which were easier for the kids. Also, I had some left over dough, which I rolled out and spread with Strawberry jelly. My husband LOVES it! I rolled out another and brushed with olive oil, garlic powder, oregano and thyme. That was fantastic! Keep the books/recipes coming!!!

zoe said...
July 25, 2010 at 9:18 pm

Hi Kat,

Thank you for the wonderful note and all the great ideas!

Enjoy, Zoë