kellypea said...
September 24, 2008 at 10:06 am

This is absolutely gorgeous. I love the idea of the pomegranate seeds…would love to try a new brioche recipe.

Oh, and just got message from Amazon…Artesian Bread was just shipped! w00t!

Sue Hodder said...
September 24, 2008 at 10:23 am

I love your book and I have purchased two ( one for cabin, one for home ). BUT..the books do not have the 2 pages of corrections in them. I don’t know how people will know this info if it isn’t included in the books at the bookstore. I think you should have the printer supply this info.

Kelly said...
September 24, 2008 at 10:41 am

I definitely need to try this recipe. I made the challah and loved it-I did my first ever blog post about it. I’d like to see how its richer cousin behaves. My contribution to Christmas breakfast is always cinnamon rolls and I’m forever looking for the “perfect” recipe. Based on the success I had with the challah, I think the brioche might be the end to my search. Thanks for the great book!

zoe said...
September 24, 2008 at 10:58 am

Hi all,

Thanks for stopping by!

Kellypea, can’t wait to hear what you are baking from the book. You will love the brioche, great pastry options!

Sue, that is a great idea. I’ll ask the publisher if they can include the errata sheet with the book?

Kelly, I’ll look for your post on the challah. Let me know what you think of the richer cousin.

Best, Zoë

Judy Neary said...
September 25, 2008 at 11:29 am

This looks incredibly yummy. I just can’t get past the number of eggs and the amount of butter! If I know they are in there, the calories actually count

zoe said...
September 25, 2008 at 11:49 am

Oh Judy, that is a great point. I forgot to mention that this makes 4 loaves. Big difference!

Thanks, Zoë

Sarah said...
September 25, 2008 at 1:42 pm

What is a good substitution for honey in this and the challah recipe? Someone in my family has a honey allergy and I would like to be able to make some that he could have.

jeff said...
September 25, 2008 at 2:42 pm

Hi Sarah: We’ve experimented with agave syrup, barley malt syrup and maple syrup, and all of them provide comparable sweetening to honey. Agave has the most neutral flavor; many people would find barley malt or maple syrup to be overly strong flavors in delicate brioche.

You could also substitute 5/8 cup of sugar plus 1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) of water– this would give a neutral flavor. Suggestion comes from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “The Bread Bible.” Jeff

alexandra’s kitchen said...
September 25, 2008 at 5:03 pm

that is stunning. I need to make the leap into the sweet breads in your book. that tarte tatin looks amazing.

Mary Frances said...
September 27, 2008 at 5:13 am

I was on a Wait List for several weeks before I got a library copy of your book. (I now own my very own copy.) A thoughtful previous reader had printed out the errata sheets and stuck them on the inside of the dust jacket. That was most helpful.

zoe said...
September 27, 2008 at 10:32 am

Hi Mary,

So glad you are enjoying the book. I think it is such a great idea to print out the errata sheet and put it in the book. We are trying to get the publisher to send a sheet with the books. I won’t hold my breath, but one can dream.

Thanks, Zoë

At Home with Kim Vallee said...
September 28, 2008 at 1:03 pm

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day | Book Review…

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day | Book Review…

Daryl said...
September 29, 2008 at 10:44 am

I love the brioche recipe. One of our favorite tricks with it is to roll some out, cover it with pie filling or some other sweet stuff (I usually add a bit of sugar to pie filling, brown sugar and cinnamon for instance in the case of apple pie filling) then roll it back up like the chocolate brioche recipe in the book and cook it in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. We’ve tried a lot of different things, but so far the biggest hits have been lemon, apple and cinnamon sugar. We usually frost with confectioners sugar icing. The only problems I ever have with it is how the inside sometimes puffs up and then collapses once it comes out, but it’s still delicious and easy!

Rachel said...
October 1, 2008 at 3:33 pm

Hi Zoe,
Have you made the brioche with whole wheat flour? Are there any adjustments that I should make?

Thanks,
Rachel

zoe said...
October 1, 2008 at 8:56 pm

Hi Rachel,

I’ve been playing with that a lot recently for the new book. If you replace about 50% with white whole wheat I think you will come out with a dough that is very nice. Going 100% whole wheat is ending up too dry for my taste.

Let me know what you think!

Zoë

Mary Beth said...
October 3, 2008 at 6:05 am

Clearly, I haven’t been paying attention – there’s a new book coming? Do tell more Zoe.

And for the record, this bread is amazingly delicious. For those who haven’t tried it – run, don’t walk to your kitchen and mix up a batch. Go, now, do it, you know you want to.

zoe said...
October 3, 2008 at 6:10 am

Hi Mary Beth,

Jeff and I are busy working on another bread book. This one is dedicated to whole grains and healthy breads. It should be out at this time next year. Fingers crossed!

Thanks so much, Zoë

Mary Beth said...
October 3, 2008 at 7:35 am

Thanks for the info, I’m excited to hear that you’ll have another book coming out.

Patricia Scarpin said...
October 21, 2008 at 5:59 am

Zöe, I have purchased small brioche pans – can’t wait to make this dreamy recipe again!

zoe said...
October 21, 2008 at 6:09 am

Hi Patricia,

I’m so glad, it is one of my all time favorites!

Enjoy and let me know how it goes.

Zoë

Julia said...
October 22, 2008 at 8:59 am

I bought your book off of AMAZON, because of this dough recipe. I was so excited, I told every one about it and that I couldn’t wait for this book to arrive. I have not been disappointed either.

I love this very soft and un-temperamental dough when used cold out of the refrigerator. Of coarse the first thing that I did was, make a loaf of bread. It turned out beautiful. Great flavor, I normally shy away from breads that use eggs because of the strong egg flavor that can impart. This bread has a very delightful flavor.

Next, I thought sweet rolls. I made the recipe in the book, which were wonderful better than you could buy at the bakery. I even got brave and just rolled out some dough, lightly buttered and spread with dark brown sugar and cinnamon. Rolled it up, sliced and bake. Almost instant sweet rolls if you have a made up dough bucket on hand.

That was another thing that I struggled with was the dough buckets. I wasn’t ready to make a big investment in dough buckets or think that I could dedicate that much refrigerator shelf space to something of that size.

I found that the 5 to 6 quart ice cream pails work really well as a dough bucket. I don’t mix in them though because they are too flimsy. I also don’t put the lid on tight I crack it open and check on the dough for the first 12 hours or so after I first put it in the fridge and knock it down it if it decides it wants to escape over the edge of the bucket.

I normally store my bread in the refrigerator and this is something that has always irked my husband, but I felt that it couldn’t be helped because our small gray cat would always help himself to a couple bites from any kind of bread was left out on the counter. I solved this problem by buying some very nice plastic bread storage keepers in the long loaf and large square sizes. This is getting too long and I have more to write, so I will post again.

zoe said...
October 22, 2008 at 12:25 pm

Hi Julia,

Thank you for all of the wonderful suggestions, they will be so helpful to others who are starting out with our method! I look forward to hearing more about your experience!

Thanks again!

Zoë

Julia said...
October 23, 2008 at 9:00 am

I love playing with this Brioche dough.
My sister sent me a George Forman Lean-Mean Grilling Machine to play with. My husband quickly upon see it reminded me of the ground rules that he detests his chicken, fish or beef being cooked that way. So I go no problem.

Now this machine’s inside is no bigger than the length of your hand and both the top and bottom are non-stick and ribbed. I rolled out about a plum size lump of the Brioche dough and made it oblong to fit the grill. I smooched it around to make it fit then turned the machine on. I rolled out the second piece a little more even ready to go with little adjusting.

After both pieces were cooked with nice grill marks on both sides. I tried to butter them. The outside cooked rather slick and the melted butter would not penetrate the cooked bread. So like a quarter teaspoon buttered the whole top. “Almost instant hot flat bread”. This was wonderful tried with grape jelly, cinnamon and sugar or honey in which I mixed the honey and butter together first. I also used a chocolate spread, which was very good. Next I am going to try sandwiching Italian Roast beef, sharp cheddar cheese and maybe a little sliced onion between the dough. This will be lunch.

I have also made baked apples with this dough. I peeled and cored some apples that I had on the counters that were still good, but no one was eating. I placed them upright in a heavy Dutch oven, then placed a cinnamon stick into each core out space and also through in some candied ginger root. Poured in a little water, covered and let them low simmer on top of the stove. I don’t remember if I added any sugar?

When the apples still had their shape but were soft I turned them off and let them sit and stew in the pan to cool. My grand sons were over and I thought that this would be a good project for the ten year old while he was waiting for his mom to come get them. I had him roll out the dough into a large rectangle. I cut it into 8 squares. I removed the cinnamon stick from each apple and centered them on each square.

Together we added butter and sugar and cinnamon. I showed him how to join the 4 corners on top of the apple. He did a beautiful job in which he was well pleased with himself. And I set them in the baking dish. Bake them at 350 for half an hour in a 10 inch square white corning ware pan. They turned out great. When their mom arrived to pick the boys up the baked apples was just warm enough to wrapped up for them to take home. What we had left was very good.

Magali said...
October 24, 2008 at 11:44 pm

Julia, what wonderful ideas!
Thank you!

Julia said...
October 25, 2008 at 3:34 pm

Magali you are very welcome.
The hot pocket on the grill idea worked out ok. It made a hot sandwich kind of like a hot pocket. I rolled out the dough supper thin and wrapped the meat and cheese inside like an envelope.

Next time I will just leave the sides of the bundle free from any dough, because that area( in this machine) is open and it is hard to really cook the sides if your bundle is very thick. I find that this idea works great for instant flatbread though.

I see no reason why you couldn’t take any of the different bucket-type dough’s from the fridge and bake it in one of these contraptions. I have done both seasoned and sweet type flat breads. You get warm chewy bread that is just a little bigger than a pop tart. If you roll the dough on the thick side it is even chewier.

Great if you forgot to set out dough earlier in the day to rise or that what you were planning to use to round out this particular meal became an usable option and you are scrambling as to what else to serve. Works great in a pinch.

Brandie said...
November 10, 2008 at 12:27 am

Ok, where on earth can I find the recipe for the sticky buns pictured there in the last picture of this post? They look like my ideal sticky buns.

zoe said...
November 10, 2008 at 7:00 am

Hi Brandie,

Here is a link to the recipe for sticky buns or you can find it in the book under pecan sticky buns. http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=308

Enjoy!!! Zoë

Brandie said...
November 10, 2008 at 9:50 pm

Thanks so much. The brioche dough is chilling in my fridge now. I can’t wait to make these tomorrow!

Loriann said...
November 16, 2008 at 7:02 pm

Ok — am I missing something? I have the recipe for the brioche dough — but how do I prepare the wonderful pear/pomegranate temptation?

zoe said...
November 16, 2008 at 9:14 pm

Hi Loriann,

So glad you are trying the brioche dough! Enjoy and here is the Pear Tatin recipe: http://zoebakes.com/?p=870

Thank you! Zoë

Loriann said...
November 18, 2008 at 10:08 pm

You’re the best! Thanks!

marc said...
December 23, 2008 at 4:02 pm

OK HERE IT IS THE 23RD and i cannot find a local bakery with brioche for a bread pudding dessert what would be a good substitute???

help,

marc

jeff said...
December 23, 2008 at 4:31 pm

Make our brioche on page 189!Or the challah on page 180, for a less rich effect.

nads said...
December 26, 2008 at 4:06 am

hi zoe

tried brioche jus once years ago shaped it into a plait. wasn’t too thrilled with the outcome. thinking of trying it ur way. so far have made several breads using just the master recipe. very happy with it. tried the epi loaf plain as well as stuffed with cheese. beautiful.

jeff said...
December 26, 2008 at 7:12 am

Let us know how your brioche comes out, or if you have any questions…

katie said...
December 29, 2008 at 5:07 pm

If you’re just going to make a brioche loaf or two, what is the temp and cooking time?

jeff said...
December 29, 2008 at 6:55 pm

Katie: That’s the basic recipe on page 189 of the book (order at http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0312362919/ref=s9_asin_image_1-1966_p/104-7368707-7471915?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=02VTQD59SR9XKG10EVYV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=288448401&pf_rd_i=507846). A one-pound loaf goes 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees F, assuming your oven is well-calibrated (use an oven thermometer). Jeff

Gail said...
January 3, 2009 at 9:29 pm

I am going to try this to make flat bread like Quiznos serves with their salads. I like the idea that Julia gave about the George Foreman grill and flat bread.

jeff said...
January 4, 2009 at 8:11 am

Should be nice, just be careful not to overbake brioche dough when you use it flat.

Pat said...
January 5, 2009 at 3:47 pm

Hello,
I’m writing to you from Spain.
I knew about your book through a website. Someone put a link to an interview talking about this way of making artisan bread in just five minutes and a lot of people are becoming fans of you.
I wondered if… have you ever thought about an Spanish edition?
Think about it and have a look at this web, it’s fantastic!
Congratulations for your job!!
Sorry for my English level. I think I have to improve it a lot.
Pat.

jeff said...
January 5, 2009 at 9:12 pm

Thanks Pat, your English is great. We’re so honored to meet people from all over the world this way, it’s really humbling. I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the recipes, come back anytime with questions.

Unfortunately we haven’t been able to convince the publisher to translate our book. Stay tuned, I suppose that may change. Jeff

Tuxa said...
January 6, 2009 at 1:39 pm

Hello,
I’m writing to you from Spain.
I knew about your book through a website. Someone put a link to an interview talking about this way of making artisan bread in just five minutes and a lot of people are becoming fans of you.
I wondered if… have you ever thought about an Spanish edition?
Think about it and have a look at this web, it’s fantastic!
Congratulations for your job!! Have a nice day.
Tuxa

jeff said...
January 6, 2009 at 1:44 pm

Hey Pat and Tuxa, you must know each other

Pat said...
January 6, 2009 at 2:50 pm

Well, in fact, we don’t know each other in person, but we both are members of the same website and I posted a message encouraging people who want your book being translated to leave you a message here. So, I think that she really wants the book but doesn’t know a lot of English so she decided to copy mine.
By the way, have you visited the website I mentioned in my other message? I have noticed that you have deleted the link I put. I don’t want to make publicity, I just wanted you to see all the messages that your video has generated.
Thank you for your answers.
Pat

jeff said...
January 10, 2009 at 7:00 am

Thanks Marsu: Unfortunately we can’t get the publisher to commit to publishing it in non-English languages. Thanks for your enthusiasm about our method!

Come back and visit anytime you have questions. Jeff

Susana Sánchez said...
January 10, 2009 at 9:41 am

Sorry, I don´t speak english. My name is Susana, I´m from Spain. Lo siento pero es casi todo lo que se de inglés pero no quiero dejar pasar la ocasión para felicitarles por sus recetas. También me gustaría saber si el libro que van a publicar, está en versión española pues me parece muy interesante.

Thank you very much.

jeff said...
January 11, 2009 at 10:38 am

Susana: Gracias por todo! Desfortunado, nuestro publicador no quiere hacer una version en espanol.

Que error, pienso, porque hay muchas personas que lo quieren. Jeff

Susie Takayama said...
February 3, 2009 at 11:50 am

Hi – Just got the book and trying the doughs for the first time. I made only 1/3 of the brioche recipe and its not rising at all. I know the yeast was good (I used the other 1/2 packet in the boule recipe and it rose like crazy) but not sure if reducing the overall volume would also reduce internal temp, and thus increase the time to rise. (?) Also, would it be okay in this (or any) situation in which yeast doesn’t rise to just add more yeast dissolved in a bit of warm water? Will this result in overly-yeasty tasting bread? Thanks for your advice!
Susie

zoe said...
February 3, 2009 at 6:23 pm

Hi Susie,

The only explanation I can come up with is that the yeast may have come into contact with something that was too hot??? Is it possible you added the hot butter and it came into contact with the yeast or the water was too hot?

If you think this may be the case, you can avoid this by adding all of the wet ingredients and yeast, then the flour and pour the butter over the flour. This sets up enough of a barrier so that the hot butter won’t kill the yeast.

This dough does normally rise quite well, so if it hasn’t, there is something wrong. I’ve never tried adding additional yeast to the recipe, but it may be a worthwhile experiment!

Good luck and please report back!

Thanks, Zoë

Susie Takayama said...
February 4, 2009 at 12:01 am

Hi Zoe,
Thanks for your suggestion! The dough did rise after 5 1/2 hours, and after chilling for another 3 hours I made the Chocolate Ganache Brioche with it! Yum! (I gave it help for the second rise in a warm oven).

I looked at the yeast packet and realized it only held 2 1/4 tsp. of yeast, unlike the 1 Tbsp. I thought it did. Thus with 1/2 a packet I didn’t use enough yeast in the mix to begin with. I will try it again for sure. (I didn’t have enough eggs to spare today or I would have made the whole recipe.) Mystery solved! Thank you!

I did have one more question – please excuse my inexperience here – in the book you mention preheating the baking stone for this recipe. My question is, if this is baked in a loaf pan then what use is the stone? Is it to place the loaf pan on? Thank you once again. I really am enjoying this book!
Susie

zoe said...
February 4, 2009 at 6:46 am

Hi Susie,

My stone lives in my oven at all times. It helps to maintain a really even and constant heat. There are very few recipes that I remove it for. It is not absolutely necessary to leave it in, but it is also not worth the extra effort to remove it after each loaf!

If you do use the stone, just place the loaf pan on it as though it were the rack of your oven.

Thanks, Zoë

gypsy said...
February 16, 2009 at 3:54 pm

Have you ever tried adapting this recipe for a Mardi Gras Kings Cake?

jeff said...
February 16, 2009 at 7:41 pm

Wow, I’d think you could just bake one of those little kings into a brioche. Something like the pannetone or any of the Danish-like creations in the book. Why not?

Linda R. said...
February 16, 2009 at 9:09 pm

This brioche dough is great! My 5-year old son and I used it to make a blueberry bread similar to one we bought from the local farmer’s market here in Auckland. We rolled out the brioche on a silicon baking sheet, spread fresh blueberries and cut-up plums from the farmer’s market on it, sprinkled with “coffee sugar” (large sugar crystals), and baked at 175C (~350F) for 35 min. The fruit were pods of intense flavor – it was great! It could probably have used a glaze, but we didn’t do one. My son brings pieces of it in for his morning tea at school – I love it when he helps bake. Thanks for putting the recipe on-line; I left my book with our house-sitter in Calif. Cheers! Linda

zoe said...
February 16, 2009 at 10:50 pm

Hi Linda,

This sounds outrageous! I’m so glad you are baking with your 5 year old!!! I do with my little ones all the time and they just love it.

Thanks, Zoë

sue said...
February 20, 2009 at 8:21 pm

How do you augment the cooking time if you are uing individual brioche tins versus the brioche loaf pan? This book rocks!-Sue

jeff said...
February 21, 2009 at 8:04 am

If they’re tiny ones, decrease the baking time markedly. Everything depends on how far the center of the loaf is from the surface. If it’s really close, you don’t need anywhere near as much baking time.

Just check early and see what it looks like.

Cat said...
March 9, 2009 at 7:16 pm

Can i substitute apple sauce instead of butter??? and stevia instead of honey???

thanks just trying to reduce the calories

zoe said...
March 9, 2009 at 9:17 pm

Hi Cat,

I’ve done that for other recipes, but I’m afraid you would end up with soup if you replace the butter with apple sauce.

I’ve been developing a lower fat version of this brioche for our next book that comes out this fall. I think you will really love it!

I’ve not played with stevia, but it is an interesting possibility!

Thanks, Zoë

rachel said...
May 5, 2009 at 11:29 am

hi zoe and jeff,
I am enjoying making your simple crusty bread recipe that I got from a magazine.It is DELICIOUS!! Will also purchase book soon so I can try other yummy easy recipes.
Here in Ohio we have cake decorating places that sell their clean lidded plastic icing pails for a dollar. i use a small one for my bread pail. It is sturdy plastic so I also mix in it. Thank you for the easiest yummiest bread ever!!! Rachel

jeff said...
May 5, 2009 at 3:59 pm

Thanks Rachel, great idea!

Carol said...
May 9, 2009 at 5:20 pm

I have been a fan of R E A L Belgian Waffles from Belgian. I found a place in Chicago, Baladoche, that makes them, and I think it’s basicly a brioche recipe with some pearl surgar (I think). Has anyone made waffles using this dough?

jean said...
May 23, 2009 at 3:11 pm

I would like to make the Artisan Brioche without honey [allergic to honey] can I substitute sugar, maple syrup,??? What would be best and how much should I use to equal the 1/2 cup of honey?

jeff said...
May 24, 2009 at 8:53 am

Yep, any liquid sweetener will swap out well– measure for measure with corn syrup, agave syrup, or maple syrup (which will taste maple-y). With sugar you may need to adjust the liquids a bit (not always though, often you can just swap).

Dee said...
June 13, 2009 at 3:56 pm

I’m having my first challenge with a recipe in your cookbook — and it’s really a minor problem. But I’m hoping someone might have insight into how to fix this.

I made brioche with the chocolate ganache filling. My dough was very wet, which mad it a challenge to roll up on the ganache, which was very thin and tended to run off the sides of the dough.

Is the ganache supposed to be that thin? Should I have added more flour to the dough? This first loaf is in the oven now and it promises to taste delicious, even if it’s not very pretty on the outside! (Keeping my fingers crossed I can get it out of the pan.) : )

My family thanks you for changing the quality of their meals. We all love your book!

jeff said...
June 14, 2009 at 6:38 am

Dee: I’m going to put your question to Zoe, and she’ll get back to you here. Jeff

zoe said...
June 14, 2009 at 7:47 pm

Hi Dee,

Was the dough fresh when you tried to make the bread? With the brioche dough you have to allow it to be refrigerated for at least a few hours to give the butter time to set up a bit before you can work with it. If the dough was chilled and it was still that runny, I have a feeling that you may have measured the flour incorrectly. That dough is usually a tad tighter than our other doughs and very easy to work with.

If the ganache was too runny, it can just sit at room temperature for a bit and it will set up. You can speed this up by sticking it in the refrigerator for several minutes. If you do set it in the refrigerator make sure you stir it often so it doesn’t get lumpy.

Thank you and I hope you bread was tasty!

Zoë

Dee said...
June 16, 2009 at 1:57 pm

thanks for getting back to me about the brioche. I will be extra careful in measuring the next time! I think I measured correctly but am worried I didn’t mix it together thoroughly enough, as there were some “bumps” in the dough.

The bread came out of the pan fine and tasted great. The very center, though, was a still wet chocolate/dough mixture.

I will try again! Thanks.

sweetie said...
June 22, 2009 at 3:46 am

hi, this recipe looks great but before i try it i have a few questions:

1) “powdered yeast” – does that mean active dry or instant yeast?

2) can bread flour be used to substitute AP unbleached?

3) if using a standing mixer, would you recommend using the dough hook for a few minutes instead of a spoon or is this best made by hand?

thanks so much. looking forward to exploring your book – fantastic concept!

zoe said...
June 22, 2009 at 4:49 am

Hi Sweetie,

1) We mean granulated yeast. This can be active dry or instant. You can also use cake yeast, but you will need about double the amount. In other words, all of the yeast we have tried works well!

2) You can substitute bread flour but you may need to add a few more tablespoons of water so that your dough, when chilled, isn’t too tight.

3) The stand mixer with the paddle attachment is a wonderful way to make the dough. The dough is much too wet to use the dough hook!

Thanks for trying the recipes! Zoë

Judy L, TN said...
June 23, 2009 at 6:46 am

Hi,
I just started trying to copy off some of the grill recipes and this brioche idea. I wanted to have them handy in the kitchen, near the bbq. It’s just impossible! You guys just keep creating wonderful new recipes.

Are you already working on a THIRD book? More recipes from the recipes in the third book, like grilled recipes and more advanced sweets?

julie said...
July 3, 2009 at 1:04 pm

I plan to make the brioche dough and then the fruit tartlets. First time making brioche dough. Does the dough need to chill overnight after it rests for 2 hours?

jeff said...
July 3, 2009 at 1:44 pm

Julie: After the two hour rest, you need to refrigerate the brioche dough or it’s very difficult to work with. At least two hours in the fridge is best. Jeff

Leesa said...
July 4, 2009 at 1:31 pm

I saw an article mentioning your book in Womans Day I think it was. I searched the net and found the master recipie and your site. It was fabulous!!! So I bought the book I’ve tried several of the recipies in it so far and have been impressed with the versatility and excellent resutls every time. Just made my first brioche today…incredible!! Thanks so much- the best cookbook I’ve ever owned besides the complete Betty Crocker my mom gave me when I got married!

jeff said...
July 5, 2009 at 8:48 am

Leesa: Thanks for the kind words! Jeff

jana said...
July 10, 2009 at 5:55 am

I bought sugar free imitation honey by mistake but didn’t notice until I mixed up the whole batch of brioche dough (my first). It is just starting to rise, but I don’t know if I will need to change something to prepare it. The ingredients are maltitol syrup, flavorings, acesulfame K, & maltic acid. It looks just like real honey in appearance and consistency. We love the master dough!

jeff said...
July 10, 2009 at 6:41 am

I wouldn’t change anything, just bake it off as if everything was fine and see what happens. Let us know how you make out. Jeff

Samantha said...
July 17, 2009 at 2:45 pm

The brioche recipe says it can be stored up to five days. Should the dough have a fermented smell on the fifth day? Should I use it or throw it out?

jeff said...
July 18, 2009 at 6:49 am

Fermented smell is fine, can go ahead and use. Mold or rotten egg smell would prompt me to throw out. Jeff

Wendy said...
July 22, 2009 at 4:22 pm

Argh! We are up in the mountains and want to bake bread but left our book in FL! Thought of ordering a second copy via Amazon but it will take too long to get here. Can’t find the book in stores, alas. Would love the olive oil recipe but even the boule would be fine-the ones I’ve found online via my BlackBerry don’t look exactly right.

Drew Littlejohns said...
July 26, 2009 at 12:30 pm

Thanks for the recipe, it’s my sunday afternoon and I love making all my bread from your recipe!

Joyce said...
August 10, 2009 at 10:39 am

I am so disappointed, I’ve been reading your recipes and had to try the brioche. I divided the recipe in half, just to try it, and it didn’t rise. the yeast was just purchased this morning, so it wasn’t that…what did I do wrong, I’ve baked bread for years.

jeff said...
August 10, 2009 at 11:12 am

Joyce: Yeast failures are rare with modern yeast, Zoe and I have had one between us in 30 person-years of baking. Possibilities:

– too-warm water
– too-cold water (in which case it will work if you give it more time)
– left out the yeast by accident (I’ve done that)

Try the yeast in some tried-and-true recipe and make sure it works there?

Joyce said...
August 10, 2009 at 12:45 pm

Thanks for your quick response, I will give it a try. I am sending for you book and can’t wait to try the different recipes.
Thanks so much!

Melissa said...
September 14, 2009 at 6:08 am

jeff and zoe –
your book is just amazing! i have been baking from it for the past 4 weeks and fully intend to have fresh bread for the rest of my life! my extremely picky 5 yo boy even eats the peasant loaf (he is a fan of good bread, i’ll give him that!). My mother in law says the sticky buns are the very best she’s had and she’s “had a LOT of sticky buns.”

I’ve also made a batch of sticky buns with apples instead of pecans. Amazing.

I do have question regarding the brioche. Often times, I’ll form the loaf (or sticky rolls) for the 2nd rise and then find that i have to get the kids to school, etc., so i’m rushed to put it in the oven. Can I leave it for a longer 2nd rise? Can I stick it in fridge after the 2nd rise? Also, can I freeze the dough AFTER forming it into the loaf/rolls?

Thank you 100 times over for such a fantastic book!
melissa

jeff said...
September 14, 2009 at 7:05 am

Melissa: So glad the book’s working well for you!

There’s nice flexibility here. You can rest longer, but often things will spread sideways and you may find the result isn’t quite what you’d like. If you find you need to delay baking, best option is to refrigerate the risen loaves/rolls. The refrigerator is a dry environment so cover loosely with plastic wrap or put it into a roomy plastic storage container with a cover. You can also freeze after forming, but often the final result will droop a bit— spreading sideways. Jeff

Crystal said...
October 3, 2009 at 12:31 pm

I’m wanting to try the Brioche whcih contains eggs. Do the eggs need to be room temp. or can I use them right out of the refrig.?

jeff said...
October 3, 2009 at 3:33 pm

Crystal: We use them right out of the fridge.

Nancy said...
October 7, 2009 at 1:57 pm

I just got the book, and have my second batch of boule dough and another of rye in the fridge. We are doing muffalettas for dinner tonight with 5 minute french loaves. I can hardly wait. Anyway, I love the book, thanks.
My fav way to use brioche dough is to take 3 ounce portions, pat into a flat circle and roll up around a pinch of white chocolate chips. Put into muffin cups, let rise and bake until golden. Once out of the oven, pour lemon glaze over (lemon juice and zest with powdered sugar added ) and try not to eat them until they have cooled and set up- the glaze dries into a crust. Fewer calories than caramel or cinnamon rolls, but so delish!

zoe said...
October 7, 2009 at 10:01 pm

Hi Nancy,

Your Brioche pastries sound absolutely amazing. I have got to give them a try! I just happen to have a bucket of brioche in the fridge.

Thank you! Zoë

Sue said...
October 18, 2009 at 2:46 pm

I just found out about your revolutionary bread recipes – I’m working on my first batch right now, my first boule just came out of the oven and I couldn’t wait, sliced it 5 minutes after it came out – WONDERFUL! – I won’t be able to get to the local bookstore to get my copies of your books probably until next week sometime – in the meantime, do you have a recipe for chocolate bread – my local grocery store used to make a wonderful boule shaped loaf that was a bittersweet chocolate, I would love to try to something similar for a ‘Chocolate Madness’ fundraiser we’re holding next weekend – it was a dark chocolate color, not very sweet – it had a wonderful texture, made a great bread pudding … do you have something like that?

zoe said...
October 19, 2009 at 5:44 am

Hi Sue,

Wow, you read my mind! You are in luck, it is my very next post and I’ll get it up some time today or tomorrow!

Thanks, Zoë

Denise said...
October 29, 2009 at 11:40 am

I have a question about the brioche dough. The brioche was 4 days in the fridge when I formed the ovals for the loaf pans. Cloaking and shaping took less than 20 seconds each. Rested 1 hour 20 min. and baked them in a 350 oven. Both loaves were a lovely golden colour but had a fairly deep off-centre split. The bread tasted great but the split was disappointing. The book says to turn the oven to 350 and wait only 5 minutes before putting the pans in the oven. The only thing I can think of is that I preheated the oven to 350 and then put the pans in. Would this be the reason for the split?
On another note, most of your recipes say “fifteen or twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 or whatever temperature” – I am not really getting this. My oven takes 30 min. to get to 450 degrees so it is still on a preheat when I’m supposed to bake?
Thanks very much and good luck with your new “book baby”!

jeff said...
October 30, 2009 at 12:04 pm

Denise: The quick pre-heat in our book for the no-stone breads is based on traditional recommendations given by oven manufacturers. Agree that the oven isn’t completely up to temp when the time’s up, but that’s the compromise— we didn’t want people to get impatient and give up on the hobby.

I’m not sure if any of this is related to your split brioches. If it baked in about the time we wrote, and was properly baked through, then the preheat duration is probably not your problem. How about trying to slash the loaves before baking? Agree that this isn’t traditional, but should solve your problem– you’ll get controlled, artful splits instead of a big ugly one. Let us know how it comes out… Jeff

jen said...
November 7, 2009 at 5:24 am

i just made this for the first time and it’s in the middle of rising now. of course i messed something up though…i forgot the butter and added it in AFTER i added the flour (yikes!). i mixed it in really well. will it be okay? this is only my second time making bread without a machine and am so hoping it will be alright.

jeff said...
November 8, 2009 at 11:47 am

Jen: I don’t think it will make any difference, esp after it sits for a day. Jeff

katrina said...
November 12, 2009 at 11:46 am

Just made the chocolate ganarche brioche! Oooooh my word! SO good. My whole family lived in Italy for 4 years and this book has been a HUGE hit. Thank you! Btw–I used ww spelt and it’s coming out perfectly. Thank you again!

jeff said...
November 12, 2009 at 12:06 pm

Katrina: Yes, I’ve also found that whole grain spelt is interchangeable with whole wheat, especially in the new book’s recipes where we boost gluten content with vital wheat gluten. Jeff

katrina said...
November 12, 2009 at 4:17 pm

I was out of Vital wheat gluten so I used regular ww for the boule master recipe as well. I only let it rest an hour instead of the 40 minutes and baked it for the regular 30. Regardless, it’s come out very nicely. It’s very reminiscent of the breads we had in Italy even with it being whole grain. i now have the gluten in hand so I’m interested to see how the loaf changes. In the meantime, this has been a very fun thing for us. I’m not sure we can ever go back to bread machine breads again.
I have now officially hijacked the brioche recipe post. I want to say I’m on my 17th loaf in 2 weeks. We’re really enjoying this and we’ve recommended to many folks.

zoe said...
November 12, 2009 at 9:19 pm

Hi Katrina,

Wow, you have lots of loaves going, how exciting! I’m so glad you are enjoying them and having fun playing with the recipes. The vital wheat gluten is essential if you are going to store the whole grain breads for more than 24 hours.

Thanks, Zoë

katrina said...
November 13, 2009 at 9:01 pm

I agree. I have used VWG consistantly in the past with my traditional bread loaves and would not have been able to make a palatable loaf without it. I was excited to see that the loaves still work well regardless. They never do last more than 24 hours! Are you kidding?! I have kids! Anyway, I just put together a batch using VWG now that it’s come in. Again, enjoying and highly recommending.

jeff said...
November 14, 2009 at 5:01 am

Katrina: When you’re adapting recipes, when you increase the whole grain and include VWG, you also have to increase the water– I’m sure you’ve already seen that. Jeff

Mairzie said...
November 19, 2009 at 9:40 am

I would like to know how to incorporated fresh cranberries into this beautiful dough. Thank you.

zoe said...
November 19, 2009 at 8:48 pm

Hi Mairzie,

You can just roll out the dough and add them as I did for this raisin bread: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=337 Just keep in mind that they will release lots of juice when they bake so don’t add too much. You may want to chop them up a bit to incorporate them more easily. They will be wonderful with a bit of sugar and maybe some orange zest. Sounds like something I need to try too! Thanks for the inspiration!

Cheers, Zoë

Mairzie said...
November 20, 2009 at 10:20 am

Hi, Zoë. Thank you so very much for your help. The loaves are in the oven, almost done. The fragrance here is simply lovely! I can’t wait to try this bread. Your help is greatly appreciated. Have a grand day.

aimai said...
December 20, 2009 at 9:15 am

I hope you don’t mind, I just linked to your site and recommended your book to my blog readers. I am enjoying a snow day at home with your fabulous brioche recipe and I am finally going to go buy myself a baking stone so I can try the boules and the rye bread. I so enjoy your book and the attitude you and Jeff have towards baking. Truly liberating. Thank you so much.

aimai

jeff said...
December 20, 2009 at 3:37 pm

Thanks for the link, Aimai, glad you’re enjoying the bread. Jeff

Karli Schoenleber said...
December 28, 2009 at 1:34 pm

Why so many mistakes in the cookbook? According to the Brioche recipe above – 2 packets of yeast are required. According to the actual BOOK – only 1.5 packets of yeast are used (this mistakes occurs in the Master Recipe as well). Now I know why my dough didn’t rise. I’ll have to throw the old dough away and start over, which is especially frustrating considering the wealth of ingredients used in the recipe. More precise editing would be appreciated. This is a cookbook for goodness sake!!

Karli Schoenleber said...
December 28, 2009 at 1:36 pm

P.S. The sticky bun recipe is the VERY best I’ve ever tried. Love it!!

zoe said...
December 28, 2009 at 9:51 pm

Hi Karli,

Just in case you have not yet seen it we have a full errata sheet for our books. We find it is better to identify the mistakes and give people the best possible experience with the book. You can find it here: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?page_id=73 Nearly all of them are very minor and will not adversely effect the recipes.

The difference in the amount of yeast between 1.5 and 2 packets is not really great enough to make any perceptible difference in the dough. We only felt it necessary to point out the discrepancy so as not to confuse anyone when they tried to measure the packets out. All of our recipes actually work with a fraction of the yeast, it just won’t rise quite as quickly. Tell me more about your dough not rising, because 1.5 tablespoons of yeast is more than enough to get the rise you need. It may be something else all together.

Glad to hear you liked the sticky buns! I do hope you enjoy the rest of the bread as well, Zoë

I am glad you are

Matt said...
January 15, 2010 at 9:25 pm

Well, i either suck at making bread or doing math. haha.. I halfed the recipe for the brioche dough from your first book and it was way way liquidy. i had to add another 3/4ths a cup of flour to get it to a somewhat uniform sticky dough.. It looks questionable.. haha. Ill let you know how it goes. Maybe i added to much butter. i thought 3/4ths was right but i think i might have added a lil extra since i used exactly 1.5 sticks of butter rather than 3/4ths a cup of butter..

any way ill let you know how it turns out.. thanx zoe and jeff

Matt

Matt said...
January 16, 2010 at 9:33 am

Well, the bread did not turn out. LOL, i messed up somewhere. Very very blan. tasted like flour.. thats bout it. No sweetness or anything.. So im going to follow the recipe to a T. gonna make a full batch and see what happens. Maybe my flour is bad. I have had it since june.. Any ideas would be nice. thanx

matt

zoe said...
January 16, 2010 at 2:25 pm

Hi Matt,

Is the dough too wet even after it has been chilled? This dough is generally very sticky when first mixed, but once the butter sets up in the refrigerator it stiffens right up.

How did you measure the flour? We use the scoop and sweep method. If you spooned the flour into your measuring cup you will have much less flour than you would if you just scoop it straight out of the container. This will result in a very wet dough.

Let me know how it goes when you make the full batch! Thanks, Zoë

Matt said...
January 16, 2010 at 6:42 pm

I used the scoop and sweep like in the book but i used my finger as the scraper rather than a knife. The dough was really really wet. i think i added a 1/4 extra butter by accident. I just melted 1.5 sticks of butter rather than measuring out 3/4 cup melted butter. that might account for the blandness of the bread..

The second batch looks way way better. It doubled in size and smelled sweet. Now hopefully it wont taste bland like the other one did. Well as it chills and rises i better go finish my physics homework.. Ill let you know how it goes. trail and error my friend.

Thanx for the help

Matt

jeff said...
January 17, 2010 at 7:20 am

Matt: The extra butter will throw off the consistency but shouldn’t have made it bland. Lets see what you get here— one thing is that our sweet breads are subtly sweet, not intensely sweetened like most commercial products. Feel free to increase the honey a little to taste….

Jeff

ErinH said...
January 29, 2010 at 12:13 pm

This dough is amazing! I added both orange and almond extract to the dough, rolled out like a jelly roll with some pecans and GrandMarnier plumped raisins, sliced and baked as individual sweet rolls; frosted with a simple orange zest glaze and slivered almonds. People are still raving! Love both of your books and can’t wait for another CCH class – e

jeff said...
January 29, 2010 at 9:08 pm

Erin: Thanks for the kind words, see you @ CCH… Jeff

Matt said...
February 14, 2010 at 2:23 pm

Jeff and Zoe;

I followed the recipe to a T and this time after i backed it, it tasted good but really really dense like thick angels(angle) food cake or shortcake.. I have never had real brioche or ever seen it so i have no idea what it is supposed to be like. Is it supposed to be fluffy and airy?

thanx

Matt

jeff said...
February 14, 2010 at 8:43 pm

Matt: Yep, supposed to be soft and fluffy, though not neccesarily airy. So something is wrong. Have you tested your oven temperature with an inexpensive thermometer http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Gourmet-Thermometer-Stainless-Steel%252fCopper/dp/B000HB5NA4?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=arbrinfimiada-20&creative=380725.

Then take it from there. Did you rest/rise it after shaping for the recommended time?

Matt said...
February 16, 2010 at 10:10 am

Yes i have tested the oven temp, but that was about 9 months ago and it was right on. I did allow it to rest and rise per the instructions in the book. Maybe my fridge is to cold! haha. The bread was very crumbly. it would fall apart when i would cut it. Dense and heavy but yet crumbly

Thanx Jeff. I really appreciate the help

zoe said...
February 16, 2010 at 6:57 pm

Hi Matt,

What were you using the dough for, a loaf? It is not unusual for the dough to break apart instead of having a stretch like the master recipe! It sounds like you may need to let it rise longer before baking.

Thanks, Zoë

Matt said...
February 18, 2010 at 9:04 am

Zoe and Jeff;

Thanx for all the help. I know it seems that i post ALOT of questions on here. I have never baked bread until i bought your book. So its a whole new art form for me.

Yes i used it as a loaf bread. Almost like brioche a tet but with out the fluted pan. I will let it rise longer and see what happens. I just see all these images on google of what it is supposed to look like and its nice and fluffy. For example the brioche rolls are soft and delicate lookin. Photoshop maybe. haha

thanx you two

Matt

zoe said...
February 18, 2010 at 11:17 am

Hi Matt,

Yes, let it rest longer and see if that helps. What brand of flour are you using?

Thanks, Zoë

Matt said...
February 18, 2010 at 9:59 pm

Zoe, im using what was recommended in the book. Gold medal all purpose unbleached. That flour works for all my other breads. I really like it!!

thanx Zoe

zoe said...
February 19, 2010 at 9:08 pm

Hi Matt,

I was just curious if it was something with a really high gluten content. I use gold medal as well and love it. If you have a stand mixer you can try mixing the dough in that and allowing it to blend really well before transferring it to the bucket, this may give the dough a little more stretch. I suspect a longer rise may do the trick though.

Thanks, Zoë

Matt said...
February 20, 2010 at 6:59 pm

Zoe,

Sorry for late reply. School has got me runnin in circles.

Ok i will try the longer rise time. I do not have a stand mixer. BUT i can try harder to mix with my hands and what not. But whats gettin me is whats the diff between kneading for 10 min vs using a stand mixer for 10 min??

Thanx again Zoe and Jeff!

jeff said...
February 20, 2010 at 10:09 pm

Matt: Nothing! But if you want to try kneading, do at the initial mix, and then never again. Otherwise you knock all the air out of the dough. Zoe was guessing that this might give your stuff more resiliency and stretch. It’s worth a try. Jeff

Matt said...
February 20, 2010 at 11:52 pm

Jeff;

Haha. ok thanx. i wasnt to sure so thats why i asked. haha. im gonna give it a shot. it seems that this is the bread that likes to give me the most trouble!! But once it is done i bet it will make dang good French toast.

Im gonna let it rise longer and also mix it better!

thanx

Matt

Suzanne said...
February 25, 2010 at 4:48 am

Can you make this recipe without the honey for a savory brioche? I’m making an Italian bread called casatiello that has a brioche sort of dough that you incorporate meat and cheese, and Iwould prefer the dough not to be sweet. Would you incorporate the meat cheese after it’s been in fridge or when you’re making the initial batch?

jeff said...
February 25, 2010 at 5:51 am

Suzanne: you might need to slightly adjust the flour/water ratio, but you certainly can leave out the honey. If all of your batch is intended for casatiello, mix the meat/cheese initially. If not, roll it in as we did under our FAQs page (Incorporating dried fruit, nuts, or herbs into stored dough: How do I do it?).

Jeff

Cathy said...
March 1, 2010 at 8:06 am

I didn’t have time to read through all the comments, but does the recipe work if I cut it back to make just a single batch at a time? Can I just divide the ingredients by 4, or does it work better in large batches? Thanks! I love this site! I just made my first batch of artisan bread dough yesterday and I am anxious to try my first loaf for dinner tonight =)

zoe said...
March 1, 2010 at 8:58 pm

Hi Cathy,

You certainly can cut the batch in 1/2 or 1/4, but then you lose the time savings of making lots of dough all at once.

Enjoy, Zoë

ninu said...
March 2, 2010 at 5:26 am

hey zoe, i love love love your site =) and i saw this recipe and i just had to make that cinnamon swirl bread. though i know this sounds stupid but this is my first bread baking experience, so forgive me for the stupidity…is it 1 and 1/2 cps of melted butter? or 1 and 1/2 cups of butter , melted \/??

jeff said...
March 2, 2010 at 12:29 pm

Hi Ninu: Zoe’s on the alternative shift this month, so I’ll take a crack at your question. In theory, with butter, those should be the same, since the volume of that particular solid shouldn’t change measurably when melted (that’s not true for situations like “one cup nuts, chopped” versus “one cup chopped nuts,” where the “transformed” version packs more tightly. The question gets at whether you measure the ingredient before or AFTER the “transformation.” In the case of butter, the easiest way is to use the three sticks we call for, and melt them. It’s not easy to pack solid butter into cups without air spaces, so don’t do it that way. Measure the melted butter if you don’t use sticks as your volume metric.

Moments like this make me wish we used weights more in the US (one stick of butter is 4 ounces, so we’re calling for 12 ounces of butter (340 grams). Jeff

Cathy said...
March 2, 2010 at 1:13 pm

Thanks Zoe! I definitely appreciate the time saving factor of your method, especially since we enjoy lots of homemade bread around here, but sometimes I know I won’t have time to use the whole batch, but would like just one loaf, so it’s nice to know I can if I need too =)

ninu said...
March 2, 2010 at 10:13 pm

hey thanks jeff , i went ahead and made the dough. its resting in the fridge as i speak..err type! 3 sticks over here is just 300 gms!! you re so right. weighing is so much more accurate. all our sticks of butter here are 100 gms . anyway gonna make the cinnamon swirl bread. wll let u guys know how it pans out =)
good day!!

jeff said...
March 3, 2010 at 8:30 am

Ninu: Curious: where exactly are you? Jeff

Vanessa said...
March 4, 2010 at 11:18 am

Hi,
Just wondering when making the Brioche dough and using King Arthur or Red Mill flour do I continue to add the extra 1/4 cup of water? I know from another post that these flours have more protein so you suggested using the extra water.

Thanks,

Vanessa said...
March 4, 2010 at 1:11 pm

Oh, I forgot to say all my other loaves are doing just great. I made the olive oil loaf, the sticky buns with pecans, and I have never ever baked a sticky bun from scratch. I have even gotten compliments, and turned at least 10 people onto your books and website. Thanks sooo much this has transferred over to just being more creative in cooking healthier meals for my family.

zoe said...
March 4, 2010 at 8:51 pm

Hi Vanessa,

Great question! Due to all of the butter and eggs in this recipe it is not necessary to increase the water in the brioche. Enjoy, I love this recipe!

Thanks, Zoë

zoe said...
March 4, 2010 at 8:56 pm

Thank you so much Vanessa!

We are thrilled that you are baking so much and sharing with all your friends!

Cheers, Zoë

Janet said...
March 9, 2010 at 8:11 pm

I made a batch of brioche dough yesterday. I decided to use all of it today to make 2 small and 1 large tete brioche breads in traditional brioche pans that I already had in the house. I ended up having to cook the smaller ones much longer than the recipe called for and the larger one even longer. Unfortunately I will not know till tomorrow morning how good they turned out because it much too late to sample. If possible can you tell me how big a brioche pan should be for the 1 lb size and the 2 lb size. Perhaps tell me how much liquid they would each hold would help me alot.
I did make your cover artisan bread the other day and it was a big hit. Thank you.

zoe said...
March 9, 2010 at 10:12 pm

Hi Janet,

Did you see this post on baking a Brioche a tete? http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=210 it may help for future loaves.

Thanks, Zoë

beetred said...
March 30, 2010 at 11:21 am

This is my favorite, go-to bread recipe of all time. I recently veganized it using flaxseeds, margarine and agave. It came out beautifully! Thank you!

MaryLea said...
April 2, 2010 at 1:53 pm

I / We LOVE the artisan bread, just made the pain d”epi and it was a huge hit! I wanted to make the cinnamon swirl bread with the brioche recipe for this weekend —- but it didn’t rise. Is this rich dough supposed to rise or is it just supposed to look wonderfully rich? Did I do something wrong?
Thanks for all of your sharing!!!

zoe said...
April 2, 2010 at 6:19 pm

Hi MaryLea,

Did the Brioche rise after you mixed it in the bucket? Or is that the problem you are having? This dough rises considerably so something must have gone wrong with the yeast. Is it possible that the water you used was too hot? That will kill the yeast. On the flip side if you use cold water, it will not kill the yeast, but it will take considerably longer to rise.

Thanks! Zoë

Pandora said...
April 8, 2010 at 1:06 pm

Love your books, love your methods. Thanks to you, now, I can bake. ^^
Have one question though, the Brioche dough that I mixed earlier doesn’t seem to rise fast enough to be double the size (in 2 hours time,) considering the cold and damp weather we have, I let it rest a bit longer. But what is the safe rest time for the Brioche dough to be at the room temp? I worried about the raw eggs…

jeff said...
April 8, 2010 at 3:02 pm

Pandora: See the post I just added to on our FAQs page, about “Yeast: Can it be decreased in our recipes.” In there I talk about USDA’s recommendations for eggs at room temp, and how to get around it. Basically, finish the rise in the fridge. Jeff

zoe said...
April 8, 2010 at 9:46 pm

Hi Pandora,

It can sit out for several hours. However, you can leave it out for a couple of hours and then allow it to finish its first rise in the refrigerator over night.

Thank you! Zoë

Windy said...
April 11, 2010 at 5:13 pm

I made the brioche dough this weekend. First we had beignets and they were great. Tonight I made a loaf. It was so good and my husband raved about it. However, The top completely split and was not at all pretty. Should I have slashed it?

zoe said...
April 11, 2010 at 7:55 pm

Hi Windy,

Yes, if you slash the loaf it will open up in a more predictable way, instead of having that rustic look. I am so glad that you are enjoying the brioche. The beignets are one of my favorites!

Thanks, Zoë

joe said...
April 18, 2010 at 6:47 pm

Hi,
I really enjoy the book, my breads are coming out great. I tried the brioche the other day, 1/2 the recipe, but it never really firmed up. The dough was more like a thick batter. I baked it anyway and it came out fine, the texture and flavor was quite good. However my original intention was to make the chocolate ganache version and the dough just wasn’t stiff enough. Maybe I messed up a measurement but has anyone else had this experience?

zoe said...
April 18, 2010 at 7:32 pm

Hi Joe,

It sounds like you were short a bit of flour? The dough is very wet and sticky when it is first mixed up, but after it is refrigerated it is much stiffer and should be very easy to roll out.

If you are having success with the other recipes I assume you are measuring the flour with a scoop and sweep method and not spooning the flour into the cup.

Thanks, Zoë

Suzanne said...
April 19, 2010 at 3:04 pm

Can you use wild yeast starter in the brioche dough? If so, could you advise how you would decrease liquid and flour and possibly yeast?

zoe said...
April 19, 2010 at 7:04 pm

Hi Suzanne,

Hmmm, this is an interesting question. I’m sure you can, but I have yet to try it. The issue with using a starter is that the rise times are quite a bit longer and I am a little nervous to advise you to leave the egg filled doughs out for as long as it might take to get a nice initial rise. You may want to compromise and add a small portion of commercial yeast. If you want to try it, start by adding a cup of your starter and just reduce the flour and water equally.

Thanks and let me know if you try it!

Zoë

jeff said...
April 20, 2010 at 11:30 am

Suzanne: See other tips on sourdough starter at http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1284

One way to deal with this would be to leave the egg-enriched dough out for two hours max, then complete the rest of the rise in the fridge. It will take a long time, think 18 to 36 hours.

Celine said...
April 24, 2010 at 1:02 am

Hi!

I prepared the dough yesterday, but it didn’t rise so much…

I read some comments where you said the reason may be the hot butter ??
I don’t remember it was hot, maybe just lukewarm… but I realize my dough isn’t soft like your picture, there are some “grain” of butter…

I’m still trying to make some small brioches in muffin pans (the dough is resting) but i’m pretty sure it won’t work…

Thanks!

jeff said...
April 24, 2010 at 9:13 am

Celine: Need more info; some possibilities:

1. House too cool? 66-68 is what we tested at.
2. Yeast expired?
3. Water too hot? too cold? If the butter was really hot and you mixed it right in, might have warmed the water too much. Unlikely, but possible.
4. Unusual flour? We tested with ordinary supermarket unbleached all-purpose, like Gold Medal
5. Didn’t wait long enough?
6. Which of our books are you using, which exact recipe?

Don’t worry about the appearance of butter as little lumps in the dough, that’s fine, will work out as bakes.

Celine said...
April 25, 2010 at 9:04 am

1. it’s about the same temperature
2. oh i didn’t think about this!! maybe!
3. the water was lukewarm. the bowl of butter wasn’t hot, i don’t think the butter was!
4. i live in france, and we don’t have the same names for flour… i checked websites, and all-purpose seems equivalent to “farine T55″ (starch : 68 à 72 %)
5. 6. i just follow the recipe on this page, i let the dough rise about 2-3 hours!

thanks for the quick reply!
i baked them, it wasn’t fluffy at all, like a brioche. it was more like cake??

zoe said...
April 25, 2010 at 9:11 pm

Hi Celine,

Did the brioche rise the nearly the top of your bucket after you mixed it? This dough usually gets quite a good rise.

The texture of the brioche is a little more cakey than you are used to in France, but it shouldn’t be dense. I think you may need to let the dough rest a bit longer and if you want a stretchier bread give it a bit more stirring when you mix it.

Thanks, Zoë

Celine said...
April 27, 2010 at 1:35 am

No, I think it didn’t rise until the half of the bucket…

I will give an another try later, thanks!!

jeff said...
April 27, 2010 at 5:49 pm

Well, let us know what happens. Concerned that maybe measured wrong? Expired yeast? This is a really uncommon problem