If I had to pick my favorite kind of bread, brioche would definitely be up there at the top. There’s no question as to why I would want to make these rich, buttery babies. At work we make brioches that we top with almond cream and either peaches or pears. Today I wanted to make use of what was left of our summer fruits, so cherries it was!
The brioche I made today are quite similar to cheese danishes, and just as buttery. I used a recipe from one of the books we used for school, and the dough is really wet, so maybe next time I make it I would reduce amount of butter (sigh, I know).
Brioche dough
recipe adapted from Professional Baking, 5th edition
makes 14
65 g milk
15 g yeast, fresh
60 g bread flour
150 g eggs (3 large, plus more for egg wash)
240 g bread flour
15 g sugar
6 g salt
210 g butter
Heat milk until it is lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in milk, then mix with 60g bread flour. Keep in oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and let ferment until doubled in volume.
Place dough in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. On medium speed, paddle in eggs one at a time, until eggs have been fully absorbed. Add 240g flour, sugar, and salt to dough, and mix until combined. Switch out paddle and change to dough hook attachment. Knead dough in mixer 3-4 minutes, then add butter a little at a time with mixer running, and mix until dough is completely uniform. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350F. Divide dough into 14 even portions, roll out each portion into a ball, and keep rolls about 2inches apart on a oiled and lined sheet pan.
For cream cheese/almond filling:
227 g cream cheese
115 g marzipan or sweetened almond paste
fresh cherries, halved and pitted
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese and marzipan until ingredients make a smooth paste, then keep creaming until mixture looks light and airy. Use your fingers to make a small well in the center of each roll, and with the filling in a piping bag, pipe a small amount of filling into the wells of each roll. Top each with half of a cherry, lightly pressing on the cherry to keep it secured in place.
Let dough proof until it almost doubles in size, then egg wash. Bake 350F for 25-30 minutes.