Comfort Me with Carbs: Brioche Loaf from The Allison Inn & Spa in Oregon Wine Country

We're baking our way around the world. Here's one for the confident baker: brioche, served at The Allison Inn & Spa in the Willamette Valley wine region in Oregon and made in partnership with local baker Tim Carlton.

BRIOCHE

INGREDIENTS

1000 g. all-purpose flour
40 g. powdered milk
100 g. sugar
15 g. salt
500 g. butter, slightly chilled, not room temperature (Note: They use Cremerie Classique butter, a high-fat, low-moisture-content butter made in Clackamas Oregon. A good substitute would be a similar European-style butter.)
40 g. raw yeast
250 g. egg yolks
500 g. water
Egg wash (1 thoroughly whisked egg)

PREPARATION

1. Dissolve raw yeast in water, stirring in yeast with a whisk. Place egg yolks into a separate bowl. (These are the liquid mixtures.)

2. Sift flour together with powdered milk, add sugar and salt to flour mixture. (The dry mixture.)

3. Place raw yeast and water mix and egg yolks in a mixing bowl with hook attachment. (Be sure to place the liquid mixture in the bowl first to avoid dough sticking to bottom of bowl.)

4. Add dry mixture to bowl and mix for 3 minutes at low speed, then 5 minutes at medium speed. Add slightly chilled butter and mix for 3 minutes on low, then for 5 minutes at medium. Intermittently scrape dough down from side of bowl while mixing at medium speed. Mix at highest speed for about 1 minute until you can see the gluten window. This is when you take a small section of the dough, stretch it out evenly, and see a nearly transparent section in the middle that does not tear when stretched gently. Mix for 1 more minute at a high speed.

5. Place the mixed brioche dough in a plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Do not skip this step, as the dough needs to firm in the refrigerator.

6. After overnight refrigeration, cut dough into 150-gram sections and shape into rounds.

7. Place the rounds in a loaf pan (be sure to use pan spray in loaf pan to prevent brioche from sticking) until full (usually 4 rounds for a standard loaf pan).

8. Place the loaf pan in a warm area for proofing (time for dough to rise).

9. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

10. Allow the brioche dough to rise to just under double its original size, which usually takes more than 1 hour. Brush egg wash on the tops of proofed brioche rounds.

11. Bake for about 26 minutes.

12. Remove pan from oven and gently remove brioche onto a cooling rack. The brioche can be enjoyed once thoroughly cooled as French toast or as bread for toasting. Smaller buns of 125 grams can be made following the same process and used as hamburger buns, or filled with jam or Nutella.

Keep baking! See all the Comfort Me with Carbs recipes.