Raspberry Swirl Brioche

So I loved the last, my first, brioche that I made. But I've read about other ways of proving this lovely sweet dough and wanted to try a different recipe. I saw a Pin for this lovely Raspberry Swirl Brioche from Hint Of Vanilla which drew me in and although it has more stages than my last brioche, I knew I wanted to try this one next.

This recipe uses very exact quantities of ingredients, in particular the eggs which need to be weighed. The first addition was around 2 eggs. The mixing of initial ingredients is all very straightforward, but then it came to full gluten development (* this is when you stretch a little dough between 2 fingers and it should be so elastic that you can see through it without it breaking) I wasn't sure how long this would take and it actually took around 15 - 20 minutes in a mixer with the dough hook to get there. This heats up the mixture so after the final egg addition, I measured the temperature and it was 25 degrees (needs to be less than 27 degrees).

The fermenting was again pretty straightforward and then I transferred the dough to the fridge. The recipe suggest between 1 and 12 hours - I left mine for around 1.5 hours. When it came out of the fridge it's rolled into a rectangle and covered with a gorgeous Raspberry Smear. Now this smear is absolutely delicious. A raspberry flavoured butter that is rich and creamy. Megan made her smear with powdered raspberry and since I didn't have any of this I used a tube of freeze-dried raspberries that I blitzed in the food processor (then sieving the powder to remove the remaining raspberry seeds) and mixed this with butter, sugar and lemon juice. I also didn't have vanilla sugar so I just used regular caster sugar.

Then it came to the plaiting. I was to leave 2 inches at the top (which I measured!) but I think I should have cut it a little higher as I didn't get the raspberry ribbons successfully through that part; and also I should have plaited it much tighter as Megan's raspberry ribbons are really visible and mine not so much. When it proves again for the final time, Megan suggest 1.5 - 2 hours until it's doubled in size. I check mine after a few hours and it hadn't risen too much so I left it overnight and it had a lovely rise by the morning. I also see the added benefit of this is that you can bake it fresh for breakfast and eat it warm from the oven. Yum :)

I also forgot to glaze the brioche with egg wash before going in the oven. Doh! (or should that be *dough*!!) I didn't get the usual lovely shiny top customary of a brioche but I will not forget my egg wash next time! Also a warning that you do really need to let it cool a little before trying to get it out of the tray. If mine (tin-less) looks a little misshapen it's because I decided I needed it out of the tin the moment it was from the oven which also meant it collapsed a little...

This brioche was absolutely delicious. So delicious that I'm thinking of making another one this week. Hmmm...what flavour combinations to try next? Or maybe just a plain simple brioche that everyone can dress as they like. The possibilities are endless.

In my quest to perfect my bread-making, I am going to keep reading up on brioche recipes but this one is definitely a keeper :)

Raspberry Swirl Brioche (from Hint Of Vanilla)

Brioche Dough

• 335G BREAD FLOUR
• 9G SALT
• 50G SUGAR
• 4G INSTANT DRIED YEAST
• 78G WHOLE MILK AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
• 135G EGGS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
• 2G VANILLA EXTRACT
• 170G UNSALTED BUTTER (this needs to be softened slightly so it's pliable, but if it's too soft you should refrigerate it again)

 Raspberry Smear

• 100g UNSALTED BUTTER AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
• 7G RASPBERRY POWDER (I used a tube of freeze dried raspberries that I blitzed in the blender although this only made 5g raspberry powder)
• 30G VANILLA SUGAR (or regular caster sugar)

• ½ LEMON, JUICED

Brioche Method

1. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a bowl
2. In a mixer, combine the milk, vanilla extract and 117 g of the eggs and stir to combine
3. Pour the dry ingredients on top and mix on low speed until just incorporated
4. Add 1/3 of the butter and switch the mixer to medium speed
5. Ensure the butter is fully incorporated and add the next 1/3 butter
6. Repeat with the final 1/3 butter
7. Continue to mix until full gluten development is achieved*
8. Add the remaining 18g of egg and mix until just incorporated (keep the remaining egg for the egg wash before baking)
9. Check the temperature doesn't exceed 27 degrees (insert a thermometer in the middle and check this)
10. Remove the dough and place on a lightly floured surface, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it to ferment for 45 mins
11. Transfer the dough to a baking tray lined with silpat or greaseproof paper, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 - 12 hours.
12. To make the Raspberry Smear, mix all the ingredients together until you get a smooth pinkish butter
13. Grease a bread tin
14. Roll out the brioche into a rectangle 12 inches by 6 inches, keeping it all as straight as possible
15. Cover the whole surface with the Raspberry Smear
16. Tightly roll the brioche from the long side and trim both ends
17. Cut the dough in half along the length leaving around 2 inches at one end
18. Twist the two lengths so the cut sides are facing up
19. Gently braid the dough by putting the left-hand one over the right, then keep repeating until you get to the end of the dough and press the end together
20. Carefully tuck the ends of the loaf under and put it in the bread tin
21. Cover with plastic wrap and let it prove the bread for 1.5 - 2 hours until doubled in size (or leave overnight) in a cool place
22. When you're ready to bake it, preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius
23. Brush the top of the brioche with eggwash
24. Bake the loaf for 16 minutes then lower the temperature to 160 degrees and bake for around 30 minutes until the loaf is golden all over
25. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes
26. Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool completely
27. Try not to eat it all at once!!