It’s been well established, that the French know how to start the morning - so away from the croissant, toast and baguette, here’s one more warm, sweet bun to add to your morning repertoire.
Ingredients (12 buns): 375g white flour, 50g sugar, 7g dry yeast, 2 tsp salt, 100ml warm milk, 4 eggs, 175g softened butter, optional raisins, oil for greasing.
Directions: Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and next, add in the wet ingredients: the milk and 3 of the eggs. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, pulling it apart with both hands, and pressing it down firmly.
Add in all the softened butter - cutting it into small pieces helps when kneading with your hands. Like a massage, be creative and make sure it’s smooth by the time you’re done (another 10 minutes does the trick). Refrigerate the dough in a lightly oiled bowl over night.
In the morning, lightly re-knead the dough, and divide it into 12 equal smooth balls. Best in a muffin baking tin, oil the hollow spaces in the tin, and place one ball in each hole. Leave it to rise for a final 30 minutes, and while you wait, in a small bowl beat an egg for glazing. Glaze the risen brioche just over the surface (by now you can fancily call them “brioche” and not just “dough) and bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden, at 190'C.
The fancy thing is, like me, you can prepare the dough the night before, and in the morning, the hot buns will be ready within an hour of waking up - with the buttery sweet smell tempting everyone in the house away from bed, and towards the breakfast table.