For any of those who might be interested, I've chronicled my latest foray into brioche here:

http://www.breadcetera.com/?p=111

SteveB 

Hey everyone I have a sweet dough question.

I was reading through Richard Bertinet's "Crust" and noted that his recipe for Brioche calls for a rest of 12 - 14 hours in a pantry.  Now I have experienced this kind of rest with biga's or a poolish starter to help develop the flavor but with a sweet dough?  I admit that I am not very experienced with sweet doughs but I have to ask:

1. What is the purpose of a 12 - 14 hour rest with a sweet dough?

2. Do you have a favorite brioche recipe you could share?

Thanks a ton,

Lewis

http://tablebread.blogspot.com

Hello to one and all, and thank you for your truly informative, helpful, encouraging and inspirational website.

I am a competent baker who learned to bake many years ago and just never have enough time to practice enough. At the moment I have a short interlude of R&R in which to immerse myself in TFL and try and rectify an ongoing issue that has been plaguing me for what seems like FOREVER.

The recipes that I use to make both my Brioche and my Challah come from my grandmother. They make completely yummy bread the only problem (in my mind) is my crumb. It comes out like, well, cake. Now I realise this is what Marie-Antoinette was on about ... but ... I would like my crumb to be more like the doughy, chewy, cotton-wool-style interior that I remember from my childhood (just like my grandmother used to make) that also the commercially produced challah and brioche seem to manage. Unfortunately my grandmother is no longer around to ask about how she did it.

So I would be sooo happy if any of you MARVELOUS bakers out there on this excellent site have any good advice for me.

Thanking you in advance.

Aunty Sharm (takes constructive criticism well) 

I tried to make some brioche dough today and I thought all was well until I put it in the fridge to proof and 20 minutes later I found that it was as hard as a rock. Is this normal? If not, what should I do? Is my bread ruined?

i'm making brioche for the first time, and since i don't have the classic brioche forms but wish to make my brioche in small sizes, am wondering what other people use in this regard.

i have a classic pannettone form which is ideal for a very large brioche, and i have other large forms, but want smaller brioche.  wondering if my cermamic individually sized creme brullee forms would work for brioche.

thanks.

jeff 

G'day from Sydney. I am testing various Brioche Recipes over the next few months to find one I like the best. I made the recipe from Julia Childs book 'Baking with Julia' on page 43. The bricohe turned out well and I was pleased with the overall result. Nice crumb, texture, flavour but when mixing at the second stage (adding the sponge to the final ingredients) and mixing for 15 to 20 min, I had to add more flour than her recipe called for. I used a kitchen aid mixer as well. The final mix calls for 1 1/2 cups of flour. It was 2 a.m.

My friend recently bought me a box of this egg replacer. I'm not a vegan, so I'm basically using it as a back-up when I don't have any eggs lying around (I do a lot of quick bread baking, so it comes in handy for cookies and the like).

Helas, that appeared to be the situation Saturday afternoon.

I'd thought I'd learned something about properly dusting a very wet loaf before proofing. And, in fact, I did learn something. Unfortunately, I subsequently learned something else: how to shape a wet loaf properly, thanks to MountainDog.

Last week I was in a hurry to get my regular brioche prep out of the way so I could get on with my other loaves, and forgot to put the sugar in. There isn't much in there, but boy does it make a difference!

Trouble mixing. Adding eggs in two batches as in The Professional Chef 7th Edition, page 891, and I can't get them incorporated without adding additional flour. A lot of flour. Also, when adding the butter, does it take a lot of flour to bring the dough together? First time making. I have some baking experience I just had a lot of trouble with this dough,.? Any help will be greatly appreciated,.!