pull apart brioche shapes collapse after baking
I've been on a brioche quest lately. After 10 batches I still can't fix one problem and thought that you might know what I am doing wrong. Whenever I bake pull-apart shapes (like dinner rolls or sticky buns) they collapse after coming out of the oven. They don't collapse evenly. It's more like the top falls in towards the center. Here is a link to my notes with pictures:https://docs.google.com/document/d/11ng0gqcctJSeV9J4W8p8GKTUWr0MOyk0gp1ncQJCEbs/edit?usp=sharing I realize that with brioche all sorts of things could be an issue (under-kneading, over or under proofing, etc). I tried this exact dough in stand alone round rolls, burger buns, and 9 inch rolled out shape (for tart trapezienne or bee sting) and it comes out perfectly. The pull apart shapes take longer to bake. But I make sure I bake all these things to 200F. Any idea why my pull apart shapes cave in? Thank you so much for your help!
very detailed notes complete with pictures! I realized you are "THE" Helen whose roasted chicken breast recipe changed the way we prepare many of our chicken-based meals! Thanks for that-and love your Beyond Salmon site!
I wouldn't presume to school a pro, but I see you use Rose's recipe with AP flour; didn't see in your notes if you'd tried a higher gluten content flour to address this issue?
So glad the chicken recipe has been helpful! Trust me -- I am no pro when it comes to yeast breads. I have absolutely no intuition, but can't give up until I solve this mystery. Just talked to a friend who teaches baking at Cordon Bleu. She is saying that what I view as a feature in some shapes is turning out to be a bug in pull apart rolls. The 4 hour proof tastes absolutely amazing in stand alone rolls, but it might result in collapse of a larger shape that can't develop as cohesive of a crust. She also suggested baking to 220F. Brioche doneness is very confusing. I heard numbers as low as 180F and as high as 220F. I haven't tried using bread flour, but my guess is my problem is the proofing and doneness.
but at a lower temperature. Perhaps that would work out for flavour with less expansion during the proof and more rise in the oven. Found 180°C with shiny pans.
Will one more dough ball fit into the pull-apart ring?