Ingredients
- For the brioche dough:
- 400g strong plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 40g sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp fast-action dried yeast (1 sachet)
- 100ml milk
- 4 eggs
- 100g soft butter
- a little oil, for greasing
- For the butter:
- 100g butter
- 6 garlic cloves, grated
- 20g Parmesan, grated
- 1 handful of parsley, chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the glaze:
- 1 egg yolk
- a handful of chives, snipped
I won’t lie, this recipe is complicated but, my goodness, is it delicious! Just plan your day around it as it will repay the time and effort.
- Start by making the butter. Mix the butter in a bowl with the garlic, Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper until it is nicely blended. Roll into small balls around the size of a €2 coin and chill in the fridge.
- Now to make the dough, put the flour, sugar, salt and fast-action yeast in a mixer bowl with a dough hook. Mix together so the dry goods are all evenly distributed.
- Warm the milk to just above hand temperature in a small saucepan, then add it to the dough. Mix this together for 3 seconds on medium speed.
- Add the eggs one by one and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes until the dough starts to come together and hug the hook.
- Add the butter and mix for a further 8 minutes until the dough is shiny and glossy and just falling away from the dough hook when you lift it up.
- Place in a greased bowl and allow to prove for an hour to double in size, but ideally leave it overnight in the fridge to slow prove.
- Roll the dough on a floured surface into a sausage shape and cut into 8 x 60g chunks.
- Brush a large baking tray with softened butter to stop the bread from sticking and preheat the oven to 185°C.
- To assemble the doughballs, stuff the dough with the butter balls and shape into smooth balls using a small amount of flour. Place these on the baking tray, don’t worry about the gaps. Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for about 45 minutes to double in size.
- Once they’ve risen, mix together the egg yolk and cream for the glaze and brush the top of the bread using a pastry brush.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown all over.
- Finish by brushing with more butter and sprinkling with salt and chives. Serve warm.