blueberry brioche
This is a pull apart brioche loaf with a blueberry swirl. Brioche is a sweet bread and the tart berries offer a nice complement.
Blueberry Brioche Recipe
This recipe was inspired by the “Blueberry Brioche” recipe on Epicurious. Unfortunately, I had made it twice without any luck. I landed on the “Classic Brioche” recipe by Alison Roman, added blueberries, and shaped into rolls.
I have written this as a kneed by hand recipe. GASP! I know. But, I have included mixer settings, for those who are not inclined to do a bicep workout today.
Yield: 2 loafs in 9” x 5” pans
Time: 2 hours active, 18 hour proof, 1 hour bake = 21 hours
ingredients
3 cups fresh blueberries
3 cups all-purpose flour + more for dusting
3 cups of bread flour
1 1/2 cup sugar, divided (1/4 cup + 1/4 cup + 1 cup for blueberry filling)
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of whole milk
4 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
9 eggs, room temperature (8 eggs for day one + 1 egg for day two for egg wash)
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks) set at room temperature + more for greasing
If using a mixer cut butter into 1/2” segments
steps
Day 1:
Spread fresh blueberries onto sheet pan and freeze. Do not use frozen blueberries as this changes the water content. Freeze for 1 hour minimum. This step can be done up to a week prior.
Create flour mixture. In a bowl whisk to combine: all-purpose flour, bread flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Set aside.
Warm 1/2 cup of milk in a double boiler. Do not over heat. Milk straight from the fridge won’t wake up the yeast. Just above room temperature is perfect.
pro tip: bowl should be large enough to contain milk, eggs, sugar, and yeast
Add 1/4 cup sugar and dissolve. A quick whisk will help to quickly dissolve sugar.
Add active dry yeast. Quickly whisk to incorporate and let mixture set for about 5 minutes. Yeast should bubble or foam.
Mixer: Transfer to stand mixer with a dough hook.
Add 8 eggs to milk mixture. Eggs should be added one at time, whisking until incorporated.
Mixer: With mixer on low, eggs should be added one at a time, until incorporated.
Incorporate flour mixture. I toss the flour mixture onto the work table, create a well, and add the wet mixture. I then use a bench scraper to incorporate. Once you get the hang of it, it is very proficient. Kneed until well incorporated.
Mixer: In two batches, add half the flour mixture until incorporated. Mixer should be on low. This should take 3-4 minutes. Kneed for an additional 4 minutes.
Add salt. Spread dough out, add salt, and kneed until incorporated.
Mixer: Turn mixer up to a low-medium. Kneed for an additional 4 minutes.
Add butter. Spread dough out, and add butter all at once. Incorporate the butter by folding the dough with the bench scraper, and patting down the dough with the other hand. It is okay if the butter gets away from you a bit. Use the bench scraper to bring it back. Once the butter is pressed into the dough, fraisage the dough by pushing it out and away, then bring the dough back with the bench scraper. Repeat for 4 minutes. Slap and fold the dough for 8 minutes by lifting dough up, slap it on your work surface, folding over, and rotating 90 degrees.
Mixer: add butter, a few pieces at a time. Each piece should be incorporated before adding the next. Be prepared for this process to take a while 20+ minutes.
Pro tip: the addition of butter makes a heavy dough, and can be really rough on an electric mixer. As someone who has killed a kitchen-aid mixer, I highly recommend you double check your manual.
Proof dough. Transfer to a bowl, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 16 hours. Dough will be ready when it is doubled in size.
pro tip: I like to snap a photo of my dough before proofing, and after. It allows me to see if it is actually doubled.
Day 2:
Divide dough. Lightly flour your work surface. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces. I prefer to weight dough with a scale. You will end up with 8 rolls per pan.
Pro tip: Don’t forget to take the egg out of the fridge for the egg wash later.
Shape dough. Working with one dough ball at a time, roll out dough into about a 3” by 9” rectangle. I prefer to make it with a slight taper, so I have a 2” top, 9” sides, and a 3” bottom. Running top down, place a handful of blueberries into the center third of the rectangle. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon along blueberries. Starting from the top, tightly roll dough down. Repeat for remaining dough balls.
Proof for 2 hours. Place 8 rolls into each pan. Tightly wrap with plastic wrap and leave on counter for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375.
Egg wash. Make egg wash by whisking one egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush it over the tops of the dough. Be careful not to have large pools from the drips.
Bake for 55 minutes. Check the brioche at about the 35-40 minute mark. Brioche has a tendency to bake on the outside much quicker than the inside, thus creating a really dark bake. If it is a perfect golden brown at this mark, I would cover with foil and return to the oven.
Pro tip: I recommend using a probe thermometer. Brioche is done at 200 degrees at the center. I normally check a loaf in 2-3 locations, just to be sure. Nothing worse than an undercooked loaf!
Remove from oven and loaf plans. Place on wire rack and let it cool completely.