I have a weakness for sweet yeast bread and buns. It is my favorite weekend breakfast and my favorite afternoon tea snack. I love the moment when I take out the bread out of the oven and I love the smell of freshly baked bread. It is such a beautiful moment. Every single time I am looking forward to this moment. This is probably one of the reasons why I like making sweet yeast bread so much.
Whenever I make sweet yeast buns I follow a routine. Most of the time I make it on Sunday mornings. After I take the bread out of the oven I let it cool for a little while - I think homemade bread tastes best when it is lukewarm - and in the meantime I always make a big pot of tea. 
When I made these orange chocolate brioche the other day I prepared a pot with Earl Grey tea. The bergamot flavor of the Earl Grey tea was the perfect combination to the orange flavored brioche with chocolate in the middle. I cannot think of a better way to start a day.
Makes 10 to 12 brioches

INGREDIENTS

  • 450 g all-purpose flour
  • 25 g fresh yeast
  • 75 g confectioners' sugar
  • 75 ml lukewarm whole milk
  • 125 g unsalted butter
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons of orange zest, finely grated
  • 125 g semi-dark chocolate (I use 55%)
  • 1 egg
  • Pearl sugar

DIRECTIONS

  • Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. 
  • Crumble the yeast into the well. Add half of the confectioners' sugar and half of the lukewarm milk. Stir until the yeast is dissolved. Dust the sponge with flour and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Let the spomge rest in a draft-free place for 15 minutes. 
  • I wrote a little advice post about yeast dough which you can read here.
  • Melt the butter and let it cool down.
  • Mix mleted butter, rest of the milk, rest of the confectioners' sugar, eggs, pinch of salt and orange zest. 
  • Add the mixture to the sponge and mix all ingredients well. 
  • Knead the dough on a well-floured surface until the dough is smooth. If the dough is very sticky, add more flour. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm and draft-free place for 45 minutes or until the dough is doubled in size.
  • Grease and flour brioche moulds. You can also use a muffin pan.
  • Break the chocolate into pieces or chop the chocolate roughly. 
  • Knead the dough again and divide the dough into 10 to 12 pieces [it depends on the size of your brioche moulds and muffin moulds]. 
  • Flaten each dough piece and place a few chocolate pieces in the middle. Form each piece into balls.
  • Place each ball into the moulds. Place brioche moulds onto a baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with a kitchen towel and let the brioches rise in a wram and draft-free place for 30 minutes or until the brioches are roughly doubled in size. 
  • Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  • Brush the brioches with beaten egg. Sprinkle with pearl sugar.
  • Bake brioches for 10 to 12 minutes. If the brioches color too quickly, cover the brioches with aluminium foil.I have a weakness for sweet yeast bread and buns. It is my favorite weekend breakfast and my favorite afternoon tea snack. I love the moment when I take out the bread out of the oven and I love the smell of freshly baked bread. It is such a beautiful moment. Every single time I am looking forward to this moment. This is probably one of the reasons why I like making sweet yeast bread so much.
  • Whenever I make sweet yeast buns I follow a routine. Most of the time I make it on Sunday mornings. After I take the bread out of the oven I let it cool for a little while - I think homemade bread tastes best when it is lukewarm - and in the meantime I always make a big pot of tea. 
  • When I made these orange chocolate brioche the other day I prepared a pot with Earl Grey tea. The bergamot flavor of the Earl Grey tea was the perfect combination to the orange flavored brioche with chocolate in the middle. I cannot think of a better way to start a day.