Breakfast Club is back for March, and this month I decided to continue working with sweet doughs. I came across the mention of a brioche knot … there’s a bakery in California that is known for them, so I began googling and came across Take a Megabite’s adaptation of .
Megan of Megabite changed it up a bit and tied hers into knots, and I really like the effect. So, last weekend I scaled the recipe down to test it, liked the results, and then adapted it myself to come up with these lovelies.
Brioche is an enriched French bread that packs in a lot of eggs and butter … yum. I’m not sure how faithful to traditional brioche this recipe is, but it’s tasty, and that’s what counts for me.
Confession: I did not actually have enough toffee bits, so I worked with what I had. The flavor is light and buttery, but if you really love toffee, I suggest increasing the amount to 8-10 oz.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the milk and yeast in a measuring cup and whisk until the yeast has dissolved. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Using the paddle blade, mix to combine these ingredients.
Add the eggs to the dry, mixing to combine, then add the milk/yeast mixture. Add the orange extract.
Mix at a low speed until the dough begins to come together.
Increase the speed to medium and mix for 10 minutes.
Divide your butter into tablespoon-sized pats. Once you've finished mixing the dough, add the butter a third at a time, mixing in between. It will take the butter a little bit to work it's way into the dough. If necessary, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Once the butter has mixed in to the dough, switch out the paddle for the dough hook.
Knead at slow speed for approximately 5-8 minutes, adding 1-3 tablespoons of flour as needed if the dough is too sticky (I added 3 to my dough the other night, but I think it's because of the humidity). Knead until smooth and just slightly tacky.
Add the toffee bits and orange and mix to combine.
Lightly oil a mixing bowl and add the dough to it, rolling it around to make sure it's well coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Now you can do 1 of 2 things. You can put the dough in the fridge, and in 24 hours remove it, let it come to room temperature and finish the rise. Or you can put in a warm spot to rise for 2 hours. Option 1 is good if you started the dough in the evening and can finish making the brioche the next day; Option 2 is good if you started in the morning/early afternoon. I refrigerated my dough, and it worked out great!
Once the rise is complete, heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets with baking silicone or parchment paper.
To form the knots, gently deflate the dough and divide into 16 pieces. Because the dough will be pretty sticky, have some flour on hand to dust your work surface.
Roll out each piece of dough to approximately 8-10 inches, then gently tie in a knot (more like form a knot ... these aren't like shoe laces). Place on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, fitting 8 to a sheet.
Make the glaze by whisking the eggs, salt and water together.
Using a pastry brush, lightly brush all the knots with the egg glaze.
Set aside to proof for 20-30 minutes. I like proofing in a slightly warm, quiet spot, like my pantry.
Once proofing is complete, brush the knots with the egg glaze again.
Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake for 12 minutes at 350 and check for doneness by the color (you want them to be golden) and an internal temperature of 190-210 degrees Fahrenheit.
I found that turning the oven up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for the last 2 minutes helped achieve a great golden color.
Cool on a rack before storing. These are excellent fresh from the oven, but if you need to store them, simply toast them in a toaster oven for a minute or two before serving.
https://cupcakefridayproject.com/2013/03/orange-toffee-brioche-knots/
March 4, 2013 at 12:52 pm
I thought these were quite tasty. Not overly sweet. A perfect balance where you could eat it as is or spread a little butter, jelly or both on for some added fun.
I liked the knot shape and thought the had a nice airy texture.