Wow, what an amazing recipe. I have learned so much making this!
This is my first time making a “thrown” dough. I feel like I have the kneading process down. But I wasn’t sure how the “throwing” was going to work. I have also never had to cook yeast before.
To start, making the dough ball reminded me of masking pasta. While cooking the ball it foams up a bit from the yeast. It gets that nice yeasty smell and looks puffy.
I think the hardest part of cooking the dough was keeping the temperature at 85 degrees. I had the burner on low and the temperature kept creeping up. I had to move the pan off the burner a few times to keep it from getting too hot.
Working with the remaining ingredients gives you a sticky mess before adding the yeast ball. I had no idea how it was going to work. Honestly, I almost wanted to start over because I really thought I had done something wrong.
This sticky mess of goo couldn’t possibly be right! I have seen in bakeries where they have metal scrapers they use to throw dough. I kind of wish I had one of those. It would have made this process a lot easier.
I was still leery as I mixed in the yeast ball. I still didn’t think it was going to work. The dough was still very sticky and difficult to work with.
The time in the refrigerator was all it needed though. I will not say the dough was super simple to work with after chilling, but it was much better than I expected.
I have seen brioche in bakeries and they are usually larger. Mine were on the smaller side, but I didn’t mind that so much.
There was not a huge amount of rising. Perhaps I didn’t get the yeast ball completely incorporated, or maybe this is just how brioche is. But I didn’t get a doubling in size. Maybe a quarter bigger after rising.
I used Ghirardelli for the chocolate. It had a nice, rich flavor. I almost wish I had used dark chocolate. . . maybe next time.
The rolls came out lovely. They were a beautiful golden color from the egg wash. The bread was soft and springy. The chocolate was gooey and melty.
These were absolutely lovely. I feel a great sense of accomplishment!
Brioche Au Chocolat
6 Tablespoons Butter
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Package Cake Compressed Yeast
2 Tablespoons Warm Water
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs, Room Temperature
3 Tablespoons Milk
Semisweet Chocolate Squares
Cream butter and set aside. Sift and then measure flour. In 1/4 of the flour, make a well. Add yeast to well. Mix the flour with the yeast with 2 tablespoons water. Gradually work the flour into a paste. When it becomes a small, soft ball, snip a cross in the top with scissors and then drop it into a 2 quart pan filled with 85 degree water. The ball will sink to the bottom of the pan, do not let it rest there as it will burn the yeast. As the yeast develops the ball of paste will rise to the surface and doubles in size in about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the water. Mix the remaining flour with sugar and salt. Make a well and break eggs into it. Mix them in by gradually drawing the flour from the sides of the well to the center. Work in milk in the same manner until all the ingredients for a sticky, but cohesive mass. Using only one hand pick up the dough and throw it back to the board, do not remove your hand from the dough during this process. Gather more of the dough with each throw. This rough throwing process develops the gluten and should be repeated 50 times. The dough should be glistening and smooth. Work the butter into the dough. When the butter is completely dissolved, add the ball from the water. Work it into the smooth dough. The dough should remain smooth and have the consistency of whipped cream. Chill the dough in a greased bowl that has been covered, for 1 hour. Knead the chilled dough with floured hands. Cut dough into 2 inch squares. Roll one piece of chocolate in each piece. Place on a baking sheet and allow to rise for 15 to 20 minutes. Dilute an egg yolk with water or milk. Glaze each of the brioches. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes - the tops should be a golden brown. Serve Warm.
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