Brioche Rolls with Chocolate

from: Tutti Dolci

I had half the brioche dough leftover from my brioche loaf so I decided to try these brioche rolls. I didn't even need to make a new egg wash because I still had plenty left from the brioche loaf. I am so glad I made these rolls!! They're like little mini chocolate croissants.

1 pound Brioche dough
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate or Nutella)

1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp water
Turbinado sugar

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Flour board or counter well and dust dough with flour. Use floured hands to quickly shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating dough as you go.
3. Use a floured bench scraper to cut dough into eight 2-ounce portions.
4. Put a teaspoon of chocolate chips or Nutella in the center of each portion; pinch ends to seal.
5. Flip rolls over (seam-side down) and use bench scraper to shape into a round.
6. Place rolls two inches apart on baking sheet; cover with a towel and let rest at room temperature for 40 minutes. In the last 20 minutes, preheat oven to 350°F.
7. Whisk egg yolk and water together in a small bowl; use a pastry brush to gently glaze the top of the rolls; sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, until rolls are deep golden.
9. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Brioche Loaf

I enjoy a nice brioche. Who doesn't? But I've never seen it as a loaf before, so I had to try this recipe. It was an easy loaf to make but a bit sticky to work with. It looks beautiful out of the oven and is yummy! Soft and fluffy on the inside, flaky on the outside. This recipe comes to me from Tutti Dolci.

¾ cup warm water
½ tbsp yeast

½ tbsp salt
¼ cup honey

4 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3¾ cups flour

egg wash
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp water
turbinado sugar

1. Combine warm water, yeast, salt and honey in a large mixer bowl; mix on low speed until incorporated. 
2. Add the eggs and melted butter; mix until combined. 
3. Gradually mix in flour, just until combined. Cover mixer bowl loosely with plastic and let rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
4. After 2 hours, place the covered dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease an 8½x4½-inch loaf pan.
6. Flour the board or counter well.
7. Dust surface of dough with flour and use a floured bench scraper or kitchen shears to cut off a 1 ½-pound piece of dough (keep remaining dough in the refrigerator up to 5 days). 
8. Dust the piece with more flour and use floured hands to quickly shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating dough as you go. 
9. Cut dough into three equal pieces; gently roll each piece into a 12-inch rope.
10. To make a three-strand braid, start at one end and pinch the ends of the rope together. Bring the right outside rope over the center rope; that rope now becomes the center. Bring the left outside rope over the new center rope; that rope now becomes the center. Continue braiding until you reach the end; pinch ropes together to seal.
11. Carefully transfer braid to the prepared pan. 
12. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 90 minutes. 
13. In the last 20 minutes, preheat oven to 350°F. 
14. Whisk egg yolk and water together in a small bowl; use a pastry brush to gently glaze the top of the loaf; sprinkle with turbinado sugar. 
15. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until brioche is deep golden and set. 
16. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes; turn out of pan to cool completely before slicing with a serrated bread knife.

American Sandwich Bread

In my quest for a really awesome daily bread, I saw this one somewhere online. I copied it and then finally got the chance to make it today. I made some changes to the recipe, which are reflected below. Anyway, it's delicious!! It's definitely one of my favorite white breads!!!

3½-3¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp salt

1 cup warm whole milk

⅓ cup warm water

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp honey

2¼ tsp yeast

1. Mix 3½ cups of the flour and the salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook.
2. Mix the milk, water, butter, honey, and yeast in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup.
3. Turn the machine to low and slowly add the liquid. When the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopping the machine two or three times to scrape dough from hook, if necessary, about 10 minutes. (After 5 minutes of kneading, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time and up to ¼ cup total, until the dough is no longer sticky.)
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead to form a smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.
5. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat lightly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the warmed oven until the dough doubles in size, 40 to 50 minutes.
6. Gently press the dough into a rectangle 1 inch thick and no longer than 9 inches. With a long side facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover; set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Bake at 350° for 40 to 50 minutes.

Bird Seed Bread Recipe

I'm not sure where I found this recipe, but I was pretty excited to try it because it seemed hearty and healthy. I'm looking for a great sandwich bread, and this seems like a good candidate except that I don't usually make sandwiches on braided bread. So I decided to make one as a braided loaf and another as a regular loaf. I rarely make braided bread, but every time I do I think, "Braided bread is so easy. How come I don't do this more often?" And this loaf is no exception! So easy. Now, I will say I found that you probably really need 5 cups of flour and not the 4 the recipe says. It was a very sticky dough for me... But it made a wonderful sandwich bread!!

1¾ cup water

½ cup rolled oats

½ cup honey

¼ cup powdered milk

2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds

1 tbsp millet

1 tbsp sesame seeds

2 cup wheat flour

2 cup flour

4 tsp yeast

Topping:

1 egg white

3 tbsp mixed seeds 

1. Prepare all your ingredients together to make sure you have everything you need.
2. Bring the water to a boil and pour into a large bowl.
3. Add in the rolled oats, powdered milk, oil, honey, and salt.
4. Mix together and then allow to sit for 10 minutes.
5. After the mixture and cooled down add in the egg.
6. Now, add in the instant yeast and all the seeds.
7. Start to add in the flour a cup at a time, starting with the whole wheat flour.
8. When the mixture becomes too hard to mix in the bowl, pour out onto a floured flat surface.
9. Add more flour on top and begin to knead.
10. Continue to add more flour as needed and knead for about 10 to 15 minutes. The dough will become smooth and elastic.
11. Add a little oil to a bowl and place the kneaded dough into the bowl. Turn the dough over a few time to lightly coat all sides of the dough. Cover with a towel and allow to sit until double in size (about 1 hour).
12. After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a flat surface.
13. Cut the dough into half. Take one piece and cut into 3 pieces.
14. Roll out into a long rope about 15 inches in length.
15. Place the tips together and seal.
16. Now braid the three pieces together.
17. Do the same with the other half of the dough.
18. Place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and cover with a towel.
19. Allow to rest until double in size (about 1 hour).
20. After the dough has risen you want to make the topping.
21. Take the egg white and place into a bowl. Beat with a whisk until the egg white become a foam.
22. Brush onto the 2 braided loaves.
23. Sprinkle the top with mixed seeds.
24. Preheat the oven to 350° and bake for 30-35 minutes.
25. The bottom of the loaves will sound hollow when tapped.
26. Remove from oven and place onto a wire rack to cool. 

Almond Banana Coffee Cake

I’m not sure where I found this online, but it was called Almond Banana Bread. This seemed to me to be a bit of a misnomer, so I changed it to Almond Banana Snacking Bread. It is a yeast bread with a sponge but it’s a bit sweet like cake. It is kind of fancy for everyday eating but light enough that you could make it kind of often.

I didn't use a vanilla bean pod and instead just used vanilla extract. And I used my springform pan instead and so it required a little more cooking.

Sponge:

1½ cup bread flour

⅔ cup lukewarm water

½ tsp yeast

1 tbsp powdered milk

Bread:

1½-1¾ bread flour

1 tbsp powdered milk

1 tsp salt

¼ cup brown sugar

½ tsp yeast

½ cup mashed banana

1 vanilla bean pod

3 tbsp soft butter

1 egg

Topping:

1 cup ground almond

¼ cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

3-4 bananas

cinnamon sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp rum

⅓ cup butter

2 eggs

1. Mix together the sponge ingredients in a bowl.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit on the counter overnight (12- 16 hours).  This was very dry.
3. The next day pour this into a large bowl.  
4. Add in the powdered milk, salt, instant yeast, brown sugar, egg, mashed banana, butter, and the vanilla seeds from the vanilla pod.
5. Mix until smooth. I needed to do this in a Kitchen-Aid mixer to make it smooth.
6. Slowly add in the flour and begin to knead.
7. Add just enough flour to make a workable dough.
8. Knead for 8-10 minutes or until it becomes smooth and elastic.
9. Add a little oil to a clean bowl and place the kneaded dough into the bowl.
10. Turn the dough over a few times to lightly coat all sides of the dough.
11. Cover with a towel and allow to rest for 1 hour or until double in bulk.
12. Take some parchment paper and line a 9½ x 13½ pan.
13. Spray with a little spray oil.
14. Place the dough into the pan and using your hands spread to cover the bottom of the pan.
15. Cover with a towel and allow to rest for 25 minutes.
16. Make the topping, by placing the ground almonds, sugar, butter, eggs, flour, and rum into a bowl; mix until smooth and set aside.
17. Take the dough and using your hands again press down to fill the corners of the pan.
18. Take the almond topping and spread over the dough with a spoon.
19. Slice the bananas and dip in a little lemon juice to stop them from turning brown.
20. Cover the almond topping with the banana slices. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar.
21. Cover with a towel and allow to rest until double in bulk; about 20-30 minutes.
22. Bake at 350° for 25- 30 minutes.
23. Remove from oven and grab the sides of the parchment paper and lift the bread out and place onto a wire rack to cool.