Baking Garlic Brioche Loaf
Brioche is a deliciously light, soft, and buttery kind of bread. There are different types of brioche, which I’m sure you know of. Brioche buns, braided brioche, a normal brioche loaf, etc.
For this past Easter (2023), I made Braided Garlic Brioche loaves. I had only made them one other time in 2019, and I think the first loaf turned out better than this one. But this one still turned out delicious! Not too garlicky, but enough. It tasted between a croissant and garlic bread. Makes sense because of the amount of butter in it.
Making brioche is a two-day process. The first day is mixing the dough, letting it proof overnight, and then baking it on the second day. Mixing the dough is the most time-consuming thing with this dough. Lots and lots of kneading, with a lot of soft, melty butter. I don’t usually use a stand mixer for bread, but I will for brioche. So, I highly recommend using a stand mixer if you have one.
You could do it in one day by mixing the dough in the early morning and baking it in the evening. The dough will have more flavor the longer it is in the fridge; that is one reason it should be a two-day process. It will also be easier to handle. Baking bread is not to be rushed, but a time to slow down a bit.
It is a sweet enriched dough, meaning the dough is softer than sandwich bread and maybe a little harder to handle. But if you knead it enough, it should become smooth and tacky but not sticky. That was my mistake. I did not knead it quite enough. It was doughy, but I couldn’t make it into a ball. It took a good 30 minutes to knead it, and that wasn’t even quite enough; maybe another five minutes would have been good.
I let it proof in the fridge overnight (about 15 hours). Later in the morning, I shaped and braided the loaves. The overnight in the fridge helped the dough to harden so I could shape it. I love braiding dough, makes it pretty, but it’s also therapeutic. I placed the braided dough in the pans. It turned out a little wonky because my pans were too small. I let them rise on the counter for about 2.5 hours. I chopped up some garlic and added it to the egg wash. Then I put them in the oven to bake! It smelled like heaven!
I brought it to our family dinner, and everyone liked it!
Notes:
- Use a stand mixer if you have one. I don’t usually recommend stand mixers with bread, but in this case, I will every time. It’s a ton of kneading and will take forever. I didn’t have a mixer when I first made it back in 2019. It seemed I had done something wrong because the dough wasn’t coming together. Eventually, it did, but it was a long time.
- Plan ahead and take your butter out a couple of hours ahead of mixing the dough. It’s easier to control how soft it becomes by counter than warming it up in the microwave.
- You will need a large chunk of time and a ton of patience. Again, the kneading will take a long time. If you don’t have the time now, delay until you do. You will enjoy the process more when not rushed.
- Here is the recipe I used: Brioche Bread. I give this recipe 10/10; it’s super thorough, lot’s of important information. But I also love how she writes her recipes!
That is all!
~Becky 🙂
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