INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix warm milk, yeast, and sugar together. Let stand for 10 minutes until frothy. Whisk in eggs.
- Mix the flour and salt together. Add to the yeast mixture and knead lightly until all flour is incorporated.
- Knead in butter one to two tablespoons at a time. I broke my butter into pea-sized pieces before kneading it in. After about ¼ to ½ cup of butter, the dough will be VERY sticky. Let your inner toddler out (or let your child do the kneading). Mash the remaining butter into the dough like a child mashes clay. I used a grab and squeeze routine with both hands to mix in the remaining butter. It took me about 30 minutes to knead in all the butter. Knead in chocolate chips.
- Shape into a ball (as much as you can). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour or until double.
- Use a spatula or your hands to pull the dough away from the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 hours to overnight.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and cut into 16 pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and let warm until almost room temperature.
- Roll into balls on a lightly floured surface. Then place the side of your hand about ⅓ from the end and start rolling to form the “head.” Use 2-3 fingers to lengthen the “neck” that holds the head to the larger ball of dough (it will look a bit like a rolling pin). Use your thumbs to poke a hole in the larger end. Fold the head through the hole. When you turn it over, you will have a circle of dough around the outside and a ball in the middle. This is a good video on how to shape brioche à tête.
- Press into buttered 3 inch wide (7-8 cm) brioche pans or use buttered silicone molds. Place on baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until double (about 1 hour).
- While the dough is rising, make the egg wash by whisking 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk with a pinch of salt. Let this sit for about 1 hour before using.
- Brush tops with egg wash but don’t let the egg wash get in the pans. Bake in center of a preheated 375°F oven for 18 minutes. Remove from pans immediately after baking and cool on a rack.
- Brioche is best served warm. You can reheat brioche in a 250°F oven until crisp on the outside.
