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Thursday, January 5, 2012

Bubble-Top Brioches (French Fridays with Dorie)


I've made brioche before, both in loaves and in the traditional brioche a tete (the tete in my loaf tilted alarmingly), but it had never occurred to me to turn them into what my mother called cloverleaf rolls and what Dorie calls bubble-top rolls. Here is the thing about brioche:


Loaded with butter and eggs, it is lushly different than its baguette sibling, which contains only the modest four ingredients of flour, water, salt, and yeast.


It starts with a dough that Dorie describes as "shaggy" and "ugly."


But after you add 12 tablespoons of butter, it loses its shagginess and becomes rich and smooth-looking. I have to admit that I forgot to add the required overnight refrigeration into my schedule. I also have to admit that this lack didn't seem to do the bread much harm. I'm sure it would have been even better with a cold rest, but since it turned into something a lot better than I could buy at my grocery store, I can't be too remorseful.


Easy to shape into three little balls and tuck them into muffin cups.


I decided to try to make a few of them into mini brioche a tetes. It didn't work much better than the last time I tried that.


At least the heads didn't completely fall off the little brioche body.


These were so buttery, tender and delicious. You can gild the lily and serve them with more butter, or emphasize their sweetness with a smear of jam, or eat them as is. Even Mom's cloverleaf rolls weren't this good.

18 comments:

  1. That's great to know that they didn't suffer from missing the overnight rest, in case I ever want to make them in a relative pinch. I love how brown they get on top!

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  2. I didn't give mine an over night rest either -I think they only received a couple of hours, but they still worked out well.
    Love the brioche a tete :-)

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  3. Yea...making this needs patience and time. I did let it rest overnight in the fridge. I find the dough not so sticky if rest overnight. And the bread flavor is more intense and the texture more stretchy. Yours looks good too without the resting the dough overnight :) So evenly browned. Well done!

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  4. Your rolls look perfect, even the ones with their ``tetes'' falling off. This was my first go at making brioche dough and I have a feeling it will be my last until I get a standing mixer. Tasty, but way too much work!

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  5. Your rolls look fantastic - I would have never guessed they did not rest overnight. I'll keep that in mind for next time!

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  6. Wow - your rolls look perfect! Good to know that skipping the overnight rest didn't make them any less delicious.

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  7. I also did see the overnight rest to late. So I was late posting today. Glad to know for the next time that it ain't a big issue. Although my dough was quite sticky when at the night before and wasn't anymore after the rest. Maybe that's the trick.

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  8. I love the brioche heads! I think it's great when food brings a smile to my face! Your rolls look delicious!

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  9. Lovely job on your rolls - I especially love the brioche a tete ( a new term for me!).

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  10. Beautifully baked brioche rolls, lovely photo tutorial on the different stages of making these, very helpful I think;-)

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  11. I smeared some blueberry jam on one this morning for breakfast! Great idea!

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  12. I couldn't bear to spread more butter on these butter rolls, though I did try the speculoos butter spread I found at Trader Joe's. Yum! I love the tilted brioche a tete. Looks so tempting to rip off the tete for the first bite.

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  13. Your tilted tete look sweet - maybe brioche lambs for Easter?

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  14. I like the tilted tete! We really enjoyed these with butter. :) Your brioche is so beautiful and golden.

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  15. Your brioches looks buttery and moist. I am sure they taste as good as they look.

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  16. Great photos of the process. They look heavely - light, buttery and melt in your mouth!

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  17. Oh my these turned out stunning :) We loved them too. By the way- I ended up on your other blog and left a comment there. Those cinnamon rolls look amazing !!

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