I love baking. Baking bread when we have 15 inches of snow on the ground is the best activity happening in my kitchen. So yesterday, as the snow was falling, I took my brioche pan out.  I got it when we lived in France because the first time I tasted “Brioche à tête ” I knew I had to learn to make it.

Today’s version is not the traditional recipe. It is a recipe that has the ingredients and methods I have been  experimenting with — whole grains and no-knead using sourdough starter.

*** a note on eggs, I read that it should be OK to use eggs on long ferments and make sure that the the baked bread reaches 160F/71ºC internal temperature (salmonella die at this temperature). Also smell the bread before baking. One could try to incorporate the eggs in the end for the last rise, but I have not tried that yet)

Whole Wheat Maple Sourdough Brioche
1/2 cup starter (room temperature nice and bubbly)
1 cup total of liquid ingredient: 2 eggs, 1/4 cup maple, up to 1/4 cup milk
4 TBSP butter
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of white whole wheat
1tsp salt
egg wash after second rise
Mix flours and salt
Cut butter into flour mixture. (If you have a food processor, you can do this with a couple of pulses)
Add liquids and stir until combined. Use some flour and shape into a ball.
The dough was wet but not runny and not too dense. It held the shape pretty well.
Transfer to a oiled bowl covered with plastic. Let is double in a warm place.  I started in the afternoon and this loaf took 18 hours.
The next morning, use some flour in your hands and shaped the brioche. Transferred it to the oiled Brioche pan. Let is rest another 4-5 hours until it doubles again. Brush the brioche with egg wash and bake on a pre-heated 425F oven for 18 minutes. Cover the loaf with foil and reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 15 minutes. (I read to aim for an internal temperature 190F)
Let it rest 10-15 minutes and remove from the pan. Serve warm or room temperature.

Enjoy. Delicious. Bread with character

Second try, shaped into rolls– delicious!