After a visit to one of our favourite dining spots, I was inspired to create brioche buns. At Vis a Vis in Victoria I had the crispy chicken sandwich for lunch one day, followed by the breakfast sandwich the next. Both featured brioche buns, and these are so much better than the garden variety store-bought buns. Here is a recipe.
The ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup warm water
3/4 cup sourdough starter [See “Note” that follows]
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
4 – 4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 egg beaten in a tablespoon of water for egg wash
In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients well. Separately, blend the butter, starter, eggs, honey and water. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until a shaggy mess forms. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 12 hours.
The dough will have doubled in size. Move the dough onto a floured surface and work the dough ever so slightly into a long cylindrical shape (this may take some generous amounts of flour to eliminate the stickiness). Cut the dough into 8 to 10 equal segments and form into balls. Flour each ball and space each on parchment paper on a sheet pan. Cover with a non-terry towel and let rise for an hour.
Heat your oven to 425 degrees F, remove the towel (always a good idea), press the balls down to form buns. Brush with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
These turned out well, and ideal as burger buns as they soak up the juices.
[Note: If you don’t have starter on hand, here are the ingredients and the process:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
Mix the flour and yeast thoroughly in a glass or ceramic bowl. Add the water and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for 2 to 4 days. If after a couple of days the mixture looks dubious (orange coloured), toss it. If good, proceed making your dough. The starter will keep in your fridge for weeks or longer. When you use the starter, simply replace with flour and water. For example, if you take a cup out, replace it with a half cup of flour and a half cup of water, then stir well.]