Saffron brioche with tuppo without lard or butter, and also brioche with tuppo without eggs. If you are looking for the original recipe for brioche with tuppo, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it doesn’t exist. In my long life as a Sicilian, raised on almond granita and brioche col tuppo, I can tell you with certainty that I have never eaten two identical brioches; I have eaten many, sometimes good and sometimes less so, but never the same. Over the years I have experimented with and tried many recipes and some of them never disappointed me. Today I want to tell you about a slightly different version of saffron brioche with tuppo, without eggs, lard, or butter, that still remains very soft, like my Very soft brioche made with a potato dough. In many areas of Sicily it is common to add saffron to the brioche dough, which not only gives a wonderful aroma but replaces the color given by egg yolks, making them also less greasy and lighter. By adding saffron I didn’t invent anything; what I did was make my brioche with tuppo a little healthier and vegetarian, substituting sunflower oil for lard and adding a little spreadable cheese to the dough so they stay soft longer. In short, I made soft and fragrant brioches, omitting eggs, butter, or lard, while still achieving exceptional flavor and enviable softness, like my Sicilian sugar braids without eggs and butter. Now I’ll take you into the kitchen and explain the saffron brioche with tuppo recipe. I also add that you can knead the brioches with a food processor like my Mambo CooKing Total Gourmet kitchen robot by CECOTEC, or alternatively with a planetary mixer. Kneading by hand is a bit more complicated, but with patience you could manage. Before we go to the kitchen, remember that if you want to keep up to date with all my recipes, you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 9
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to make saffron brioche with tuppo
- 500 g type 0 flour
- 200 ml milk (warm)
- 85 g sunflower seed oil
- 60 g spreadable cheese (or Greek yogurt)
- 7 g active dry yeast (or 24 g fresh)
- 4 salt
- 80 g sugar
- 1 vial orange flavoring (or orange zest)
- 1 packet vanillin (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- as needed egg (beaten for finishing)
Tools
- Kitchen food processor
- Oven
- Baking pan
- Bowl
Preparation
I kneaded the brioches with a kitchen food processor; you can do the same with a planetary mixer. I believe it’s also possible to knead by hand, although I haven’t tried it yet. Gather all the ingredients, including the warm milk, into the processor bowl. Keep the yeast aside for a couple of minutes and dissolve it in a little milk taken from the total. Start the dough function; on my Mambo it runs for 4 minutes at speed 3. When that phase is finished, wait one minute and restart it, this time adding the yeast. At the end of kneading you should obtain a well-developed, elastic dough (the same result if you use a planetary mixer).
Turn the dough out onto the work surface and work it vigorously by hand for a few minutes, making folds. Then shape it into a ball, place it in a bowl, and put it in a warm place (the oven with the light on) to rise until doubled in size.
This will take about 2 hours.
Only after the dough has risen, continue with the next steps.
Turn the dough out onto the work surface, deflate it slightly, and using a bench scraper divide it into pieces of 80 g (about 3.0 oz) and 20 g (about 0.7 oz), in equal numbers.
Form small balls from both the larger and smaller pieces, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rise again until doubled — this may take about 90 minutes. Time is indicative; take a photo before and after: a good rise is essential to get very soft brioches!
Once doubled, make a deep hole in the center of each larger ball with a quick, decisive press of a moistened finger (be careful not to deflate them), then shape the smaller balls without deflating them and form a point to place in the center of the hole.
Brush everything with beaten egg diluted with a little milk and bake at 338°F (170°C), conventional/no-fan, for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool before filling with granita or ice cream; if you want to serve them as a side, you can also eat them warm.
They are also excellent filled with hazelnut spread or simply on their own.
Store the brioches sealed in a food bag; they will keep well for about two days. Alternatively, once cold, freeze them and thaw as needed.
Tips and notes
If you want to knead by hand, add the liquids little by little so you don’t end up with an overly sticky mass. Once the liquids are combined, add the spreadable cheese and, when absorbed, add the egg. If the dough remains sticky, don’t add flour; instead alternate 10 minutes of working the dough with 10 minutes of rest until you obtain a well-developed, elastic dough.
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