Soft, fragrant, and irresistibly delicious, brioche with tuppo are a symbol of the Sicilian pastry tradition. Their name comes from their particular shape: a small dome on top of the brioche resembles the “tuppo“, which is the bun that women once wore in their hair.
These golden and fragrant brioches are best enjoyed accompanied by a granita, typically lemon, almond, or mulberry, or stuffed with ice cream for a dream breakfast or snack.
Making them at home requires a bit of patience, but the result will reward every wait: a journey into the scents and flavors of the Sicilian summer, ready to be savored.
Now take a minute to read the recipe and then…let’s cook and eat!!
See also
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 cups Manitoba flour
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (or 12 g of fresh yeast)
- 6 tbsps lard
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- to taste orange zest
- 1 egg
- to taste milk
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Zester
- 1 Kitchen Scale
- 1 Pastry Board
- 1 Metal Dough Scraper
- 1 Parchment Paper
- 1 Baking Tray
- 1 Cooling Rack
- 1 Brush in silicone
Making brioche with tuppo at home, as good as those typical of Sicilian pastry shops, is possible and requires just a bit of skill, as with all leavened products, and patience.
Working the dough with a stand mixer will make the job much easier.
Gather the flour, yeast, sugar, water, and eggs in the mixing bowl of the stand mixer.
Knead with the spiral hook and, when the ingredients start to come together, add the vanilla extract and grated orange zest and resume kneading.
When the dough begins to bind, add the salt, a first portion of lard, and restart the mixer.
When the first portion of lard has been absorbed by the dough, add the remaining portion of lard a little at a time, adding the next amount only when the previous one has been completely absorbed.
Work the dough until it is smooth and homogeneous.
Then transfer the dough to a bowl, cover it, and let it rest in the oven turned off until it doubles in size.
Once risen, take the dough, deflate it on a pastry board and divide it into 7 pieces of about 3.5 oz and as many pieces of 0.7 oz and round them.
Shape the smaller pieces so they have a thinner end, while make a hollow at the center of the larger pieces.
Assemble the brioches by nesting the smaller pieces of dough into the larger ones.
Brush the brioches with a mix of egg and milk and let them rise until they double in size.
Once risen, brush each brioche with some more milk and egg and proceed with baking, in a preheated fan oven, at 355°F for about 15 minutes.
Once out of the oven, let your brioche with tuppo cool slightly before filling them with ice cream 😉.
