Procedure for making chocolate chip brioche

• Let’s start preparing the chocolate chip brioche. First, you need to prepare a very coarse pre-ferment. You don’t need to use a stand mixer. Pour the yeast into a bowl, add the milk, and dissolve the yeast by stirring with a fork or spoon. Once the yeast is dissolved, add the flour and mix coarsely with a fork. Let it rise at room temperature for about half an hour, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean cloth. When you see bubbles forming and it has doubled in volume, it is ready to be used.

• Even for preparing the second dough, you won’t need a stand mixer. Simply take the bowl with the first dough, add the warm water and flour. Now, with the help of a fork, mix until you get a very soft but homogenous mixture. It will be almost liquid; don’t worry, it’s supposed to be like that. Cover the bowl again with plastic wrap or a clean cloth and let it rise for about 1 and a half hours.

• For this dough, you will need a stand mixer. Use the hook you usually use for kneading. Pour the dough you just prepared into the stand mixer bowl, add the sugar, and turn on the stand mixer. Let it operate at medium speed until the sugar is completely incorporated into the dough. Now add the flour little by little until it is completely incorporated. Cut the butter, which should be at room temperature, into small pieces. Add it to the stand mixer bowl, always in action, little by little until fully incorporated. Let it knead until it is well attached to the hook.

• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for half an hour, then put it in the fridge overnight.

• The next morning, remove the bowl from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour. Place the bowl with the dough that has rested all night in the stand mixer, add the sugar, and let it incorporate. Then add the flour, egg yolk, and when it is incorporated into the dough, also add the whole egg.

• When the eggs are well incorporated, add a tablespoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Knead well until everything is combined. Add the butter in small pieces little by little and continue kneading until you see that the dough detaches from the bowl. Add the chocolate chips and knead further until it is combined. Let the stand mixer work without rushing; it will take 5-10 minutes

• Cover the bowl and let it rise at room temperature for 3 hours. Then take the dough and divide it into pieces, form a ball, and place it in the baking cups. Cover the baking cups with a cloth and let them rise for a few hours; the dough should reach about 1 inch from the edge.

• Preheat the oven to 340°F and when it is hot, bake the chocolate chip brioche and cook for 30 minutes. When they are ready, take them out of the oven and let them cool.

• Cut the dark chocolate into small pieces and put it in a saucepan or bowl with the butter and melt in a bain-marie or in the microwave.

• Pour the ganache over the brioche using a spoon and add the sugar granules. Let the chocolate solidify in a cool place or in the refrigerator for about ten minutes.