Super soft brioche braids… Imagine the aroma of freshly baked sweet bread filling the kitchen on a Sunday morning: there is no better wake-up than one accompanied by super soft brioche braids.
These brioches are the perfect balance between the lightness of a cloud and the deliciousness of a rich, buttery, and fragrant dough. Thanks to slow and careful proofing, their crumb is stringy and incredibly soft, melting in the mouth with the first bite.
Why will you love this recipe?
Extreme softness: A secret of hydration and handling that keeps them fresh for days.
Versatility: Great to enjoy “on their own,” dipped in milk, or filled with chocolate chips or sugar, but also with simple granulated sugar on top.
Artisanal aesthetics: The braid shape is not only beautiful to see, but allows the heat to distribute evenly, ensuring perfect baking.
Whether you are a baking enthusiast or a beginner searching for the perfect breakfast, preparing these braids is a little ritual of wellness that transforms simple ingredients like flour, milk, and butter into a masterpiece of sweetness.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Rest time: 15 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 20 braids
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 233.42 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 45.81 (g) of which sugars 11.97 (g)
- Proteins 8.71 (g)
- Fat 2.01 (g) of which saturated 0.75 (g)of which unsaturated 0.71 (g)
- Fibers 1.35 (g)
- Sodium 14.43 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 90 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 6 1/3 cups Manitoba flour
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs (medium)
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk (at room temperature)
- 0.88 oz fresh yeast
- 1 tbsp orange (orange paste or grated orange peel if you don't have it)
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Brush
Steps
In a stand mixer, or by hand if you don’t have one, combine the flours with the sugar
Add the salt,
the eggs
100 g of soft butter
Dissolve the yeast in the milk
and pour it into the stand mixer
Add the orange paste, or if you don’t have it, grated orange peel works just fine.
Work the dough at medium speed and when it starts to come together, pour in the other 100 g of soft butter
Work with the stand mixer until the butter is fully absorbed by the dough and it becomes soft, elastic, and homogeneous. It will take about 15 minutes. Place the dough in a bowl to proof covered with plastic wrap for about 16 hours in the fridge. I leave it in the fridge overnight. If you’re in a hurry, you can proof it in a turned-off oven with the light on for about 4 hours and then shape the braids.
In the morning, remove the dough from the fridge. It will be hard; don’t worry, it’s normal. Take pieces of about 100 g each from the dough
Divide each piece into three parts
Form the balls
Do the same until you finish the dough
At this point, take the three balls and make three logs
Form the braid
Now you can choose whether to bake them immediately and let them proof in an oven preheated to 95°F and then turned off for about 1 hour
Or you can store them in the freezer without doing the second proofing and remove them as needed. The important thing is to let them proof outside the fridge in a turned-off oven with the light on for 8 hours before baking
At this point, gently brush the braids with the egg and milk mixture
Add chocolate chips on top if desired
or sprinkles and bake the brioche braids in a preheated ventilated oven at 356°F for 13 minutes.
