BRIOCHE .

Brioche is a rich, light yeast bread of French origin. It is made with a good amount of egg yolks and butter, usually baked in fluted oven proof moulds, though a traditional muffin pan is quite acceptable. There is no rule as to what shape you bake your brioche. Ingredients......375 gm of plain flour, 5 gm of dried yeast, 1/4 tsp of salt, 55 gm of castor sugar, 180 ml of warm milk, 5 egg yolks, lightly mixed, 125 gm of butter / marg, 1 extra egg yolk, lightly beaten, 1 dsp of castor sugar. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix together the sugar and milk, until the sugar dissolves. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, then stir in the egg yolks. Using a wooden spoon, stir until the mixture stiffens. Now your hands to mix until a firm dough forms. Divide the butter into 10 portions. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work each piece of bvutter/ marg into the dough, kneading well after each addition and the dough becomes smooth and glossy. Place the dough in lightly oiled large bowl, cover and stand in a warm place for about 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size. Grease 12 fluted ovenproof moulds or 12 hole muffin pan. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Divide the dough into 12 portions, remove about a 1/4 of each portion. Roll both the large and small portions into balls. Place the large portions in the prepared pan / moulds, make a small indent in the top of each portion with your fingertip. Place a small round on each indentation. Brush each brioche with the extra egg yolk and sprinkle with a little castor sugar. Stand uncovered, in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size. Bake the brioche in the preheated oven, uncovered for 20 minutes or until golden brown.