Brioche

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Put milk in a small saucepan and heat to 130 degrees.

2. Step 2

   Put 4¼ cups flour, the sugar, salt, yeast, 8 tablespoons butter and 1 cup egg yolks into the container of a food processor. Start blending while gradually adding the milk to produce very stiff dough. If blending slows, stop the machine and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Knead by hand about 5 minutes, adding up to ¼ cup more flour to produce a spongy dough. Add as little flour as possible. When ready, the dough may be a trifle sticky.

3. Step 3

   Lightly butter inside of a mixing bowl and add ball of dough. Cover with clean cloth and let stand 1 hour and 10 minutes or until double in bulk.

4. Step 4

   Butter two 8-cup loaf pans. Divide dough in half and shape into 2 oval shapes. Put one oval in each buttered pan and press the dough, making it rounded on top. Place in warm, draft-free place and cover with clean cloth. Let rise about 35 minutes.

5. Step 5

   Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

6. Step 6

   Using scissors, clip the top lightly and uniformly in several spots up and down the center of each loaf. Beat the one egg yolk with the water and brush the top of each brioche with a little of the mixture.

7. Step 7

   Place in the oven and bake 35 minutes to an internal temperature of about 200 degrees.