BRAIDED RED BEAN BRIOCHE
Bread is truly a labor of love. I’ve never really had much interest in making bread (or dough in general) because I wasn’t inclined to invest the time and energy needed for something that I can easily find in stores that honestly probably tastes better than my own. But time is something I have a lot of these days, and this has naturally led me to more involved baking projects. Cynthia of Two Red Bowls had the perfect starter recipe for my bread novice self — this recipe is no-knead, doesn’t require a temperamental starter (*cough*sourdough*cough*), only uses 3 tbps of butter (!!! for a brioche??) and everyday pantry items, and incorporates red bean paste (which I love as filling in bakery breads).
A few notes on this recipe — I used instant yeast for the first round and was left with a hard ball of dough after refrigerating overnight, versus the correct, wet and sticky mound that happened the second time with active dry yeast. Cynthia notes that you can replace the active dry yeast with instant by using less of it and skipping proofing, but I didn’t find success with that and suggest the original active dry yeast approach. I also think the limited fat content makes this a denser, drier loaf than one might expect from a brioche, but I still found it satisfying for the amount of effort and ingredients required. The bread itself is a lovely, lightly honey-scented base that lets the red bean shine through and add some of the moistness back in. Just avoid over-flouring the surface as you roll out your dough so that the bread doesn’t pick up too much extra flour.
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Braided Red Bean Brioche
From Two Red Bowls
Makes one 8” x 4” loaf
3 tbsp lukewarm milk
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg, plus 1 more for egg wash
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 cups minus 1 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup red bean paste
To make:
Day 1: Warm the milk to just lukewarm (comfortable to the touch but not hot) in a small bowl. Stir in the yeast and let sit for a few minutes (~5 min). You’ll know it’s ready when foam forms on top. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and yeast mixture, egg, honey, and melted butter. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, using a spoon to stir, until all of the flour is incorporated. Cover the large bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap, and allow to sit at room temperature for about two hours, then chill in refrigerator overnight or up to 5 days.
Day 2: When ready to bake, roll the dough out on a floured surface to about an 8×11 inch rectangle. Spread red bean paste evenly across the dough, then roll it up, cinnamon roll style. Braid the dough by cutting the roll down the middle to get two long pieces, then cut lengthways to get four strands each with one open side. Turn the strands so that the open sides are facing upwards and braid two together by pinching the ends, then lifting one strand over the other until you reach the end. Pinch the end, then bring the two ends together to form a circle, then repeat with the other two strands (Cynthia linked a tutorial here). Line a 8×4 loaf pan with parchment paper, then gently lift the two circles of dough into the loaf pan. Cover the loaf pan with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until doubled. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together an egg and a splash of water or milk and brush the egg wash over the loaf, then bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the loaf begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil for the remainder of baking.