Matcha brioches

I have several food blogs that I love perusing periodically. Fanny from Foodbeam being one them. She has a really gorgeous food blog, and lately, I saw her repost her matcha brioches recipe. I think I had bookmarked them some time back, but never got around to making them. It's been a while since I've baked any breads, so I decided to try my hand at these pretty buns.

 Matcha brioches

 Shaping; Second round of proofing

The recipe was quite straight forward, and Fanny has very clear instructions on how to do the folds. For a more detailed explanation on folding, visit her blog post where she illustrate with a diagram on folding the filling into the brioche dough...

 Matcha madness

One thing to note though, the original instructions was to chill the matcha filling (I made mine and chilled it in the fridge overnight). It was still quite a sticky semi-soft mass when I peeked at it the next day. I started worrying how was I supposed to scrape the filling onto the brioche dough... And I decided that, heck, maybe I should just stick it in the freezer and see if it hardens. Hey, after a few hours, I checked and the filling had firmed up considerably to a solid block that I can easily place atop the brioche dough! Phew.

Matcha brioche; A cuppa green tea

The weather was chilly, and I shared half of a matcha brioche with my Sis soon after I removed it from the oven. Paired with a cuppa of my favourite hot green tea, mmmm. Warm insides. (:

Matcha Brioches (adapted from Fanny at foodbeam)
makes 12 small brioches

Brioche dough
300g bread flour
60g caster sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
125g whole milk
1 egg
50g butter, diced and at room temperature

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the butter and mix until it forms a rough dough.
On an unfloured surface, start kneading the dough incorporating the butter as you do so until it forms a smooth ball; around 8 minutes. Dough may seem extremely buttery initially while you are kneading the butter in but don't fret, as you continue to knead, the buttery dough will become become a soft pillowy dough. Place the dough back into the bowl – cover with a cloth – and leave in a warm place for 2 hours or until double in size.

Matcha filling
80g milk
1 egg white
50g caster sugar
20g flour
20g matcha powder
10g butter

Bring the milk to the boil. While it’s heating, mix the egg white and sugar in a bowl until combined. Mix in the flour and matcha green tea, and beat until homogeneous.
When the milk is boiling, pour it over the matcha mixture, whisking as you do so. Transfer back into the pan, and cook on medium heat until thick. Mix in the butter.
Spread it on a baking tray lined with cling film, around 20×15cm. Freeze till firm.

Remove any air from the brioche dough by gently patting it down, then roll it into a 30×20cm rectangle. Place the matcha filling in the middle, then fold the dough over it, sealing the extremities together. Roll into a longer rectangle, then make a tour double. Repeat the folding one more time, then roll the dough back into a 30×20cm. Roll the dough onto itself to form a log. Trim the ends, then using a sharp knife, slice into 3cm-thick segments. Butter 12 5.5cm-wide rings, and place the slices into them, cut side up. Cover loosely with cling film, and allow to rise for 30 to 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

I was lazy and shaped the dough into eight brioches rolls (probably because I only had eight metal rings...). The brioches turned out pretty good. It was soft and fluffy, and the matcha could be stronger, but then again, I like my matcha goodies super matcha-y. I think the recipe can easily be adapted - just replace the matcha powder with other flavourings. I'm thinking sesame, chocolate, coffee, dried berry powder...

In fact, I tried out the recipe again a few days later, replacing the matcha with some Valrhona cocoa powder...another post! ;)