When I first moved to Iowa five years ago, I wasn’t really prepared for the long winter season that seemed to start early in the fall, and last all the way until March, or even April. The wind was cruel and the icy roads were enough to make me want to curl up under the covers and hibernate until spring. One of the ways that I have found to embrace our long winter months in Iowa was bread baking. I started with this easy Brioche Loaves from Ina Garten, that had very forgiving dough. It was successful and definitely a must if you are new to bread baking. I was hooked. The wonderful aroma of breads baking in the oven filled up my kitchen every time I got the chance to bake throughout the winter season.

This year, I wanted to use Dorie’s recipe for the same bread, and wanted to see if they are different. Dorie’s recipe was definitely more buttery, and had more delicate crust. Ina’s recipe was also a lot more “cakey” (if there is such word!). I can’t say which one is better than the other, they are just slightly different, and it is really up to your personal preference. This recipe required a lot more time to make, with the kneading, but it was worth the wait! I enjoyed them fresh out of the oven, sliced with homemade jam, toasted and lathered with peanut butter, and even turned them into French Toast.  If you have tried both recipes, let me know which one you prefer! Or, if you have a different recipe all together. Brioche is such a special treat, I’d have a hard time believing there is a recipe that is superior than others

Ingredients
For the brioche
2 packets active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

For the glaze
1 large egg
1 Tbl water

Directions
To make the brioche
Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can—this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off in a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you’re doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point you’ll have a fairly dry, shaggy mass.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You’ll have a dough that is very soft, almost like a batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the covered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

The next day, butter and flour two 81/2-x-41/2-inch loaf pans.

Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3l/z inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time will depend on how warm the room is.)

Getting ready to bake: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
To make the glaze:  beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.
Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

Yield: 2 loaves

Serving Suggestion
As soon as the loaves cool, they are ready to be sliced thickly and served, toasted or not, with butter and jam.

Storage Recommendation
Well-wrapped (cooled) loaves will keep overnight at room temperature. If you’d like, you can rewarm the loaves by wrapping them in aluminum foil and heating them for about 15 minutes in a 350-degree-F oven. The loaves can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost in the wrapping.

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan‘s Baking From My Home to Yours