Sourdough Brioche

Step 1 – FEED STARTER/MAKE THE LEVAIN

• Take 120g of your sourdough starter and feed it 120g bread flour + 40g water + 20g sugar
• Wait for it to 3x in size –it will be ready when the top stops doming and starts to crater a little

Step 2 – MIXING

• In your stand mixer, mix ingredients (except the butter) just until you get a windowpane
• Then add in the butter. Mix until you get a windowpane (mixer at speed 2 for around 10-16 min)

Step 3 – BULK FERMENTATION/1st RISE

• Roughly shape the dough into a taut ball and put it in a greased bowl
• Bulk proof for 4hrs at 74F (gauge time if your room is cooler or warmer)

Step 4 – COLD PROOFING/2nd RISE

• Degas and cold proof in your fridge overnight (~8hrs)

Step 5 – SOURDOUGH SHAPING

• This is where you have many options
• sourdough brioche dough is so versatile, you can make any sourdough sweet bread out of this recipe
• the difference is in the shaping
• and the shaping dictates how long to bake and how high the temp

For example:

• Dinner rolls – divide the dough into equal balls and shape into buns
• Burger buns – divide the dough into larger balls and shape into buns
• Hot dogs – divide the dough into equal parts and roll tightly into logs, pinch the seam
• Challah – divide the dough into 3-5 parts, roll into logs, and then braid the dough
• Donuts – roll the dough into a rectangle, punch out circles with a cookie cutter, final proof and then fry the dough

Step 6 – FINAL PROOFING/3rd RISE

• After shaping, final proof (room temp) the dough on the vessel it will be baked in
• Cover lightly because we don’t want it to dry out
• Final proof this for 4-6hrs at room temp (74F),

Step 7 – SOURDOUGH BAKING

• Time to bake when it’s risen and jiggly, *almost* doubled in size
• Egg-wash and bake in a pre-heated 350F oven for 20-35 min (meaning, check on it every 5-10 min at the 20 min mark)
• Like I said above, baking times will depend on your shaping,
• the bigger the baking vessel, the longer it will take to bake (like a loaf pan)
• the bigger the shaping of the dough, the longer it will take to bake (like challah, sandwich bread, babka, etc.)
• the shorter and wider the baking vessel, the shorter it will take to bake (like a sheet pan)
• the smaller the shaping of the dough, the shorter it will take to bake (small dinner rolls, crescent rolls, etc.)
• you as the baker will have to gauge how long to bake by checking on the oven around the 20 min mark
• depending on what you are making, baking times vary between 20 min to 50 min –it just depends on what you are baking