Brioche Mousseline

A variation on the brioche recipe of yesterday is the brioche mousseline. The word mousseline in French refers to fabric, like silk or chiffon. Light and smooth, creamy and rich. Like the sounds of the group I have the Absolute Pleasure of singing with tonight at Target Field—The Baby Blues is the name of the group, a bunch of musically gifted pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons play songs they dedicate to their patients and their families—and it’s a beer tasting. Hope I can get some photos/videos to share.

Brioche Mousseline

Adapted from The Village Baker

4 packages of yeast (4 cups sourdough starter)

½ cup warm water

6 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp salt

½ cup sugar

6 eggs

3 sticks of butter (holy moley!)

¼ cup cold milk

Glaze: 2 eggs whisked with 2 tbsp milk

Mix flour, salt, and sugar together. Beat the eggs separately. Make a fountain with the flour mixture, setting aside a ½ cup. Mix the eggs into the fountain and the yeast until homogenous. Then add the softened butter by stretching and folding the dough on a worktable. When butter is incorporated and dough is soft and shiny, add the milk on the table into the dough, a few drops at a time, crashing it in. Knead in the remaining flour mixture.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and let rise for two hours until it has doubled in volume.

Punch dough down and wrap it in plastic, let it rise in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 hours. It should be cut and shaped into different brioches after it has been removed and allowed to warm for about 40 minutes.

To shape the mousseline, place a piece of dough the size of a grapefruit into an oiled small coffee can (13 oz, approximately). The result will be a cylindrical brioche.

Glaze immediately after it has been shaped. Let rise for another 2-3 hours. Glaze again before baking in a preheated oven at 385 degrees for 20-25 minutes. The brioche should be golden brown. If they feel a little moist underneath when you place it on the cooling rack, allow to bake for a few more minutes.

This mousseline went to Dave, my brother, so I have no idea if it tasted good. Dave was Izzy’s babysitter while we raced on Sunday—he is the world’s best bro. I am a third of the way through the year of bread recipes, and also, more than a third of the way through KP and my marathon trek to 50 marathons in 50 states–Cincinnati was #20!