I love a good brioche bread. The rich dough is so luscious and silky even to work with. The baked loaf always smells incredible and looks gorgeous with its deep golden crust.
I have made brioche numerous times with different variations. Well I had plenty of time to play with recipes, during my short but sweet bakery career. I used to save the off cuts of danish dough and make flaky brioche loaves.
Just the addition of some eggs, fat and some sugar takes the basic bread dough to whole new level. Brioche are versatile. You can make them in to individual rolls and can be served with any spread. Or use them to make burgers or sliders. Bake it as a loaf and slice it to make incredible french toast. Honestly, I can much it down as is with something as simple as some butter or honey.
I have been thinking of making a dairy-free version for a long time. I always go towards using coconut products to replace dairy as I am very familiar with flavors and textures that coconut brings to your food. Growing up in the beautiful island of Sri Lanka, coconut was part of our lives. We used several coconuts a week and either grow them r buy them fresh from markets. Even though I don’t have that luxury now, I tend to use coconut as a substitute whenever possible.
Instagram inspires my bakes most of the time!. I borrowed this coconut and matcha idea from @makeitdough. I am glad I tried this combo and couldn’t be happier that it worked both flavor and texture wise. But if you want skip the matcha part altogether and bake this as a coconut loaf or rolls.
As you can see my plait is not perfect as a result of the white dough having a different constancy. I have mentioned this in the tips section, so you will know exactly how to fix it!
Tip 1:
Use a mild coconut oil if you don’t like the coconut smell or flavor too much. I have used a neutral one which isn’t strong so it doesn’t overpower any other flavors
Tip 2:
Use thick coconut cream/milk not the light version. If you have coconut milk powder, you can use that too. Either add it straight to flour mixture or dissolve in a 1/3 cups of water and use in-place of milk. Make sure to adjust water content depending on what you use. As a general rule of thumb, add water gradually. Coconut oil and milk both help give the crumb a softer texture and keep the loaf moist for longer.
Tip 3:
If you are doing the match half, you’ll see after adding matcha powder, the dough becomes slightly tougher to the touch than the other dough half. So add about 4 tbsp of flour to the plain dough to counter balance that. Keep adjusting the consistency until you are satisfied. The two dough pieces should have equal consistency for them to rise evenly. This is not crucial! Don’t worry too much as it will not affect the flavor just the look!
Final proof before baking is important. This may take anywhere from couple of hours to several, depending on the room temperature. You can speed this up by placing the dough in a warmer place.
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Egg wash is optional but gives a nice shine to the finished product. there are few options:
- egg white – beat the egg white and brush the tops and sprinkle with sugar or sesame or poppy
- Egg yolk – dilute an egg yolk with tsp of water and brush the top for a deep golden color, and sprinkle with sugar(optional)
Make sure to cool the loaf completely before slicing. This will ensure a clean cut and less drag. And loaf is softer when it’s warm, so might be a little difficult to handle. once completely cooled, it can be stored in a air-tight container at room temperature for up to a day. This can be refrigerated too. Freeze the slices to keep for longer but thaw them before serving, re-heating or toasting.
Try the recipe and let me know how it all went. If you have any questions, post them as comments or ask them on Instagram. I’d be happy to help.
Ingredients
- 400 g all purpose flour + extra to dust and adjust consistency
- 3 eggs
- 200 g active starter
- 1/3 cups coconut milk
- 80 g coconut oil
- 40 g coconut sugar (can use castor sugar too)
- 10 g salt
- 5 tbsp (or more to your liking) unsweetened matcha powder
Instructions
- Mix everything except for the matcha powder in a large bowl, using a spatula.
- Transfer the mixture in to a bowl of a stand mixture, with a dough hook attached.
- Mix on low speed for 5 minutes or until it becomes smooth.
- Add a little flour and scrap the sides and keep mixing for another couple of minutes until dough is released from sides.
- If you are doing the matcha version, this is the stage to divide the dough in to two equal parts.
- Reserve one half in a separate bowl. Add matcha powder to the dough in the mixing bowl, and mix until dough is evenly colored. Once mixed transfer to a separate bowl.
- Now mix 3-4 tbsp of flour to the plain dough and mix it for a couple of minutes, until it achieves the same consistency as the matcha dough.
- Once done transfer to a bowl.
- Cover the two bowls and let it sit at room temperature for 5 hours. Its
- Give the dough a fold every two hours to help it get stronger.
- Transfer the bowl in to the refrigerator for a long cold bulk proof (this should be several hours at least 8 or overnight)
- Take the dough pieces out and let it sit at room temperature until they become pliable, but not too much
- You need the dough to be stiff so its easy to handle.
- shape the dough however you like.
- I have done the braid with four strands (4 over 2, 1 over 3, 2 over 3 and repeat)
- You can either make a tin loaf shape or make mini brioche buns or bake the braided loaf straight on a pan.
- Let the shaped loaf or rolls rise until almost double in size.
- preheat oven to 400 F
- Brush with egg wash, sprinkle some sugar and bake for 20 minutes.
- If top is too brown, cover the top with a foil.
- Reduce temperature to 350 F and bake for a further 20 minutes.
- Switch off the oven and let it bake for an extra 10 minutes to dry off.
- Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes and then cool the loaf on a wire rack.
- Slice once completely cooled.
