No clever title available

brioche finale, originally uploaded by Kim De.

All my creativity has been poured into this bread, so no catchy title today. Brioche Filled With Chocolate Ganache. Honestly, the name says it all.

Now the fun part is this is from a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The brioche dough makes enough for 4 different pastries (several besides my choice are included in the book). It can be frozen until needed, which makes it a great choice if you bake a lot.

The dough was made yesterday and put in the refrigerator. Like all doughs I am making in the month of August, it was quite sticky (humid) and was difficult to work with. I have confidence if made again in a dryer month, it wouldnt be so sticky. After the ganache was made (I melted the chocolate in the microwave), the dough was rolled out so the chocolate could be spread on top.

The dough and chocolate are then rolled up and put into a bread pan for a final rise. I didnt try very hard to make the dough fit evenly as it was sticking to every surface it came into contact with.

The final step was baking. After it cooled I gently sliced it. The sticky tacky dough was worth the effort, as the final product was as flaky as a slice from a pastry shop. I recommend this bread!

Brioche dough (Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day)

(makes about 4 loaves)

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (2 packets)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey (this is my all time favorite!)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
7 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix the yeast, salt, eggs honey and melted butter with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or lidded (not airtight) food container.

Mix in the flour, using a spoon until all of the flour is incorporated.

Cover (not airtight), and allow to sit at room temperature for about two hours.

The dough can be used as soon as it is chilled. This dough is way too sticky to use after the initial rise, but once it is chilled it is very easy to handle. The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. After that you can freeze the dough.


Brioche Filled with Chocolate Ganache (Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day)

1 pound of the pre-made brioche dough.
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Valrhona or equivalent)
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon rum
5 tablespoons corn syrup NOTE: I used honey
1 egg white, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Granulated sugar for sprinkling on top



Melt the chocolate over low heat or in the microwave until smooth. Remove from heat, add the butter, and stir until incorporated.

Stir together the cocoa powder and rum, then add the corn syrup and mix until smooth. Add to the chocolate mixture.

Lightly butter a 9x4x3-inch loaf pan (non-stick is fine). Take the 1-pound piece of dough, dust with flour, and shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, until the top surface is smooth and taut. Roll out the ball into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle, dusting with flour as needed.

Spread 1/2 cup of the ganache evenly over the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Starting at the short end, roll up the dough, sealing the bare edges as you roll.

Gently tuck the loose ends underneath, elongate into an oval, and drop into the prepared pan. Allow to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using a pastry brush, paint the top crust with the egg white wash, then sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Bake the loaf for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the sugar caramelizes. Remove from the pan and cool slightly; drizzle the remaining ganache over the top crust.

Cool completely before slicing.