Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Brioche
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Cut the salt into small bits and mix it with the flour.
Add the eggs one by one, working the flour gently until a smooth paste forms.
If desired, add a seventh egg or one or two yolks for a richer dough.
Ensure the dough is workable and not too moist.
Once the leaven has risen, spread the paste.
Mix the spread paste with the leaven using your hands.
Cut the mixture into portions.
Mix the portions thoroughly to incorporate the leaven.
Shape and rise
Dust a cloth with flour.
Roll the brioche in the floured cloth.
Place the rolled brioche in a pan.
Let the dough rise in a cool place in summer or a warm place in winter, preferably overnight.
Knead the dough again in the morning.
Shape the dough into uniform balls.
Press the tops of the balls slightly with your thumb.
Brush the tops of the balls with egg yolk.
Place a smaller ball in the hollow of each.
Bake
Glaze the entire surface with egg yolk.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 30 minutes.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough together and lets it rise.
- Yeast
- Produces gas as it ferments, making the dough rise and become light.
- Eggs
- Add richness, moisture and structure, and help the dough set and brown in the oven.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds sweetness and browning.
- Coarse sea salt
- Adds flavour and controls yeast activity and dough strength.
The step that matters
Ensure the dough is workable and not too moist. Brioche dough is very rich and soft. If it is too wet, gluten cannot form enough structure, so the dough spreads and bakes flat. Adding flour gradually keeps it elastic enough to hold its shape.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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