Brioche feuilletée (puff pastry brioche)

There is this bakery where my parents live that makes delicious breads and viennoiseries. I'm not so crazy about their desserts, but they've created this unique brioche, made of homemade puff pastry rolls, laced with a sugary syrup, which we just have to have whenever we visit. I've looked up their recipe everywhere online for a very long time, without success, until someone posted the following recipe by Philippe Conticini on their blog and instagram profile. It turns out to be extremely similar to what I was looking for. It is a little bit time-consuming to make but the result is worth every effort you put into this! It does taste as good as it looks, so why not give it a try!

 

 DOUGH

510 grams (about 4 cups) all-purpose flour

 1 teaspoon salt

40 grams sugar

15 cl. milk (about 2/3 cup)

20 grams fresh baker's yeast

3 eggs

50 grams butter, room temperature (3 and 1/2 tablespoons)

300 grams butter for layering (2 and 2/3 sticks)

SYRUP

50 grams sugar (1/4 cup)

30 grams water (1/8 cup)

brown sugar to sprinkle (1/3 cup)

DIRECTIONS

Make the syrup. In a saucepan over high heat, whisk sugar into water to dissolve, and bring to a boil. Boil for a minute, then remove from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of your food processor, place sugar, eggs, milk and flour and crumble yeast on top. Knead for 5 minutes until the dough forms a ball. Then add salt and butter previously cut in small cubes. Knead until butter is fully incorporated and dough is smooth. Cover dough loosely with cling film and let double in volume.

When the dough has doubled in volume (1h30 for me), place on parchment/baking paper. With floured hands, punch to remove gas and give it a ball shape.
Put the dough in the fridge to stop it from rising and make it easier to work with.

Meanwhile, shape the layering butter into a rectangular 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 in.). Use parchment paper to enfold butter and flatten with a rolling pin. Place in the fridge, so that the butter can be at the same temperature as the dough.

Take the dough out and spread into a rectangle 45 by 25 cm (18 x 10 in.) with the rolling pin. Place the butter in the center and fold the two sides over to enclose the butter in it.

Turn dough with the folded edge facing you then spread the dough over 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in.).

Do the 1st round of layering by folding the bottom third of the dough over the middle, then the upper third. Turn to a 90 ° angle in order to have the folded edge on the left side and chill for 20 minutes.

Repeat this process 2 more times, letting dough chill in the fridge for 20 minutes between each round.

When all 3 rounds are done, roll the dough into a rectangle 35 by 45 cm (14 x 18 in.).

Brush surface with syrup and sprinkle with brown sugar, reserving a 3 cm strip (about 1 in.) on one side lengthwise.
Roll the dough up tightly to form a coil. Press well on the seam to seal. Transfer the roll on a board and cut into 10 rolls (4,5 cm wide) by using cooking string.

Butter two loaf pans (I used baking paper in one of them but it didn't make a difference).
Place 5 rolls per pan.

 Let them rise until doubled in volume (about 1 hour depending on the room temperature).

Preheat oven to 180°C  (about 350°F) and bake for 30 minutes (golden brown). Enjoy!      

 

2023 update: I recently made this brioche in panettone paper molds (cutting the roll of dough into 9 equal parts instead of 10 and placing 3 in each mold)