I never used to be interested in anything red bean, growing up. Which is funny, given that it was one of the first Asian desserts I’ve made on this blog. Maybe like the Eastern equivalent of vanilla ice cream, it struck me as boring, and (knowing me and my tendency towards decadence) I always liked to opt for the sweeter, creamier yellow custard steamed buns, or the lotus paste mooncakes, leaving their red bean sisters to my parents. But recently good old red beans have experienced a little resurgence for me — as richer foods tend to overwhelm me more easily these days, red bean paste and sweets have truly grown on me as a comforting, home-like sweet that is flavorful but not cloying.
Which was why I decided a few weeks ago to stick it in a very new love of mine — glorious, glorious brioche. (Did I just say that rich foods tend to overwhelm me? Did I? Hmm.) Brioche has been on my to-make list for months, but I’ve been scared off by the idea of hand-kneading it, with its illogical 40% fat content, a stick of butter masquerading as a dough. And then the genius godsends that are Sarah Kieffer and Artisan Bread in 5 came into my life, and … the rest is history. The result is a slow-rise, no-knead (!) brioche that is just as decadent and delicious as its traditionally hand-kneaded counterpart — still fluffy, soft, and sweet, but with only half the butter and little to none of the fuss. I’m obsessed.
So I have to apologize in advance for the posts to come, because after this I got a little carried away. I made this brioche, and then I kept on going and made a savory one, and then naturally after that came stuffed French toast … someday I’ll stop baking brioche. Promise.
Until then, have this red bean brioche, to start. I took my cues from Sarah and this cacao nib braided chocolate bread, then Melissa’s niftily braided riff on it. And pretty much did nothing else that was my own, other than swapping out the chocolate filling for this red bean paste. I’m still daydreaming about trying that original chocolate filling, though, or black sesame (!!), or Nutella. I told you I have a brioche problem.
Braided red bean brioche.
barely adapted from Artisan Bread in 5‘s brioche recipe and Sarah’s braided chocolate bread recipe collaboration with them. makes one small loaf, made in an 8″x4″ pan.
Ingredients
- for the brioche dough:
- 3 tbsp lukewarm milk (or water)
- scant 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten, plus 1 more for egg wash
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup minus 1 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
- for the filling:
- 1/3 cup red bean paste (using this recipe)
Instructions
- Warm the milk to just lukewarm (comfortable to the touch but not hot). Stir in the yeast and let sit for a few minutes — usually 5 minutes is all mine takes. Foam should form on top, which is how you know you’re good to go and the yeast is ready and kickin’.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and yeast mixture, egg, honey, and melted butter.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, using a spoon to stir, until all of the flour is incorporated.
- Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap, and allow to sit at room temperature for about two hours, then chill in refrigerator overnight or up to 5 days.
- When ready to bake, roll the dough out on a floured surface (the dough will be sticky, so make sure to flour first) to about an 8×11 inch rectangle, or about the size of a piece of paper.
- Spread red bean paste evenly across the dough, then roll it up, cinnamon roll style. I braided my bread the same way Melissa has here — first, cut the roll once widthways in the middle, to yield two long pieces. Cut the two long pieces lengthways to end up with four long strands, each with one open side. Turn the strands so that the open sides are facing upwards. Braid two together by pinching the ends, then lifting one strand over the other until you reach the end. Pinch the end, then bring the two ends together to form a circle, then repeat with the other two strands. Line a 8×4 loaf pan with parchment paper, then gently lift the two circles of dough into the pan. (Alternatively, you can just cut lengthways once to yield two strands only, and simply do one long braid, like Sarah has here.)
- Cover again with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until doubled. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk together an egg and a splash of water or milk. Brush the egg wash over the loaf, then bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the loaf begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil for the remainder of baking.
Notes
Just a quick note on yeast — I always use active dry because that’s what I have access to at the grocery store. Active dry yeast requires proofing in warm liquid before mixing with the dry ingredients (as above). If you have instant yeast instead, that’s fine. Just swap out the active dry for slightly less instant (so, here, when it’s already a scant 1/2 tsp, use maybe 1/3 tsp), and instead of proofing it, just sift it in with the flour in Step 3 and skip Step 1 altogether. The same will apply for any other of my yeast recipes.
thatumamilife
I would argue that “brioche problem” is a bit of an oxymoron! This looks wonderful, and I’m glad you found a recipe calling for less butter. Any chance that egg salad recipe from the tiny sammies was worth sharing?
tworedbowls
Haha! Hear hear! And yes, Jeff and Zoe’s recipe is too good to believe, isn’t it?
As for the teeny sandwiches, my egg salad was extraordinarily average … haha! 4 hard-boiled eggs, diced, plus 3-4 tbsp mayo, 1/2 tbsp chopped dill, 1/2 tbsp chopped chives, and some salt and pepper. It was good, but nothing too mindblowing! I was looking at this recipe by Deb at Smitten Kitchen that looks bomb, though.
Erika
OMG my neighbor makes these seed mooncakes (I’m thinking that is the same as the one’s you mentioned).. They are probably the best thing I’ve ever had in my life…seriously.. and this bread..Girl.. this bread is stunning!
tworedbowls
Uh, right?? I love lotus seed mooncakes so much (and did you say your neighbor makes them?! OK now I’m really moving to ATL. Brb.) Thank you so much for the kind words and the RT, lady! <3
molly yeh
this is GORGEOUS!! and yes i want this with black sesame too!!!
tworedbowls
OMG right? I can’t stop thinking about a black sesame filling now!!!!!! Stop. Me. Now.
erika
YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!! Ahhhhh Cynthia this is basically everything I love in one, beautiful, AMAZING-looking loaf!!!! Brioche? Red bean? Slightly healthier?!?!?! I just…can’t. I’m so excited to try this. SO EXCITED. I just picked up some adzuki beans without knowing what I was going to do with them…but now I know! OMG YOU ARE A GODDESS.
tworedbowls
HAHA awww Erika!! Omg I bet your take on this would be gorgeous! Also, I just made red bean topping the other day for ice cream and was thinking of you…. how delicious would that be on top of your shaved ice? (Which I still drool over perpetually.) Yummmm red bean on everything. Hope you’re doing well, lady!
erika
SO MUCH YUM. Can’t waittt (I hope you’re sharing this topping?!) #redbeanerrything
tworedbowls
I sure am!!! But just wait … it’s so easy that you probably don’t even need the recipe from me 🙂
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough
I still can’t pick my jaw up off the floor from how beautiful this brioche looks! Maybe because I also want to inhale the whole thing right this minute.
tworedbowls
Hahaha!! Thanks so much, Steph <3
Lan | morestomach
seriously, homemade bread for the win.
tworedbowls
Yes ma’am!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
Oh my freaking goodness, this Brioche looks so yummy!!
tworedbowls
Thank you so much, Katrina!! It’s so easy that it’s really too good to be true.
mandylee@ladyandpups
I would gladly break this bread with you over a big cup of bubble milk tea. How can you find time to hand knead and bake while keeping a full time job? Totally random thought just came out of nowhere….
tworedbowls
Yes!! How I miss good bubble tea… That’s one thing on my to-do list to make at home. (P.S. The answer is, I do it when I’m not always supposed to. Shhhhhhhhh.)
foodnerd4life
Wow, that looks striking with the bean paste running through it. Must give it a go!
FoodNerd x
http://www.foodnerd4life.com
tworedbowls
Thank you so much! I hope you like it if you do!!
Pang
There is NOTHING wrong with a series of brioche to come; in fact, I am looking forward to that. 🙂
This looks so delicious; I love your photos as always. OH MY Brioche!!!! I shall try it someday 😛
tworedbowls
YAY! At the very least, you and I can have a brioche blog-party next week 😉 You should definitely try it, Pang — it’s so easy and so delicious.
Lindsey
love this beautiful creation, AND your little spin on the filling. i had a student once who would always eat red bean buns, and over time i realized they were a sweet treat, but i never knew back then that beans could be translated into a sweet dish! go figure. anyways, again, such a lovely spin on a “traditional” brioche, m’ lady! and your photos are getting more beautiful/sexier by the minute!
tworedbowls
I know! It’s kind of nuts — after making a few batches of these and especially tasting the red beans when they’re unsweetened, it really has me wondering how other beans taste with sugar added. (It makes me vaguely fascinated and grossed out at the same time.) Thanks so much for the kind words, my dear Linds 🙂
Allison (Spontaneous Tomato)
Beautiful! I love this, and I’m sure the brioche + red bean combination would be rich without being overwhelming. (Also now that you put the idea in my head, I’m pretty sure I NEED to try this with a black sesame filling, asap!)
tworedbowls
Oh my gosh, YES to the black sesame filling!!! It occurred to me only after I finished baking this and now I can’t stop thinking about it… aaah. Please make it so that I can drool over it vicariously 😉
Tamsin | A Certain Adventure
Red bean and brioche seem like an ideal combination! (Also black sesame…mmmm). The braiding looks beautiful too!
tworedbowls
Thank you so much, Tamsin! Mm to black sesame, indeed 🙂
Katie @ Butterlust
We used to make red bean sorbet at the ice cream shop I worked at in high school. I loved it but I haven’t had anything red bean since – I might just have to re-expand my horizons. Beautiful bread!
tworedbowls
Red bean sorbet is so interesting! I just made a red bean ice cream over the weekend but never thought of it as sorbet … you’re expanding my horizons as we speak, ha 🙂 Thanks so much!
girlinbrogues
Absolutely stunning! Red bean was always a bit unexciting for me growing up, but you’ve definitely given it a new twist with this (excuse the pun, it was totally accidental!)
Saskia / girlinbrogues.com
tworedbowls
Ha! Yes, I definitely have gained a newfound appreciation for red bean as time has gone on… Thanks so much, Saskia! 🙂
Anne
Red bean is one of those flavors I have always loved. It reminds me of my home in China.
Brioche is an amazing thing. So much butter (I have seen up to 100% of the flours weight be butter!!!) and yet its still so light and fluffy.
You are a genius for thinking of this combo!!! It looks delicious and very impressive!
tworedbowls
Yes!! It really kind of blows my mind how regular brioche is made. I have to try it at least once, sometime, just to see the magic happen. (But the thought of that much butter frankly terrifies me. Haha.) Thanks so much for the kind words, Anne!
Lori@CocinaChronicles
No kneading?! I have to see it to believe it! I am not a baker at heart, but this recipe seems too good to be true and Delicious! So I am definitely trying this….
tworedbowls
Yes!! Please please try it! I’m really not much of a baker yet myself, and I think the Bread in 5 recipes are kind of perfect for people like us. All you really need is to make sure that your yeast proofs (and if you’re using instant then you don’t even have to do that). Let me know how it goes if you give it a shot :):)
Linda
Ohhh, such a beautiful loaf! I love brioche, although a no-knead recipe with, what was that, HALF the butter(!), sounds like a super-version I could actually make, like, on a regular basis. (Don’t plant that idea in my head though – half the butter may still be too much butter. I swear, this winter has kicked my butt. Or my waistline actually.)
And red bean was always my favorite flavor as a kid, funnily enough. I was kind of fuddy-duddy in some ways though, so I guess that’s a telling sign. But I’m glad to see you came around to it! That means more red bean in the future!
tworedbowls
I know right? Every week I’m like okay, this week, this week, I’m gonna be good guys. Seriously. … And then I go and make brioche French toast. Sigh. I kind of wish I didn’t know about this Bread in 5 recipe, because it really is too easy! Eek.
Also, you made me lol with “fuddy-duddy.” Nah man. You just know a classic when you see one. Whereas I’m distracted by shiny lights and … shiny custards.
Valentina @Hortus
OMG RED BEAN. All my memories of Chinatown/St. Mark’s place bakeries are coming back at me with repeated kicks in the butt.
I actually always wanted to make brioche (I want to attempt Sarabeth Levine’s at some point) but never did it for the same reason as you.
Now I just want this all smothered with green tea ice cream from Sundaes and Cones.
You, girl, are da best <3
(And a couple days after – if it lasts grill the HECK OUT OF IT)
tworedbowls
Oh my gosh Sundaes and Cones!!! YES! My hands-down favorite flavor from there is the corn. I’m so impatient for summer this year so that I can make a homemade version of sweet corn ice cream.. mmmmm.
Tammi
I have not ever tried brioche, a sad fact, but far out! I want to devour that whole loaf, on my own.
tworedbowls
I hadn’t either until very recently!! Definitely something I could get used to, though… 🙂
Sini | my blue&white kitchen
You know, this is perfect timing as the postman brought Artisan Bread in 5 to me today!! I really can’t wait to dive into it AND whip up some brioche. Ooooh, it will be so delicious.
Beautiful post, girl. xo
tworedbowls
YES I was so excited when I saw that on your IG!!! I can’t wait to see what adventures you get up to with that book. Thank you so much, dear Sini <3
Anonymous
Chocolate would be better
tworedbowls
BAHA prob!!
Michelle (@HummingbirdHigh)
WOW WOW WOW. This is absolutely AMAZING. That’s all 🙂
tworedbowls
Aww, Michelle! Thank you so much 🙂
Jody and Ken
I think I need to move near you, if only to take some of this stuff off your hands before your waist line expands. I’m here for you. Great great breads (and sweet photos too). Ken
tworedbowls
Hahaha that would be so welcome, Ken! For my waistline especially. I ended up giving some of this to our new landlords, thankfully — hopefully it started off our relationship on the right foot 🙂 (or tete!) Thank you!
Gintare @Gourmantine
Your photos are truly stunning and red bean filled brioche?! Genius!
tworedbowls
Thank you so much, Gintare! 🙂
Jessica (Coco/Mingo)
Oh my gosh – I LOVE red bean paste (esp in mochi!) But I love this take you did with it swirled in the bread! I can just imagine what it tastes like….drool! And it’s SO pretty, too!! As a kid, I used to eat those blocks of red bean jelly things all the time 😀 lol Hope your week is going great, my dear!! xo
tworedbowls
Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about those red bean blocks until you said it just now! Whoaaaaa throwback. Haha. Thank you so much, dear friend! Hope you’re doing great yourself <3
Nancy @ gottagetbaked
I totally know what you mean about red bean, Cynthia. I was never a huge fan either. I’m still not but I wouldn’t turn it down, simply because I can never say no to anything sweet. This looks AH-MAY-ZING! Your brioche is so prettily swirled and the photos are fabulous with their dark moodiness. I’ve been reading about this no-knead brioche and I plan on baking it this weekend, although I’m gonna fill mine my unhealthy, low-classy chocolate bars instead of this luscious, thick, flavourful red bean paste. I can only hope mine turn out as lovely as yours!
tworedbowls
Oh my gosh, chocolate bars all the way! I AM SO EXCITED. I just bet it’s going to be gorgeous and, as usual, insanely droolworthy. Can’t wait to see your take 🙂
Skye
So pretty. So yummy. So dreamy. How did you manage to plait the bread so perfectly? Love the touch of red bean paste. But very taken with the thought of black sesame too. And you can never go wrong with Nutella… Oh dear, now I’m craving brioche terribly. 🙂
tworedbowls
Haha! Now you sound just like me 🙂 Thank you so much, Skye! And the plaits are surprisingly easy! I should probably have been gentler with lifting them into the pan and they were still fine. Now a six-strand challah plait … that I’m scared of!
Kathryn
Hurrah for no kneed brioche; this looks so wonderfully rich and buttery and full of carb-y goodness.
tworedbowls
Hurrah indeed!! But I haven’t forgotten your vote on confidence that a hand-kneaded brioche is possible … it’s still on my to-do list! (Although I have much greater faith in your ability to pull that off than mine!) Thank you, Kathryn <3
Ala
I totally get the idea of avoiding that cloying sweetness in desserts now–in the past few years, I’ve been oversensitive to sugar and have a hard time even now creating lots of the old baked goods (read: magic bars and super fudgy chocolate cakes) that I used to love. This sounds like a wonderful compromise though 🙂 thanks for sharing, bookmarked and pinned!
tworedbowls
Right? And then I get stomachaches after. Who stole my old (young) stomach when I wasn’t looking?! And ah, thank you so much for pinning!! I hope you love this if you try it 🙂
Alanna Taylor-Tobin
This is pretty much the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I want it! All of those variations sound amazing, Cynthia. I can’t wait to see the savory one! And also, a belated congratulations to you two!!!
stephanie
cynthia, your loaf is is delicious looking that i MUST try making no knead brioche immediately. hope you’re doing well lady! and can’t wait to see your other brioche variations 😀
Sarah
Red bean buns are one of my favourite treats, so I can’t wait to try this delicious looking brioche! Also, I’ve just stumbled upon your blog and it is super lovely; I’m looking forward to exploring it further (plus I also LOVE Isan Chandra’s green tea cupcakes so I suspect we have similar taste).
atasteofmadess
This is gorgeous!! I love the red bean favor 🙂
Monica
This is so gorgeous. Being Chinese (born in Hong Kong), I have a long-established love of all things red bean. And now I’m craving mooncake since you mentioned it. : ) I love almost nothing more than chocolate but I think this bread with the red bean just might win me over even more than a chocolate filling. Genius!
Cate @ Chez CateyLou
Ok, I have to admit – I have never tried red bean anything!!! I really want to though – any red bean treats stand out in the city? I wish I could buy a loaf of your bread – this looks seriously delicious! It is so pretty too – what a masterpiece!
Shemma
This looks pretty crazy delish!
Lucy
Oh lady, you had me at garlic and brioche. Definitely trying these out!
emily
I’m gunna do it. I’m gunna bake with yeast. After seeing this one and today’s whole garlic-chive-gouda orgy, how can I not? I cannot. Not. Bake with yeast? Something like that.
Ada Truong
hi! i just made the dough of the bread yesterday, but it didn’t rise at all- for the first or the second time, even when placed in a warm oven (100 – 125 degrees F). i actually doubled it, but i’m certain that all of my measurements were correct, and used 1 tsp. instant yeast. any ideas as to why it isn’t working? i really loved the idea of red bean brioche, so i’d be willing to make it again if you have any other suggestions. thanks!
tworedbowls
Hi Ada, I’m so sorry that happened! The only thing I can think of here is that something happened with your yeast. How fresh was it? Did you add it directly to the flour or did you add it to the warm milk, and if you added it to the milk, did it foam? A good way to test whether your yeast is active is to check whether it foams when added to lukewarm water (a bit of sugar dissolved in the water also helps with this), taking care that the water is just warm to the touch and not hotter than 110 degrees or so. I hope you have better luck next time, and sorry again that the first try didn’t work out!