So last week, I rhapsodized about my newest-found obsession, brioche. (And not just that, but no-knead brioche!) I’ve been wondering why it took me so long to discover this gem of a bread. I don’t really know, but my guess is — maybe because most of the photos I’d seen before were of sliced brioche, or maybe because the ones I’d tried hadn’t been fresh, I thought of it as a very different texture than it really is. For some reason, I imagined it as unappealingly rigid, dry, maybe a little crumbly. (Which it can be, but only if it’s tired and stale. In which case it’s time to make French toast!)
So woefully misled. Thankfully, I now know the shiny, buttery truth — the truth that is soft, wispy cotton-candy tufts of melt-in-your-mouth bread, the kind of bread that makes you hook your index finger rudely into its belly and yank its cloud-like innards from inside its well-shined golden-brown walls. And add garlic butter, herbs, and melty cheese into that belly? Oh man. Just so good. Goodbye, bread etiquette, hello, hollow brioche shells.
Here’s part two of my Brioche Kick — instead of twisting it up with red bean, I made this one savory, with a dose of smoked gouda, some chopped chives, more butter and a touch of garlic. (If I were hip and with it, I would have hunted down some ramps for this baby, but alas.) Bowl #2 thought it was way better than the red bean, and I kind of had to agree. While that one was fun and a bit off the beaten path, this was just spectacular — full of flavor and colorfully rich, yet not overwhelming. The kind of bread that is its own meal. (And did I mention that this recipe is, again, no-knead?) Enjoy!
P.S. Some news! Somehow I’m up on Food & Wine’s Blogger Spotlight this week, talking about mini things and Korean food. (No mini Korean foods, though.) I’m still pinching myself and/or trying not to pee my pants (is this real life?) but you can feel free to ignore me and go read my bashful interview here. Eeee.
Garlic, chives, & smoked gouda brioche.
As before, this is based on Artisan Bread in 5’s no-knead brioche recipe, found here. This makes twice as much brioche as my recipe for red bean brioche here, and may fit a 9×5 or 10×5 loaf pan, but will not fit into a medium 8×4 pan like the one shown. I baked mine as one individual brioche bun and a loaf.
Ingredients
- for the brioche dough:
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3/4 stick (about 6 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp lukewarm milk or water
- 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten, plus 1 more for egg wash
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups minus 2 tbsp (1 7/8 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
- for the filling:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2–3 tbsp chives, finely chopped (more for increased flavor)
- 1 oz smoked gouda, shredded, or more to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter, chives, and garlic together in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Let the chives and garlic brown for a few minutes to let the flavor infuse. Set aside and let cool.
- 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 to go.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast and milk mixture, eggs, and honey. Strain out the chives and garlic from the melted butter, add the butter, and whisk again. (Alternatively, for a stronger garlic-chive flavor, leave it in.)
- 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 (do not seal), and allow to sit at room temperature for about two hours for its first rise, then chill in refrigerator overnight or up to 5 days.
- When ready to bake, melt two tablespoons butter with another 2-3 tbsp chopped chives in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until it bubbles and is just slightly browned, then turn off the heat. 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. Brush the butter mixture over the bread, then sprinkle shredded gouda evenly across it, as much as you like.
- Next, you can braid the dough in a few ways. This makes too much for the loaf pan I have, so I folded the dough in half and cut it into eight long strands (quarters, then I halved each quarter lengthwise). I took two strands, pinched one end together, then lifted the right strand over the left to twist them together, and then coiled it into a circle. I repeated that with the other six strands, then placed three of the coils into my 8×4 pan, and the third I placed into a mini pie pan (but it would have been fine to bake free-form on a baking sheet). But you can see other tutorials here and here. If you don’t have a loaf pan, you can bake these free-form in their coils on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- 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. Individual brioche buns will bake in about 20-25 minutes. If the loaf begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil for the remainder of baking.
Notes
Note again that this makes twice as much brioche as my recipe for red bean brioche here. It may fit a 9×5 or 10×5 loaf pan, but will not fit into a medium 8×4 pan like the one shown. I baked mine as one individual brioche bun and a loaf.
ileana
Gorgeous! This flavor combination sounds so good. Putting brioche on my list!
tworedbowls
Yay! It’s my new favorite thing. 🙂
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
I love absolutely everything about this bread. It’s stunning AND has smoked gouda!! WIN!
tworedbowls
Haha! Thank you so very much, Katrina! I agree — I’m such a sucker for smoked gouda anything.
thatumamilife
Wow, I’m giving this a standing ovation. Throwing in something smoked was my favorite touch.
http://thatumamilife.wordpress.com
tworedbowls
Haha! Aw, thanks lady <3
Sarah @ The Woks of Life
YUM. Photos are goooorrgeeoous, as always. : )
tworedbowls
Thanks so much, Sarah!! (I’m still drooling over your lo mai gai….)
Milk and Honey
Sold!
tworedbowls
Ha! <3
Janine
Yumm, this looks and sounds so delicious. I wanted to try the red bean loaf, but I think I might try this once first!
tworedbowls
Thanks so much, Janine!! Yeah, we definitely liked this one better 😉 You can’t go wrong with more butter!
erika
OH MY GOD. Cynthia, your recipes are seriously getting better and better and you are CRUSHING the photography!!!! I am kowtowing to your gorgeous compositions. I am SO SAD we just ate the last of the gouda that I bought over the weekend (have you ever made baked brie? I had a cheese party over the weekend and bah it is so good) or else I would totally be making this tonight. Except how to fit brioche into a pre-bikini diet? Sighhh. I know this is healthier, but still…the way you talk about hooking your finger into those cloud-like bread insides? Yeah I have no self-control.
tworedbowls
Omg YES, I loooove baked brie!! Your gorgeous creation from this December haunts me. And I know…. this is so not bikini-friendly, I’m the worst. At least it doesn’t make too much…? Idk. -__- I think New York still has me in winter mode, so I can’t even fathom putting on a swimsuit. Ohhh well…… Thanks so much for your sweet words as always, Erika!! <3
Jane Y.
my goodness this looks AMAZING! and i think i say this every time i come by and leave a comment (if i don’t then i think it!) but your presentation and pictures are so gorgeous! i have been tinkering with the thought of trying out no knead bread and thought about investing in a cast iron pot. i would absolutely love to try this recipe as well! bookmarking for the future!
tworedbowls
Yes!! I’m not always a fan of no-knead bread — I like a close crumb and I generally think kneading just brings out a nice pillowy softness you can’t get otherwise. But I don’t know what it is with this brioche, either because it gets braided in the end or because of the egg and butter, you don’t get that no-knead texture in the least. I hope you love it if you try it, Jane!! And thanks so much for the kind words 🙂 <3
Erika
Gosh you’ve got me thinkin I might could make my own brioche that would actually turn out right instead of a hard piece of dough that could double as a hockey puck. This is just stunning!!
tworedbowls
OMG, has that happened?! I’m so glad you told me that (though not glad it happened — boo!!) because I keep thinking I want to try making brioche the traditional kneaded way, and this is a reminder that I should just stick to what works. Anyway, not a shadow of doubt in my mind that you’d whip up something spectacular with this brioche base — knowing your genius!
HortusCuisine
This is a serious threat to my diet, you know that? I DEMAND that this be labeled NSFW.
I’d love to try the same flavor combo for bread…If I make bread, by family will scarf it down before it even cools down, but brioche is another thing…damn. You little genius, you <3
tworedbowls
HAHA. You’re too funny, Valentina — I know, I wasn’t being very conscientious of the spring bikini diet, was I? Oops. 😡 But I would love to see this flavor combo in a bread of yours!! So in the end maybe I’m not sorry 😉 <3 <3 Thanks, lady!
Michelle (@HummingbirdHigh)
Your photos are gorgeous and your description of brioche makes me want a whole loaf to myself RIGHT NOW even though it’s not even 8AM yet! When it’s warm enough over here, I’ll definitely be trying this recipe 😀
tworedbowls
Hahaha! Thanks so much Michelle <3 I hope you love this if you try it!
Cristina
This looks great! I think it would be a hit on any spring table.
tworedbowls
Thanks so much, Cristina! 🙂
Allison (Spontaneous Tomato)
I love this! And your photos are gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous as usual. (But even a little more gorgeous than usual I think…!?) 🙂
I still want to try making a sweet sesame version of your red bean brioche, but I can see how you and Bowl #2 liked this one even better… it looks like pillows of buttery, garlicky, savory goodness. And I bet that smoked gouda just takes things over the top!
tworedbowls
Thank you so, so much, Allison! Yes, this one was a fun one to shoot… (probably because I got to make a huge mess. Ha.) I’m still rooting for you to make a black sesame one too!!! I can’t wait to see that or hear about it if you do!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
This is my dream (savory) brioche. Love these flavors!
tworedbowls
Thanks, Laura!!
Kathryn
Absolutely echoing everyone else’s comments. I want this and I want it now (and I want to be able to take pictures like you!)
tworedbowls
Maybe I’ll have a loaf waiting when you VISIT NEW YORK IN JUNE!!!! 😉 So excited!!!!!
Skye
Yay! Love the interview, Cynthia, and loving your love of miniature cake.
Also loving this recipe – brioche when savoury is virtually a health food, no? – and really loving your utterly stunning photos. 🙂
tworedbowls
Hahaha! Definitely a health food. I mean, we need calories to live. That’s just science. 😉 Thank you so much for your kind words as always, Skye!
steph
i need this, like yesterday! and your feature is beyond wonderful – i too love cooing over miniatures 🙂 maybe we can do that together in vegas? 😉
tworedbowls
What do you think are the odds that Le Creuset will give out baby cocottes? :O SO MUCH COOING WILL HAPPEN!
cakeoversteak
Soooooo pretty! Oh my goodness this looks so delicious. You are totally killing it these days, Cynthia.
tworedbowls
Aww, thank you so much, Sara!!! You’re awesome. <3
Sara
Omg. I’m coming over. We’re eating bread. That is all there is to it.
tworedbowls
BREAD PARTY!!
Matthew Pike (@mat_buckets)
this looks amazing!
Buckets & Spades
tworedbowls
Thank you so much, Mat!!
Jessica (Coco & Mingo)
As soon as you said it was as fluffy as cotton candy, my mouth watered. That’s the best kind of bread! And a savory bread? Hmmm…sounds amazing!! Hope your week is going well, lovely friend!! xo
tworedbowls
Right?! I can’t resist a fluffy bread… Thanks so much, lady <3 and for reasons you know, my week has been 1000x more wonderful thanks to YOU! 😉 You're the best <3
Kathy
Everything about this is ridiculously awesome. Like ridiculous.
tworedbowls
Hahaha aw — thanks so much, Kathy!!
Allyson
This looks glorious. I’ve never had real brioche before, only the supermarket variety that’s weirdly textured and both too sweet to be bread but not sweet enough to be a treat. But since spring isn’t quite coming around here, I may have to devote a Sunday to trying to make the real thing for the first time.
tworedbowls
Yes!!!! Do it!! And with this recipe, you’ll probably only need 10 minutes of your Saturday and an hour of your Sunday 😉
Tieghan
So stickin gorgeous!! You are so amazing. Love your photos + this recipe!
tworedbowls
Oh, Tieghan!! You’re too kind — thanks so much, lovely lady 🙂
Tammi
Oh man! I thought you had nailed it with the braided red bean brioche but my oh my…you have outdone yourself with this version!! I can smell it from here and want to inhale the whole loaf.
Absolutely beautiful photography too.
tworedbowls
Thank you so much, Tammi!! Dude, seriously, I’m kind of wondering if I will ever make anything else I love as much as this loaf…. though a version stuffed with mozzarella and pepperoni sounds like it could be a worthy challenger.
ironchefshellie
Thanks for your comment on my blog, WOWEE what a gorgeous site you have <3 And this recipe, amazing!!
tworedbowls
Thank you so so much, Shellie!! Love your site and excited to keep following you :):)
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits
This looks so good, I’ll have to give it a try, even though I’m trying to stay away from breads 🙂
tworedbowls
Hahaha! Sorry to tempt you!! I think this would make for a great cheat day treat though 🙂
Suruchi
Cynthia this bread looks to die for! Although I’ve been trying to stay away from a lot of bread I think I’ll make an exception here 😉 Also congrats on the Food & Wine feature!
tworedbowls
Haha, once in awhile can’t hurt, right?! (Though for me it’s more like once in a-little..) Thank you so much for the kind words, Suruchi!
Pang
Congrat..Congrat..Congrat.. for Food & Wine’s Blogger Spotlight!!!! 😀
I can’t be any happier for you.
By the way, this brioche recipe is just a big push for me to make it (already). I am in with smoked gouda anything.
tworedbowls
Pang, you’re too kind. Thank you so much! 🙂 And oh my gosh, I 200% agree — smoked gouda ANYTHING!
Lindsey
Lovely flavors, I’m sure they all paired so nicely together! Beautiful shots, Cynthia <3
Lindsey
Oh no! I forgot the best part! CONGRATS on your F&W interview, loved reading it! xo
tworedbowls
You’re the best, Linds!! <3 Thanks so much.
Sini | my blue&white kitchen
Finally, I found a quiet moment to read your post. You know, I really want to enjoy these and don’t want to read them in a rush. This post is quite perfect, Cynthia. Your writing is lovely (how you described brioche; I nearly died over here!), these pictures (man, your style is getting incredibly gorgeous!), and this killer recipe. Amazing.
Sending you cheers & hugs,
Sini
tworedbowls
Oh, Sini! You are such a gem. Thank you for such thoughtful words — they mean the world. 🙂 Hope you’re doing wonderfully, dear friend.
Magda
Hi Cynthia. I loved reading your interview on food and wine. Congratulations on the feature!
Brioche has become my obsession over the last year. I never used to make it before but since I discovered the recipe that suited me, I have been making it once a month almost. I have never thought of adding anything savory to it, though, so thanks for the inspiration. Living in the land of Gouda (the Netherlands) and having access to good quality cheese, I can’t wait to give your recipe a try.
tworedbowls
Thank you so very much, Magda!!! I’m excited about this go-to brioche recipe you mentioned! Do you make it by hand (and is the recipe up on your site?) Oh man, cheese in the Netherlands sounds like a dream come true… Eat some extra smoked Gouda for me 🙂
Julia @Vikalinka
I am baking my first loaf of bread as I type and am desperately hoping it’s not going to come out brick-like because people are coming over for dinner. This brioche loaf is everything I love in the food world, I mean everything! So is the that load in the oven is successful I might attempt this recipe as well. Everyone is commenting on your photography which is gorgeous, of course, but seriously…your writing is what I LOVE!
tworedbowls
Julia, your words seriously mean so much to me! Writing is something I always struggle a bit with — even though it was probably my first love in the creative world, I feel like it can be so unwieldy sometimes (and usually gets the least attention, undeservedly!) So a big huge thank you to you for your kind comment. And did I see that loaf of bread on your blog? It looked SO GOOD!! Yay, Julia!!!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin
I want to crawl through my screen and curl up in the beauty of these photos while stuffing my face with buttery, cheesy, chivey deliciousness.
tworedbowls
Hahaha aww — thank you so much, Alanna <3<3
Anne
Beautiful! That looks so good! The flavor combination looks delicious.
Your pictures are as always, stunning. What camera do you use?
Thanks for the recipe!
tworedbowls
Thank you so much, Anne! For a long time I used a faithful old hand-me-down Nikon D80 that was very good to me, but I recently switched to a Nikon D610 and have been loving it so far. I think a lot of people whose photography I admire use the Canon Mark series or a Canon Rebel, though!
Also, something that might interest you — most Flickr photos display the camera used and the settings (ISO, flash, everything!) in the photo info if you’re ever curious about how a picture was taken!!
tinywhitecottage
Haven’t visited in some time and I can see I have been missing out on your wonderful posts. I’m happy to hear about your Food & Wine Blogger’s Spotlight! Congratulations. I headed over to read the interview. Your brioche is absolutely gorgeous.
tworedbowls
Thank you so much for the kind words!! 🙂
Renee @ AFS
It’s so so pretty! No-knead brioche, it almost sounds unreal. Can’t wait to try it (:
tworedbowls
Thanks so much, Renee!! <3 I know, I had to see it to believe it -- but it really is amazing. Artisan Bread in 5 knows their stuff. 🙂
Shikha la mode
You are the coolest, seriously. I love brioche so much, but I never make it at home cus I feel that if I mess up, it’ll end up with that crumbly, dry texture that you were mentioning! But ugh, it’ so good. I’m headed over to check out your spotlight right now!
tworedbowls
No you are!! <3 Thanks so much for the kind words. You should definitely try this version, Shikha! It's practically no-fail, and super super easy. 🙂
kristan@the-broken-bread
Cynthina, you are killing me, this looks beyond incredible. Beautiful photos, incredible recipes; I basically love everything you do!
tworedbowls
You’re so so kind, Kristan!! <3 I can't wait to meet you in a few short weeks :):):)
Polly
I wish there were some pictures of the slices and braiding during the process. This is the part I can’t visualize. Do you have any pictures of that part that you could share? I just can’t see how you make that flat open face into things that could braid. Looks so delicious I’d love to try it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
tworedbowls
Hi Polly, sorry about that!! I know it can be hard to visualize. I’ll try to hunt down some photos for you when I have a minute — in the meantime, have you checked out the tutorials above from The Fauxmartha and Vanilla Bean Blog? The technique is also similar to what Joy the Baker recently posted with a cinnamon swirl bread, but done multiple times with smaller strands, if that makes sense. Mine is a little different from these techniques because I just folded the dough in half and cut it into long strips, instead of rolling it up like a cinnamon roll and cutting it in half, but it doesn’t make too much of a difference in end product to do it their ways. I hope that helps until I can send you some photos! (Can you shoot me an email at [email protected]?)
dinnersforwinners
OK I was so taken with the flavors here, your tantalizing photos and the idea of NOT KNEADING dough that I went right out and made a loaf! But…. then I threw out my container of yeast. Since mine never did rise 🙁 Not that it stopped us eating it! The smell of that baby baking was more heavenly than words! As it was, it turned out rather like a cheesy, garlicky biscuit bread. I can’t wait to try it again properly! This fridge-method for brioche is rather lifechanging 🙂
Alana | Fix Feast Flair
Cynthia, I am brand new to the world of bread making but I’m already obsessed with the idea of a no-knead, beautiful and garlicky brioche! I am equally obsessed with your beautiful blog!! I can’t wait to try this recipe (plus pretty much all the other recipes you’ve posted).
Anonymous
This looks awesome! Am trying it right up, but do you have any suggestions for the gouda substitute? Or can I leave it out even..?
Celine
I just recently found your blog from Saveur and am instantly in love 🙂
I know I’m kinda late to this party, but I’m planning to try making this beauty right up! Do you think that I can leave out the gouda, though or do you have any suggestions for the cheese substitute? I rarely cook anything with cheese..
tworedbowls
Hi Celine, thank you so much for such kind words!! You can definitely just go ahead and make this without the gouda! It’d be more like garlic bread that way — which I also love 😉 Hope you like it if you try it!
Anne V
Hi! I just stumbled on this recipe and it looks amazing! Your whole blog is a treasure!
I just had a quick question: is refrigerating mandatory? Is it possible to braid the dough right after the first proof, give it a second proof and then bake it? Thanks!!
tworedbowls
Hi Anne, thank you so so much for such kind words!! I do think refrigeration is important for the Artisan Bread in 5 recipes (on which this is based) because the long, cold rise takes the place of kneading in developing the gluten in the bread. You could perhaps try kneading the bread a bit before the first rise (it will be very sticky, though, so might be challenging — perhaps with a dough hook in a stand mixer?) but I’ve never tried it, so I’m not so sure how it would go. I’m sorry about that! If you experiment and it turns out well, I’d love to hear how it goes!