Breads (Sourdough) - Soft Buns/Rolls

Sourdough Brioche (Soft and Fluffy)

September 21, 2020 | Recipe by Bake with Paws

Sourdough Brioche (Soft and Fluffy Crumb)


Please watch the video here braided for shaping  ⇩
Sourdough Brioche (Soft and Fluffy Crumb)

Sourdough Brioche (Soft and Fluffy Crumb)


Scroll to the bottom of the page for "PRINT RECIPE" ⬇

I was very pleased with the result of my Sourdough Shokupan (Stiff Starter) recipe that I have been sharing.  I adapted the same stiff starter method to a Sourdough Brioche and it turned out rather well.  There are many who have tried the Sourdough Brioche (Liquid Starter) and they were very happy with the result but I found the stiff starter even better.  The bread proofs faster and is more moist. 

This is not a traditional Brioche that is very rich and eggy.  This is a lighter Sourdough Brioche that is very fluffy and soft. It'll be good for people that would prefer something that isn't so greasy and rich and yet still enjoy the taste of Brioche. 

I have other Soft Sourdough Bread recipes that you may like to try too.

If you have any questions regarding this recipe or any other post, please leave me a comment in the “LEAVE A COMMENT” link and I will reply you as soon as possible.  Do tag me on Instagram @Bakewithpaws if you attempt on this recipe.

How To Make Soft and Fluffy Sourdough Brioche


Yields:  1 loaf or 5 flower buns

INGREDIENTS:

Sweet Stiff Starter (50% Hydration):
60g sourdough starter (100% Hydration), preferably use at its peak 
180g bread flour (I used Japan High Gluten Flour)
75g water or 90g milk
30g sugar (I used organic brown sugar)

Main Dough:
140g bread flour (I used Japan High Gluten Flour)
All stiff starter (above)
25g brown sugar (I used organic brown sugar)
1 salt
20g milk powder (omit this if milk is used in sweet stiff starter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g egg, whisked (from 2 - 3 medium egg, balance use for egg wash)
80g butter, room temperature

Egg Wash: 
Balance of eggs + 1 tsp water

Utensils:
450g loaf pan (21.3 X 12.2 X 11.5 cm  /  8.4" X 4.8" X 4.5")  OR
10 cm round pan X 5 units


METHOD:
  1. Sweet Stiff Starter 
    1. In a bowl of stand mixer, dilute starter with water, stir in sugar and add in bread flour.  Mix with paddle attachment until well mixed and all come together. 
    2. Cover and let it ferment until tripled. I prepared a night before and leave it in aircond room (approximately 24 - 25C room temperature) overnight until tripled.  It took about 8 - 9 hours depending on your starter.  It should take around 4 - 6 hours to get triple at room temperature at 28C - 30C.
    3. However, if you feed your starter with milk, the starter will take longer time to proof and very much depend on your stater.  Mine took about 9 - 10 hours to proof overnight.  And the starter did not rise until triple in size compared feeding with water.  It rose almost 2.5 to 3 in size.   It is because natural yeast takes longer time to digest the milk than it does in water.
  2. Main Dough:
    1. Put all ingredients (except butter), including all the stiff starter into a bowl of stand mixer.
    2. Slightly combine the mixture by hand with the paddle attachment before turning on the machine so that the flour will not splash out.  Using the paddle attachment, mix for 2 minutes or until all incorporated. This step is critical to prevent  an uneven mixed dough as the stiff starter is rather hard and a dough hook may not be able to mix it well enough.
    3. Change to hook attachment and knead for another 3 minutes or until the dough comes together. Add in butter and continue knead for 13 - 15 minutes or until reach window pane stage.  The whole kneading process, I stopped few times to scrape down the dough from the hook to be sure it is evenly kneaded and also to prevent the motor from overheating.
  3. 1st Proofing/Resting:  
    1. In the same bowl, let the dough rest for 45 - 60 minutes. Keep it covered with clingfilm or use a lid.  This dough I rested for 45 minutes and the dough rose abit in 45 minutes.  
  4. Shaping:
    1. Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface then divide dough into 5 equal portions. Please use a kitchen scale if you want to be exact.  
    2. Form each portion into a ball.  Rest for 10 mins to relax the dough.
    3. Flatten with rolling pin or your palm.. Work one dough at a time.
    4. Roll the dough up tightly from one of the longest sides like a swiss roll.
    5. Please watch the video how to shpe flower buns.
    6. Place bun onto the round pan (lined the base).
  5. Final Proofing:
    1. Let the dough proof at a warm place until the dough rise double in size or when it reaches above the rim of the pan.  This one took approximately 3 hours at at room temperature of 30C.  The duration of proofing depends on your ambient temperature and starter.
  6. Baking:
    1. Preheat oven at 180 - 190C (top & bottom heat) for 10 - 15 minutes.
    2. Brush with egg wash.
    3. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden brown.  For flower buns, bake for 15 - 20 minutes instead or until golden brown.  Please make sure not to over bake the buns as the buns will become dry easily by the next day. 
    4. Remove bread from oven and let them cool on rack.

Sweet Stiff Starter



Main Dough

Shaping


Sourdough Brioche



GENERAL NOTES:

SOURDOUGH STARTER


A healthy starter is very crucial as advised by Baking with Gina.   It is advisable to feed your starter regularly if you want your bread to rise nicely and to use the starter (levain) at its peak.  A starter that is fed regularly will be more active in general.  If the mother starter is not strong, the bread dough will not rise a lot even though the starter is used at its peak.  


GLUTEN DEVELOPMENT & WINDOWPANE TEST

Gluten forms when flour comes in contact with water.  Hydration of the flour causes the sticky and stretchy protein to form, giving structure to the bread.  This makes your bread trap air and rise. 

Gluten in dough can be developed by autolyse, resting, kneading or folding.

The windowpane test is used to determine whether the dough has been sufficiently kneaded.  By gently pulling the dough (or you may pinch off some dough) and trying to stretch it into a thin membrane.  If you are able to stretch the dough paper thin and translucent  without tearing, then the gluten is fully developed.  However, if you can stretch it without tearing but the membrane is not transparent, then the gluten is not yet fully developed.  

However, from my experience not all the recipe can achieve a thin and translucent window pane stage easily.   For example low hydration and low fat dough.  For such recipes, a reasonable window pane is good enough and it can be left to rest. Gluten will continue to develop while resting.  Exercising restraint to not over-knead the dough prevents the gluten from being overworked and broken.   Some of you may have experienced the dough breaking during the second proofing.  It is because the dough is over kneaded. 

The total kneading time for me is usually 15 minutes at low speeds except brioche dough with high fat percentage or dough using liquid fat which usually takes a little longer (maybe 18-20 mins).

From my experience, I found that high hydration dough with high percentage of fat will be easy to stretch and achieve a paper thin windowpane stage.

MILK POWDER 

Why do I use milk powder?  
  1. Milk or milk powder will enhance the flavour of the bread and makes the bread texture softer due to the fat content of the milk. 
  2. Milk powder is shelf stable and you can have it anytime when you want to use.  Unlike liquid milk you need to finish within a certain time before it spoils.
KNEADING TIME

For kneading, please regard the timing provided as an indication only. It is only meant as a guide.  Timing may differ depending on the brand of flour and electric mixer used. The protein content may vary from one brand of flour to another.

FLOUR

The right flour plays a very important role in bread making.   To achieve fluffy, soft and light bread, I used Japan High Gluten Flour in most of my bread baking.  The protein content is around  12 - 13%.

HYDRATION

The liquid measurement given is also a guide.  It is advisable to always reserve some liquid and not add it all in one go.  This would give you the opportunity to adjust if necessary. If dough is too dry, add the reserve liquid one tablespoon at a time until the right consistency.  This is because each flour absorbs water and hydrates differently. 

PROOFING

Please note that the proofing timing may also vary depending on your climate, environment, flour and your starter. 

If you are unable to judge by just looking at the dough, you can do the finger poke test:

Proofing:
  1. Lightly press the side of the proved dough with your finger.  If it bounces back immediately without any indentation, it means the dough is under proved and needs more time before baking.
  2. If the indentation stays and it doesn’t bounce back, it means it has been over proved.
  3. If the indentation slowly bounces back and leave a small indentation, it is ready to bake. 
  4. There will be a final burst of rising once the bread is placed to bake in the oven and it is called oven spring. 
WRINKLE TOP OR SHRINKING

If your bread collapses or gets wrinkled on top after removing from oven, it could be because your dough over proved during the second proofing. Please proof until the tip of the dough just reaches the rim of the pan, around 80% - 90% in size.

BAKING TEMPERATURE AND TIME

Do also note that the baking temperature and timing provided are what works for my oven and should also be regarded as a guide only. Every oven behaves a little differently, so please adjust accordingly for your oven.

Comments

  1. Hi, would you mind share with me how to prepare your sourdough starter?
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Thanks for visiting my blog. I learnt from this Youtube:

      https://youtu.be/m6pGkOuZnrk

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  2. Hi this looks wonderful, can you recommend a good substitute for the eggs please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Thanks for reading this recipe. I have not tried any eggless brioche recipes yet. For now, I do not know what is best. I wonder whether can replace egg with whole milk?
      Cheers :)

      Delete
  3. I usually see 50%+ hydration in breads/brioche but this is using only small amount of milk but can yield soft fluffy bread. Does hydration affects the fluffiness?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for reading this recipe and asking. The total hydration for this recipe is about 63%. I included eggs as liquid. Most of the liquid is from the levain.

      Usually the more water in the dough, the more open the final bread's crumb which allow for a greater volume in proofing (rising).

      When you have enough liquid in the dough, you will get more gluten development. The fluffiness is from the gluten development. I used Japan High gluten flour in this recipe too.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  4. This turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for trying and your kind feedback. Glad that you like it. My pleasure :)

      Delete
  5. Hi,
    Do you use yudane on this dough? it seems the video adds yudane but on your ingredients there's no mention about it. Just want to make sure, thank you for posting! Looks delish

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi, thanks for reading this post. No, I don't use Yudane in this recipe. The video is for Shokupan Sourodugh Bread I set it as featured video that will appear in all the posts.

    Sorry for confusion.

    Cheers :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello, may I know what did you use to soak the raisin & orange peel? And how much liquid is required? Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello, may I know what did you use to soak the raisin & orange peel? How much liquid is needed to soak?

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, sorry I missed out the rum. Please soak with rum. About 2 - 3 Tbsp.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  9. Oops.. I didn't read till the end. Haha.
    I did option #2. But I did levain for option 1. 65g each of everything! Waiting to proof bfr oven

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hahaha! I hope it's ok. Thanks for trying. Looking forward to hear your result :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I would like to share my bakes with you but don't know how. Thank you so much for sharing recipes.. murah rezqi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for trying this recipe. You can share Facebook or Instagram and tag me or send message to my Facebook or Instangram.

      Instagram Link: https://www.instagram.com/bakewithpaws/
      Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bakewithpaws

      Looking forward to see your bread.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  12. Love love this recipe! I spread the dough with black sesame paste, braid it and bake in a loaf pan. Turned out so good! Much much better than normal brioche which is too rich for me. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for trying this recipe and your kind feedback. It is great idea to spread with black sesame paste. Sounds so yummy.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  13. Tried this recipe and it turned out really well. Delicious! Thank you for this recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for trying this recipe and your kind feedback. Glad to hear that you like it.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  14. hi there, can i substitute milk powder with whole milk? i dont have milk powder at home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for reading this post. I don't use any liquid in main dough except eggs because most of the liquid are in the sweet stiff stater. Maybe you can use milk to prepare the stiff starter. However, I have not tried and not sure it will affect the proofing.

      I will try one day and share.

      Cheers:)

      Delete
  15. My dough is quite wet, did I add too much water in main dough? Only read the notes to reserve water instead of putting in all. Now 2nd proofing and not sure of outcome.
    Do I need to bake longer for wetter dough?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for trying and your feedback. This dough is quite wet compared with other bread dough. The kneading time is longer too. The dough will eventually become very elastic, smooth and soft. The liquid in the main dough is egg.

      For my oven, I baked at 170C (Fan-forced) for about 30 mins. But, each oven behalf differently. So, adjust accordingly to your oven.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  16. Hi, I cannot find the video how to shape the flower bun. May I ask where can I find it? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Sorry for the inconveniences. Some system errors. I just rectified it. Please have a look again. It is there now.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  17. Hi. Can I make this as a pizza as well. My first time attempting to make this. Please advice on a simpler recipe. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for asking. This is sweet enriched bread and it is not suitable for Pizza. You can search for Pizza recipe in my blog. Instant yeast pizza is easier.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  18. Hi Can the dough be kept in the fridge for cold fermentation to create more flavour before shaping it. After first proofing .

    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thank you for reading this post and your question. Actually, not necessary as about 60% of the flour already pre-fermented in sweet stiff starter and already enough flavour developed. However, it is fine too if you prefer to cold retard the final dough.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  19. Love your recipe. Thanks for sharing. In order have this as daily bread, meed to cut down sugar due to health reason. Can I reduce sugar for this recipe? If yes, where? How much can I reduce? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for reading this post. Yes you can. However, my recipe is already low sugar compared with other brioche bread recipe.

      For Sweet Stiff Starter, you can cut down to around 25 - 30g, the natural yeast will eat the sugar so you do not have to worry too much about the sugar in starter.

      For Main Dough, you can cut down the sugar to 10g if you want.

      Please bear in mind this bread will not turn out sweet like normal brioche bread if you do not mind.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  20. Looks like you changed the recipe from before. Is the old one archived somewhere?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amy, Thanks for visiting. I just put in back for you. Please scroll to the bottom. Kindly let me know after you copy it then I will remove it.

      I find the recipe using stiff starter is better so I have deleted the old recipe using liquid starter to avoid confusion.

      Cheers and happy baking :)

      Delete
    2. Thanks so much! I'll try it both ways :) Just wanted to have the recipe I'd successfully used before as well.

      Delete
    3. You are most welcome. I believe you have copied the recipe. I will remove soon.

      Yes, I received alot of good feedback on this recipe.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  21. Can I swap eggs with yogurt?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for reading this recipe and your question.

      I never baked this recipe with yogurt instead of eggs. So, I do not know how it will turn out. However, it's supposed to use eggs in making brioche. If without eggs then it will not be brioche anymore.

      You may want to search for "Yogurt Lemon Poppy Seed Sourdough Soft Buns" in my blog if you are looking for yogurt bread.

      Cheers:)



      Delete
  22. I love this bread and make it using the liquid starter. I used to get beautifully domed and separated individual buns. The last few times the top almost bakes up as a whole without much definition in each bun and not the separate doming of each individual bun but with stretch marks in between. Could you kindly help me troubleshoot this. Theu aren’t nearly as pretty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Thanks for your question. It could be few possibilites:

      1. Maybe not enough gluten development. If your dough has enough gluten development, your bread will have very good oven spring in the oven and end up with tall buns or bread.
      2. Another possibilities is your starter too. If your starter is not healthy the bread will not rise very high too.
      3. Bread flour also play important part. Some bread flour do not yield very high bread. Did you use the same bread flour?

      I hope these will help.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
    2. Thank you for responding. I actually haven’t changed a thing; mix until windowpane, healthy, active, fresh starter, more than doubling in less than 6 hours, and I use Sir Lancelot high gluten bread flour. I’m so puzzled. Would this be expected if slightly underproofed? That’s my only thought actually

      Delete
    3. You are most welcome:) Actually taking 6 hours to get double is not very healthy or active starter. Maybe you are in cold place. However, depend on your room temperature. I stay in a warm weather country, room temperature around 28C - 29C. My starter usually triple in 5 hours with feeding of 1:1:1

      Yes, it could be under proof too. Don't give up and try again. Sourdough baking always unpredictable.

      Cheers and Happy Baking :)

      Delete
    4. “MORE than doubling in LESS THAN 6 hrs”. I will continue to troubleshoot

      Delete

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