Buttery Sourdough Spelt Brioche Bread is fit for any of the queens and kings from Game of Thrones.
If one of the rulers of their respective realms were to be eating this right before they got their head chopped off, it would be a worthy surprise last meal.
At first glance this might look like any generic loaf that you could buy at the store, but one bite of this brioche bread will have you closing your eyes in pure bliss as you savor every single morsel.
Brioche is a bread with lots of butter and a couple of eggs to lend a rich, yet soft and tender crumb.
Making a sourdough brioche bread is actually deceptively easy. A sourdough starter requires a longer fermentation time that yields swoon-worthy results in flavor and texture for brioche bread.
Typically, even the best brioche bread with standard dry yeast needs a full 8 hours to ferment in the fridge to allow that sweetness and soft texture to slowly develop. If you have been following along on this blog, you will know about my passion for low and slow bread and pastry recipes.
It requires minimal work on your part and allows nature do the rest to create bread perfection. Think of it like putting a few ingredients and a tough piece of meat in the slow cooker all day. All you have to do is bring everything together and push a button, and several hours later you get food for the gods.
STEP 1:
Mix all of the ingredients together (except for the butter) and knead in a stand mixer until the dough comes together. You can mix by hand, but it’s a lot messier and takes longer. Add the butter and knead for a few minutes longer until you get a soft gluten structure. It doesn’t have to be perfect if you aren’t sure what the dough is supposed to look like (see the first photo) because the long fermentation will develop the structure for the bread.
STEP 2:
Cover in a bowl and ferment for about 8-10 hours (all day or overnight).
STEP 3:
Shape and proof the dough for about 90 minutes in a warm spot in your kitchen.
STEP 4:
Bake and let the aroma transport you to far away realms where hopefully no one is trying to chop your head off.
Letting the dough ferment all day or overnight is actually MUCH more convenient for your schedule, as it allows you to leave it alone for hours so you can sleep, or go about your day without having to babysit your dough on and off throughout the day.
Above is an easy shaping method. Barely press it out in a rectangle shape and roll and tuck towards yourself.
Below you can see how to seal the edges with your thumb or the heel of your hand.
Place in a buttered loaf pan that has the very bottom covered with buttered parchment paper as well to ensure there is no sticking. Place seam side down in the loaf pan and let ferment for about 90 minutes or until it’s proofed and increased in size by about 30%.
Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle coarse sugar or regular sugar on top. “Score” or cut a line down the center of the loaf to allow the bread to spring and rise nicely in the oven. If you don’t have a bread lame to do this, just use a small serrated knife.
Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let cool a bit before slicing and serve warm or make as toast with butter and jam.
3 DIFFERENT WAYS TO MAKE SOURDOUGH BRIOCHE
I’ve created a new post to showcase the versatility of this base recipe. I’ll show you how to turn this recipe into Cinnamon Rolls, Garlic Rosemary Rolls, and Hamburger Buns all on the same post!
WAYS TO SERVE BRIOCHE BREAD
- Eat for breakfast or as a snack toasted with butter and jam. Make cinnamon toast too!
- Slather in magical chocolate avocado nutella .
- Use this spelt brioche for the most INCREDIBLE French Toast.
- For a savory application, skip adding the sugar on top before baking and use for sandwich bread.
- Toast a slice with butter in a skillet and throw a fried or scrambled egg on top. Obviously, this is best if you don’t add sugar to the top of the bread.
Don’t forget to comment below or tag me on Instagram at bessie.bakes if you make this recipe!
Bon Appetit Ya’ll,
Leslie O.
Buttery Sourdough Spelt Brioche Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp. Spelt Flour 250 grams
- 1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp All Purpose Flour 250 grams
- 3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp Milk, cold 200 grams
- 2 Eggs, cold about 100 grams
- 1 tsp Salt 10 grams
- 1/4 cup Ripe sourdough starter about 78 grams
- 1/4 cup Sugar 50 grams
- 11 Tbsp Butter, slightly softened 150 grams
Instructions
Mixing the Dough
- Mix all ingredients together except for the butter in a stand mixer. Mix on 1st speed for about 5 minutes. Turn the mixer on 2nd speed and mix until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Turn the mixer back to 1st speed and add butter to incorporate. Turn back to 2nd speed and mix until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and is shiny and elastic.
Fermenting the Dough
- Form the ball into a round shape and cover with plastic wrap. Let ferment all day or overnight at room temperature (about 8-10 hours), so it doubles in size. A sourdough culture ferments dough much more slowly than dry yeast, so you won't have to worry about it over-fermenting.
Shaping and Proofing the Dough
- Take the dough out of the bowl and gently flatten to a rectangle shape no wider than the loaf pan you are using to bake it in. Roll the dough towards you, tucking as you go. It doesn't need to be really tight, just secure. Seal the edges with your thumb or heel of your hand.
- Butter the loaf pan and cover the bottom (not the sides) with parchment paper and butter that too to keep the bread from sticking.
- Place the dough seam side down in the pan and proof in a warm spot in your kitchen. On top of the stove with the stove turned on is a good way to proof the dough. Proof for 90 minutes or up to 2 hours if needed until the dough has expanded by about 30%.
- Once the dough is proofed, brush the top with a beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse sugar or regular sugar. Cut a slit down the middle to "score" the dough so it will rise in the oven. Use a bread lame or small serrated knife.
Baking the Dough
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool for a bit before removing from the pan and slicing.
Hello,
I’m a bit confused at the indications, it states that the dough should be left at room temperature, but then the next step is to take the dough out of the fridge. Which one is it?
Thank you,
N.
Sorry for the delayed response, I just had a baby and have been a bit busy! Thank you for bringing this up. It was a mistake on my part because I tried the recipe originally by fermenting the dough overnight in the fridge. The next time I made it, I fermented it at room temperature to see if it would over-proof. It worked even better at room temperature, so I updated the instructions, but I missed this one part in the instructions, obviously creating confusion.
So leave it out at room temperature to ferment either all day or overnight (depending on when you started the dough). You could certainly extend the fermentation even longer by placing in the fridge, up to two days, but I find the dough to be too acetic or sour tasting since it has a spelt sourdough culture present, which increases the acetic flavor.
Thanks for catching the oversight! Let me know how it turns out of you make it!
Ok maybe I might make this one instead of the other spelt bread. Question: if I want to make a long ferment recipe that sits for at least 20 hours, can I use this recipe and just leave it longer?
Yes, you can ferment this dough for longer however, I would recommend doing the first fermentation for 8-10 hours at room temperature, then shape it into the log and ferment for another 8-10 hours in the fridge. You have to slow the fermentation down so it doesn’t over-proof and collapse on you. If the log shape hasn’t proofed enough in the fridge, then let finish fermenting in a warm spot for another 60-90 minutes, or until it’s risen enough. A good way to do that would be on top of the stove with the oven turned on to 350 degrees so it makes it a warm spot.
Please check back in and let us know how your bread turns out!