I think maybe one of the reasons people think bread baking must be hard is that there are often so many steps in the recipe. In truth though, most of those steps require as much work as covering a bowl and sitting down with a cup of tea and your favourite book. The list may look daunting but really, there’s not all that much to it.
Where bread-baking differs from a lot of other baking, I think anyway, is in its rewards. You just can’t beat the satisfaction of taking that first bite of homemade bread still with a hint of warmth from the oven.
For this month’s Secret Recipe Club I was assigned to Paulchen’s Food Blog – a treasure trove of recipes from Viennese cat-lover Astrid. Astrid had me when I saw she believes you can read a cookbook just for pleasure. It sounds like her collection would give me a run for my money.
As usual I had a tough time choosing a recipe to make but I thought I’d challenge myself this month. I’d never made brioche before, nor any type of shaped bread (apart from a cinnamon wreath), unless you count round so the little knots really sucked me in. When I saw they were flavoured with orange and saffron I was so intrigued my recipe was set.
I’ll let my phone tell you how I liked them. This photo was taken just a few minutes after I took them out of the oven. One whiff and I had to have one.
They may look fancy, you can tell your friends they were seriously complicated to make, but in truth, they’re really easy. The dough basically makes itself if you have a stand mixer and mine rose so fast I didn’t even have to put it in my sunny spot reserved for dough proving.
Pent up anger or frustration? The best remedy is punching down the dough after its first rise.
It took me a little bit of Googling to find out how to roll these babies and I thought it may end in disaster or tears of frustration but they were easy to shape. The recipe didn’t say how many it made so I went for 16 because that meant easy dividing – cut in half, in half again, and again, and again. I weighed mine out so they’d all be the same but feel free to just guesstimate.
To shape the buns, roll a ball of dough out into a sausage about 30-35 centimeters long. Tie a knot in the middle of the dough. You will have two loose ends. The end poking out of the middle – fold it up and over the knot then back under in the middle. With the end that is sticking out the bottom, fold it up and over into the middle of the dough then press the two ends together firmly.
Plonk the buns into lined muffin tins and leave them to rise again. Just re-writing the recipe now I see that it called for 20g of fresh yeast. I used dried and at the time I thought that was a lot of yeast (usually it’s about 7g). That may have accounted for the vitality of my dough. If you want you could experiment with using less yeast but mine worked well with 20g.
These babies are best served warm just a few minutes after taking them from the oven. I saved a couple (the rest went out as gifts) and re-heated them 2 days later and while they were still good, they were not nearly as tasty as the freshly-baked ones.
See how buttery the inside looks? Combine it with and almost, flakey-pastry-like crust then give it a hint of citrus and a burst of saffron sun and you’ll get an idea of how good these were. They’re not very sweet but that only means it’s easier to consume more than one at a time. Enjoy!
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Orange and saffron brioche buns
Ingredients
Instructions
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I made this bread with my daughter and her friend! It is my first time making Brioche. The recipe was so easy to follow and the kids had so much fun taking turns adding ingredients. The bread turned out heavenly good, not too sweet and the texture is so soft. Thank you very much.
I’m so glad you and your daughter and her friend enjoyed it Leo!
Your brioche knots came out beautifully. Isn’t it fun trying new things. Especially challenging new things.
So much fun Margaret, especially when they turn out!
Yum, Claire – these look amazing. My mouth is watering so much!
Thanks Erin! They were pretty amazing!
Oh my goodness, I love these! They are so adorable. And I can just imagine how incredible they taste. Awesome job!
Thanks Lesa!
Brioche is something that I have on my “buy” list because making it would make my stilettos run for the hills (or so I thought). Seeing you break it down like this makes me less fearful so I resolve to at least make an attempt by year’s end to make these lovelies :)
No way Aly it’s so easy!
oh wow, how gorgeous! These buns look so soft and rich!
Thanks Cooking Rookie!
oh how fancy! great SRC pick.
We LOVE brioche and I don’t make it that often because my recipe requires an overnight rise. This looks like a great option. Thanks for sharing with the SRC.
Now you don’t have to wait Camilla!
kneading the dough is one of the reasons I don’t really make bread… but these little cuties look so delicious… maybe I’ll give it a try!
You have a stand mixer don’t you Stephanie? If not here’s your excuse!
Great pick! Hot, buttery bread is totally my kryptonite… I can totally relate to the fact that you had to eat one as soon as they came out of the oven! :)
Love the combination of saffron and orange. It sounds like the perfect pairing with buttery brioche. I’ve got these pinned for a rainy day!
It’s pretty irresistible isn’t it?
VERY yummy Claire! Brioche is one of my favorite breads ever! These sound amazing with the orange and saffron, so unique!
You would definitely love these Chris!
Those look amazing. I love baking bread but I have never made knots like that. And the flavor combo sounds irresistible!
I had your blog this month and it was such a pleasure to get to peruse your recipes!
Thanks so much Vanderbilt Wife!
Your rolls are beautiful! I wouldn’t be able to resist them hot out of the oven either.
Thanks Barbara!
love that phone picture!
Love the way these turned out!!! I’ve made brioche loaves before but I can wait to try out these little beauties and the flavors sound great!
It’s a cute way to make them individual sized isn’t it?
What a great pick! That combo of orange and saffron must be delicious!
It is indeed Pola!
Such cute little buns! Love them! :) A great SRC pick. :)
Thanks Sara!
Would you believe I was just thinking about brioche today? Your rolls look so pretty and that flavoring sounds incredible.
Must be a sign! You will have to make them now!
Is there anything more irresistible than a tray of freshly baked brioche buns? No ma’am. No there is not.
I agree Sarah!