Sicilian Brioche, Cause They're Not Just French. We Call Them Brioche col Tuppo
Sweet Little Buns That Give Every Brunch A Boost
For some reason I always thought Brioche was a French thing. It just seemed like it, it sounded like it, and besides I never saw any Brioche on my family table sitting next to the Pandoro. But I’d seen them somewhere recently and thought why have I never baked these little French rolls? And I found out that Italians have their version also. And the reason I likely never ran across them was that this recipe is from Sicily and my family is from Tuscany and the Piedmont and never the twain shall meet. Well this is the 21st century and time to put all that old business behind us. I needed to bake these Sicilian Brioche, and give me a test run at my table.
I’m sure glad I did because they were a big hit and and now getting regular rotation. Also the great thing about these little buns is they’re not just for breakfast. In Sicily they’re served with granita.
Granitas are icy little sorbets made with fresh fruit and eaten all over Italy. I make them every summer and they go with Brioche like red beans and rice as my moms NOLA side of the family would say. The two below are a watermelon granita I served with mesquite smoked salt, and a pineapple granita. Both of these recipes are in my archive here and granitas do NOT need an ice cream machine to make. So, easy.
I didn’t serve my brioche with granitas as we were doing brunch, but as a tea time treat or dessert… go for it!
But before the granita, comes the brioche. So here’s how to bake these tasty little buns.
Sicilian Brioche
Here’s What You Need:
3 and 1/2 to 4 cups of bread flour
3/4 cup of whole milk plus and extra 2 Tbs for the egg wash
2 and 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
5 Tbs sugar
3 eggs, ( two for the dough and 1 for the egg wash)
1 Tbs honey
1/3 cup pf melted unsalted butter
Powdered sugar for dusting
Here’s What To Do:
Mix 3/4 cup of warmed milk with the yeast and set it aside for a few minutes in a warm place until it’s foamy.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment combine 3 and 1/2 cups of the bread flour, salt and sugar
Pour in the milk and yeast mixture, the 2 eggs, melted butter, and honey.
Now using the dough hook attachment knead everything on low speed until it starts to come together, then increase the speed by one and knead the dough for about 8 minutes.
If the dough is still seeming wet by the 5 minute mark, add a bit more of the flour you set aside 1 Tbs at a time. You don’t want to add to much or you’ll get dry brioche (not good) so be careful.
Place it on a work surface and shape it into a ball and place the ball into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and set it aside somewhere warm until it doubles in size. This took me about 90 minutes more or less.
Preheat your oven to 375, place one oven rack in the lower third of the oven and another in the center.
When your dough has doubled place it on a flat surface and divide it into 12 round pieces.
Form the brioche by taking a smaller piece of each dough ball, rolling it into a ball. Flour your index finger so it doesn’t stick, and poke a hole in the center of each large brioche ball, and set the smaller dough ball on top like a little hat
Place each finished brioche on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and cover the tray of brioche with a clean kitchen towel. Set them aside until puffy and almost doubled in size. This takes about an hour.
Beat the remaining egg with 2 Tbs of milk for the egg wash.
Brush each brioche gently with the egg wash using a pastry brush.
Pop the brioche into the lower half of the oven for 12 minutes, then move the tray to the center rack for another 7 to 8 minutes.
Take the tray of brioche out of the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes, then dust them with powdered sugar and serve.
If you’re serving them as a tea time treat or dessert let them cool completely, halve them and put granita or gelato in the center, and eat it like a sandwich.
If you’re not using ice cream, take off the hat and dip it into your morning espresso , latte or whatever. Cannot beat that!!!
Coming up next, I’m finally getting around to a Shelf Stable Genius Idea, and some Indian delights!
Meanwhile, I’m always around for questions and comments and requests, just give me a shout out, and remember, over here it’s okay to play with your food!
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I really miss Italian baked goods and granità from the time we lived in Milan. I used to buy little sweet buns for breakfast sometimes and I wonder if these are similar. I definitely want to try them.