Filled Brioche Clouds

Free

Difficulty: Medium
Time: 40 min (plus proofing time and baking about 4 h)
Quantity: 12 pieces
Type: Leavened Doughs
Dietary requirements: Nut-free Cream-free Vegan

Ingredients

DOUGH

7 g instant dry yeast (or 21 g fresh)

200 g plant-based milk

110 g granulated sugar

5 g salt

400 g all-purpose flour

93 g block margarine

Flavoring as desired

FILLING

About 150 g hazelnut and cocoa spread

These brioches are so soft and fluffy they seem like clouds. I recommend starting them in the morning so they are ready in the afternoon; they are best tasted fresh. They require a double proof: first in the bowl, then the dough is portioned, shaped into balls, and left to rise in the pan before baking. You can flavor them as you wish with vanilla seeds, lemon zest, orange zest, lime zest, or cinnamon, etc. They are good plain or filled; in this recipe they are filled with a hazelnut and cocoa spread, which you can make at home following this recipe, or you can use a ready-made spread, jam, or other creams.

Method

Weigh all ingredients separately. In the stand mixer bowl weigh the warm milk with the yeast and mix to dissolve the yeast.

Add the granulated sugar and the flour (and the desired flavoring). With the hook, start kneading in the mixer at medium-high speed for five minutes.

At this point add the room-temperature margarine piece by piece, adding the next piece only when the previous one is well incorporated. This will take about 20 minutes. The dough should be homogeneous and elastic. Finally add the salt, mix for a few seconds and then stop.

Transfer to the work surface, perform folds (see video) and shape into a loaf. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a cloth. Let rise for 1 hour and a half at room temperature until the dough doubles.

Take the dough, transfer to the work surface with a little flour and divide into portions of 65-70 g to obtain 12 equal pieces.

Take a piece, bring the dough towards the center and round to form balls. Proceed with all pieces the same way.

Prepare a 28 cm diameter round pan, preferably with a removable bottom or springform. Line the base with parchment paper and place 8 balls around the edges and 4 in the center, spaced well apart.

Let rise for about 1 hour and a half at room temperature until doubled, covered with a cloth. Preheat the oven to 190°C static. Brush the brioches with a little plant-based milk.

Bake at 180°C static for about 25 minutes until well golden. When baked, remove from the oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour.

Dust with a little powdered sugar. The cloud brioches are now ready.

They can be eaten plain or filled. Fill at the moment of serving: transfer the spread into a piping bag, make a small cut at the tip, insert the bag into the center of the brioche, press to fill, and remove.

Storage

Store at room temperature under a glass dome or container for two days. Fill with the spread at the moment of serving. On subsequent days, warm in the microwave for 5 seconds and then fill.

Tips

You can use the flavoring you prefer, e.g. lemon zest, vanilla, or others. Proofing time varies with room temperature; in summer with higher T proofing will be faster than in winter. Be patient: the dough usually needs to nearly double, so don't strictly follow the times in the recipe but observe your brioches— they may need an extra half hour or hour. Proper proofing is important for softness. Block margarine should be at room temperature, about 20˚C; in summer at 35˚C it should not reach that temperature or it will melt. Recommended reading: - which ingredients to use - where to buy pastry ingredients and products