Best Brioche Buns

This recipe makes 16 decent-sized buns and takes about 30 minutes of active preparation, 25-30 minutes of cooking and 3.5-4 hours of resting. I usually bake what I need then freeze the excess. They'll cook the same if you let them thaw overnight before cooking.

I use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment to make these, I did try using a handheld mixer once while my stand mixer was in for repairs but the dough snapped my hooks and I ended up getting the arm workout of my life. If you're planning on making these by hand you can go for a smaller batch size, the ingredients divide down quite nicely so you could in theory make as little as 2 at a time if you're using yeast from a tin.

The main picture is actually from my first attempt at these buns, I made them to serve with pulled pork and they were delicious enough that they're now one of my go-to recipes.

To make sure all of your ingredients are ready to go, I recommend
removing the eggs and butter you will use from the fridge at least 30 minutes in advance, but preferably overnight.

Your eggs should be around room temperature and the butter should be soft enough that you can cut into it with a dinner knife with little resistance.

1kg white bread flour, may be known as strong flour.

100g caster sugar, most light sugars will work fine here but avoid darker sugars

2 sachets, 15g or a little over 1 and a half tablespoons active dried yeast

400g unsalted butter, if using salted then use half as much salt

200ml skimmed milk, if using higher fat content milk you can reduce the butter content accordingly

9 medium eggs, 8 for the brioche itself and 1 for an egg wash

1 tablespoon cheap salt, don't bother using more expensive stuff here

When you're ready to start, put your milk in a saucepan on the hob on its lowest setting to warm, aiming for a temperature of around 30-35C. This should feel warm to the touch, if it feels cold then allow it to warm a little longer, but err on the side of too cold rather than too hot. As the milk is warming up, beat the eggs you're using for the dough, keeping 1 aside for an egg wash. You can also cube the butter at this stage if you wish.

Add the flour to your mixer's bowl, then pour the salt into one side of the bowl and the sugar into the other. Add the yeast to the side with the sugar, then mix each of the sides separately into the flour with your hands or a spatula. This helps avoid damaging the yeast.

Once both sides are well combined, place the bowl into your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix on low for 30 seconds to bring both sides together.

Keeping the mixer on low, add your milk slowly to the flour until it is fully combined. You're looking for something close to a breadcrumb consistency as shown in the first image.

Once done, put your mixer on medium-low and add the eggs a little at a time, before increasing the speed to medium-high (about one notch below your mixer's recommended maximum for use with the dough hook) and allowing to mix for 10 minutes.

Leaving the mixer at medium-high speed, add a small amount of the butter at a time and allow to combine before adding more. I usually add a teaspoon per go and it takes about 5-10 minutes in total. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go with a rubber spatula. Once you're done you should have a smooth dough which may be a little sticky.

By this stage, you should be able to easily form your dough into a smooth ball with your hands.

Cover the bowl with cling film, a wet tea towel or a lid if you have one which fits relatively tight then leave in a warm place for 1.5-2 hours to double in size, then move to a fridge or other cool place to rest for 1 hour.

Line a baking sheet or muffin tin with grease-proof paper (baking parchment) or spray with oil then divide your dough into as many pieces as you are making buns. For each piece, pull the corners together into a rough circle then push down on the middle before rolling into a ball and placing onto your baking sheet. Space your buns far enough apart to allow for a decent rise, the spaces in your muffin tin will normally be OK.

At this point you can freeze any excess buns.

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan.

Cover your baking sheet with cling film and leave again to prove for 30 minutes, in which time your buns should double in size again. Brush with your egg wash and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Allow at least 20 minutes to cool before serving.