The recipe is from Cherie Bevan and Tass Tauroa, of Sydney café and bakery The Cook and Baker, and is found in their cookbook of the same name.

Good Morning Brioche

Makes 12
Preparation time 30 minutes plus 40 minutes first proving time for dough and 30 minutes second proving
Cooking time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Brioche Dough
250ml (1 cup) full-cream (whole) milk
10g (2 teaspoons) dried yeast
75g (1⁄3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
485g (3¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon salt
75g butter, cut into small pieces, softened

Method

Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until it is lukewarm, then stir in the yeast, sugar and eggs.

Put the flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the wet mixture to the flour and mix until a loose dough has formed. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix for 5 minutes. Add the softened butter and mix until it is incorporated and the dough becomes smooth and elastic, approximately 5 minutes.

Place the dough in a large greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in volume, approximately 40 minutes. Your dough is now ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 12-hole standard 250ml (1 cup) muffin tin with paper cases.

Empty the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle, approximately 25 x 48cm, and around 1cm thick. At this point, you can make the chocolate or cinnamon sugar variations.

Variations:

Recipe and image from The Cook and Baker, by Cherie Bevan and Tass Tauroa, published by Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99.

Chocolate Spread: Cover the dough with 450g (1½ cups) chocolate hazelnut spread, such as Nutella. Roll from the longest side to form a log. Slice into 12 4cm-thick slices, and place in the prepared tin. Loosely cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place to prove, until the dough has almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out.

Cinnamon Sugar: Thinly spread 150g of softened butter over the dough, then sprinkle liberally with 175g of sugar mixed with cinnamon. Roll from the longest side to form a log. Slice into 12 4cm-thick slices, and place in the prepared tin. Loosely cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place to prove, until the dough has almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out.