Brioche Flower with Cherry Preserves

This Brioche Flower with cherry preserves can be made with any sweet or savory filling. I used cherry preserves, which went perfectly with the brioche dough.

Cathy of the wonderful bread baking blog Bread Experience made hers with Nutella, which helps the flower look more "flower-like." My jam kind of oozed out of every crevice as I attempted to shape it. My flower also "bloomed" in the oven.

While I was frustrated at first, I kind of like my "wild" flower. To see what a perfectly shaped loaf looks like, and to watch a video of the shaping method, check out The Bread Kitchen.

Cathy created this recipe for the dough by combining The Bread Kitchen's recipe and Peter Reinhart's Poor Man's Brioche. I added a quarter cup of potato flakes and an extra tablespoon of milk so that the bread would stay moist and fresh. If you don't have potato flakes, you can use the same amount of mashed potatoes and skip the extra milk.

Even though mine is a bit of a wild flower, it's very tasty and perfect for Sunday breakfast with your coffee or tea. I'm going to try it again with cinnamon roll filling and a sweet glaze.

Brioche Flower with Cherry Preserves

Ingredients

Sponge

1/2 C (2.25 ounces) all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsps instant yeast

1/2 C whole milk, 90 to 100 degrees F

Final Dough

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 T milk

3 T sugar

1 1/4 tsp salt

3 C (13.75 ounces) all purpose flour

1/4 C potato flakes 

1/2 C melted unsalted butter

1-2 tsp milk if needed

About one cup of any filling you choose. 

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir the sponge ingredients together, cover, and let sit about 45 minutes, until bubbly.
2. Add the eggs and milk. Whisk thoroughly.
3. Add the sugar and salt and whisk.
4. Add the flour and potato flakes and mix with the dough hook until all of the flour has been moistened, about 2 minutes. Cover the bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes. 
5. Add the butter, and knead on low speed with the dough hook for about 10 minutes. If you are having trouble getting the dough to absorb the butter, remove the dough and add it back into the bowl in pieces. 
6. Place the dough in bowl or dough rising bucket, cover, and set it in a warm spot and let rise until it doubles, about 1 to 2 hours. 
7. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into four even pieces.
8. Roll out the first piece into a 10 inch circle and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. 
9. Spread filling evenly over the circle, stopping short of the edge.
10. Roll out the second piece of dough and place it on top of the first piece. Spread with filling.
11. Repeat with the third piece of dough.
12. Roll out the fourth piece of dough and place it on top. Do not spread filling on this piece. 
13. Leaving a circle in the center, cut the dough into 16 equal segments. 
14. Take two side-by-side segments, and twist them away from each other making a 180 degree turn. Repeat. Then twist 90 degrees and press the ends together (I highly recommend looking at Cathy's photos) or watching the video. 
15. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with spray oil, and let rise for 1 to 2 hours, until puffy, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
16. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.
17. Cool on a wire rack, and dust with powdered sugar (optional).