brioche des rois

This year, I am a little later than usual to celebrate the new year with la galette des rois, I managed to twist my ankle while walking Miss C. to school with Malou! Not only did I twist my ankle (hard enough to think it was broken), but then I fell on the ground skinning my knee and making a hole in my pants....no fun at all. So I spent the next 4 days on the couch with my leg up! Going back to work was a little challenging as I work mostly standing  with a fair amount of walking....I am now crutch-free, just slow going!
But this week end, I felt well enough to prepare this year treat: a brioche des rois.

Beautiful and so tasty, it made the house smell so good!

Last year, I made une galette des rois with salted caramel

which looks like the original one with frangipane

(delicious too, but it is almond base, and so not doable at home!)

Brioche is also quite traditional,

it is a nice treat, quite rich with a lot of eggs and butter

but very little sugar.

It is also time consuming, with 3 rises (one of them overnight),

so it requires some planning.

Here is the recipe from my French Patisserie class:
 2 1/2 tsp yeast 1/4 cup warm water 16 oz AP flour 2 oz sugar 1 tsp salt 5 eggs 8 oz butter, room temp, not melted
Basically it is like regular bread but without water! First dissolve the yeast in the warm water, wait a few minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the yeast, then add one egg at a time while mixing with a dough hook. Knead the dough for 10 minutes (I had to add more flour as it was not behaving...) Do a gluten window test. Add the butter a piece a time, then again knead for 10 minutes (I added more flour again)
Cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (1 1/2 to 2h)
a cool trick: turn on the oven until it reaches 120, then turn it off,  place a container with water, and let your dough rise there!
Punch the dough and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the dough from the fridge and shape as desired.
I would recommend a scale when cutting some dough pieces just to make sure everything is consistent. Beside the crown cake I also made some small brioche a tete, a large brioche a tete and a loaf.

The loaf is made of 10 little balls, just above 1 oz each. For the crown, they were about 2 to 2.2 oz, which is why is slightly uneven....
After shaping, let it rise in a warm place until double (1 1/2 to 2 h) Egg wash the surface of the dough. I sprinkle some rough sugar on the crown for interest and extra sweetness.
Bake at 375 for 15 minutes for the small ones and about 25 minutes for the larger ones.
Remove the brioche from the pans and let cool.
Eat warm or cool, eat it just as is or with extra butter,  or honey (Brick Master's favorite), or with some jam!
It is best the first day, the next day it can be toasted to renew the freshness.
Happy day!