Brioche braid means above all breakfast, surely the most important meal of the day because it allows us to recharge the energy we will need to tackle the tasks ahead.

There is therefore nothing worse than limiting it to a quick coffee or tea, without accompanying it with the right amount of nutrients. It is true that sometimes you don’t feel like eating as soon as you get up, and this also happens to children during the school term if we wake them up early and have to constantly urge them to get ready quickly so as not to be late for the bell to ring.

And if at the beginning of 2020 we did not have to fight with our children to wake them up before 7 a.m., there was still the struggle to convince them to eat a good breakfast so as not to arrive at 11 a.m. hungry and desperately seeking forbidden foods… at least the forbidden in our house where industrial snacks, whether sweet or savoury, are an absolute taboo: forgive me, but this is one of the rules on which I am immovable!

If you want help with this, I would say that the Brioche braid is an excellent ally! Who can say no to a lightly toasted slice of fragrant pan brioche with a smooth layer of jam? Probably no one, not even the most stubborn no-breakfast people.

Then prepare it in the shape you prefer: single-portion mini buns (note that in this case you will have to reduce the cooking time to 20-25 minutes) or the braid I explain in the recipe, which you can cut into slices, once cooked and cooled, and store perfectly in the freezer until a few minutes before consumption. Thawed briefly in the microwave, then toasted, your brioche bun will be as good as freshly made.

Have I convinced you? See here how to prepare the recipe. You will see that your day will be ‘as good as bread’!

Brioche braid     

44.71g carbohydrates per 100g without granulated sugar

 Ingredients for the starter dough

• 250g gluten-free flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
• 200g low fat milk
• 25g brewer’s yeast

Ingredients for the dough

• 300g gluten-free flour mix for bread, brand Nutrifree**
• 120g low fat milk
• 100g butter
• 40g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 10g salt
• granulated sugar*

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

1. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in lukewarm milk and add it to the flour in a bowl or a food processor, mix until a soft, smooth dough is obtained. Shape into a ball, cut a cross on the surface and let it rest in a bowl covered with a tea towel until it has doubled in volume (approx. 1 hour in the oven at proving temperature or 1.5 hours in a warm place).
2. When this starter dough has risen well, in a second bowl or in the planetary mixer, place the remaining 300g of flour and start mixing; gradually add the soft butter, 1 whole egg and 1 yolk (keep the egg white to brush the surface of the brioche), the starter dough, salt, sugar and start adding the milk until it is completely incorporated.
3. Put the dough on a floured cutting board, cut the dough into 3 equal parts and form a long cylinder from each piece and finally twist the cylinders to form a plait that you will place in a large non-stick mould. Brush the surface with the egg white you set aside and leave to rise for about 1-1.5 hours, brushing occasionally with egg white.
4. When the braid is nice and swollen, brush the surface again, top with granulated sugar to taste then bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for about 35 minutes, covering the surface with foil to prevent it from becoming too brown.

Brioche braid ready for breakfast

Version with gluten of Brioche braid

Replace the gluten-free flour with a conventional flour of your choice, also multi-grain or wholemeal, and reduce the milk used for the dough to 80-100g