Author Notes
This sinfully truly decadent Polish Brioche looks like a regular yellow or pound cake because it is made in a 12 cup bundt pan, but it is instead the most tender, delicious, cake like brioche. It is indeed OUTRAGEOUSLY rich due to the 18 (yes 18) egg yolks that it contains; but it is so worth it. You can freeze the egg whites in ice cubes and use them to make meringues, etc. But even if you end up not using the egg whites, you should still go ahead and make it. You will not regret it, unless of course you are dieting and/or watching your cholesterol. But one slice or two should not be so bad. Also, as the brioche bakes, your house will be filled with a wonderful aroma of (how can I best describe it) a caramely, buttery sweet bread. If you eat this bread and close your eyes, you may think it is store-bought because it is so tender; and oftentimes storebought sweet yeast breads and brioches seem softer/more tender than those made from scratch. But hey, with 18 egg yolks in this brioche, it cannot be anything other than tender. Please do give this a try.
This recipe is adapted from a recipe found in okuchnia.pl; it is actually written in Polish but thanks to “google translate” and some questions sent to the author, I was able to get a successful translation of the recipe. Original recipe asks for cake flour; I chose instead all purpose flour and in the same amount. I also added vanilla and orange extract.
Author says that they eat it during Easter but I can eat it all year round. —Regine
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Ingredients
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18
Large egg yolks, room temperature. Do not SKIMP on the egg yolks! Or just do half the recipe!
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1 1/2 cups
All-Purpose flour
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1 cup
Sugar
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100
Grams of unsalted butter (about 7 tbsp), room temperature and cut into about 7 pieces
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100
ml of whole milk (about 6 tbsp + 2 tsp)
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14
Grams active dry yeast (I used 2 packets of Red Star dry yeast). I have also successfully used 2 tsp of instant yeast (my favorite is Red Star Platinum Superior Baking Yeast)
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1/2 teaspoon
Vanilla extract
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1/2 teaspoon
Orange extract
Directions
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Warm milk (I made it 110-115F) and to it add a teaspoon of sugar and a tbsp of flour and the yeast. Stir until yeast is dissolved and set aside for it to bubble. Recipe says it takes about 10 minutes and it did it did take just that. It grew exponentially quick. So place in a big bowl or cup.
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Using paddle attachment of stand alone mixer, beat yolks with remaining sugar till creamy and whitish; add the extracts around the end. Add remaining flour and the yeast mixture. Beat for 15 minutes.
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Add pieces by pieces the butter and beat for another 15 minutes. Note this is and will remain a very creamy, not stiff, batter.
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Cover bowl with a plastic and then a damp towel. Recipe says it should take 2 hours to double in a warm area. It took me about 2 1/4 hrs. What I did was to microwave a cup of water until it boils and then place bowl inside microwave. At around 1 hour, I took out bowl, microwaved the water again and placed the bowl back inside.
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Recipe says to then place in buttered pan and let double, then bake. But I instead stirred it down and refrigerated the dough overnight in a buttered 12 cup bundt pan.
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Take it out of refrigerator and let dough rise again, using the same microwave technique I used. It should take about 4 hrs but maybe 2
hrs if you did not refrigerate the dough. Mine reached 3/4 of pan.
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Bake in an oven preheated to 180C/355C for about 30-40 minutes. Use @ 30 min, a long kebab skewer to test the middle of the cake. If ready, it should come out dry and clean. Let cool a bit then sprinkle with powdered sugar. I used a glaze but I think just a sprinkling of powdered sugar is sufficient. Note the outside will be dark brown due to the high egg yolk content. Also, the high fat and egg yolk content give
this brioche a long lasting soft texture. Enjoy it for brunch or with tea/coffee. Perfect for Easter and Christmas.
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