Plant-Based Brioche

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the oat milk, olive oil, sugar, and aquafaba.
2. Add the instant yeast, salt, and 3 cups of flour and mix until just beginning to combine, then switch to the dough hook and knead until the dough is smooth and shiny and elastic-looking. The dough will likely look very wet at first, but continue to knead it and it should smooth out and start to look shinier—this can take up to 15 or 20 minutes, so persevere! (This is also why it’s much better to use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook instead of attempting to knead it by hand.) If you find it’s really not getting satiny and smooth, and it’s sticking too much to the sides of the bowl and not coming together in a ball, then you can add a bit more flour—up to ½ cup—one tablespoon at a time.
3. Once the dough is smooth and shiny, transfer it to a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a reusable cover) and let it rise at room temperature for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size.
4. After this rise, place the covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it chill for a minimum of 4 hours or as long as overnight.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and divide it in half. Divide each half into six even pieces and roll them into balls.
6. Lightly grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans and place six balls in each pan, offsetting the balls slightly. Cover the pans and let rise at room temperature until very puffy, about 2 hours.
7. When you’re almost ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F.
8. Brush the tops of the loaves with olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for 15 to 25 minutes longer, until the loaves are golden brown. If you find that the loaves are browning too quickly, tent them with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.