I like big buns and I cannot lie! I’ve been a big fan of making sandwiches recently, and these brioche buns are perfect for homemade sandwiches and burgers! They are so soft and have just enough flavor to add a little bit of depth to any meal. They’re also incredibly easy to make (and bake quickly)! Stay tuned for my next post to see how I used these bad boys 
Brioche Buns
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 2 tbsp bread flour (20g)
- 2 tbsp water (27g)
- 4 tbsp whole milk (60g)
Dough
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour (320g)
- 1/2 cup whole milk (120g)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened (42g)
- 2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar (35g)
- 1 whole egg, room temp
- 1 egg yolk, room temp
- 1 tbsp instant or active dry yeast (9g)
- 1 tsp fine sea salt (7g)
Egg Wash
- 1 whole egg
- splash of whole milk
Instructions
- First make the tangzhong. Add the ingredients to a small saucepan and thoroughly mix together until homogenous. Place the saucepan over medium heat and whisk constantly. Once the pan gets up to heat, the tangzhong will quickly thicken to a paste-like consistency. Once thick, remove from the heat and scoop the tangzhong into a small bowl to cool while prepping the dough.
- To bloom the yeast, heat the whole milk to ~95°F and add the yeast. Mix together with a fork (or your finger, anything works) and let sit for ~8 minutes.
- While the yeast is blooming, add the bread flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk together to combine. Put the mixer on low with the dough hook, and slowly add the milk and yeast mix. Let that mix for ~30 seconds, and then add the tangzhong, followed by the whole egg and egg yolk.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium low, and let all the ingredients mix for a few minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. Once the dough has come together, gradually add the softened butter. Once all the butter has been added, allow the dough to knead for 5-10 minutes. It can vary greatly, so once 5 minutes have passed, you're really just looking to see if the dough is smooth, tacky (not sticky) to the touch, and pulling away from the sides of the bowl easily.
- Once the dough is ready, lightly grease a medium sized bowl. Remove the dough from the stand mixer and on an unfloured work surface, roll the dough around into a ball. This will help add some tension to the surface of the dough. Place the dough ball into the greased bowl seam side down and cover with a damp towel. Let the dough proof in a warm space for 1-1 1/2 hrs, or until doubled in size.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down the dough and pour out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 6 even pieces, they should be around 100g each.
- Take each piece of dough and fold the edges into the center, and then place seam side down. Using a very loose claw grip, roll the dough around on the counter in your hand in a tight circle. The dough should easily shape up into a nice taught ball. Repeat with the remaining 5 pieces.
- Place the dough balls seam side down onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with lightly greased parchment paper. Place another baking sheet upside down over top, this will keep the dough from drying out as it does its second rise. Let the dough rise for another 1-2 hours, or until doubled.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Once the dough is ready, in a small bowl, lightly beat together one egg and a splash of milk for an egg wash. Brush the buns with the egg wash and bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!
