Small Brioches

This is a shaping-and-baking instruction that assumes you already have risen brioche dough from the preceding recipe in the book. The only real skill here is handling enriched dough cold.

• A moderate ovenUsually taken as somewhere around 350F. The recipe gives a flat twenty minutes; at this size that is about right, and they are ready when the base sounds hollow and the egg-washed top is deep glossy brown.
• Work the dough coldBrioche paste is typically somewhere between a third and an equal weight of butter against the flour, depending on the formula, and it grows greasy and hard to shape as it warms. Chill it firm before dividing, and if it starts to slacken while you are rolling, return it to the refrigerator for ten minutes.
• "Gently roll out to small dome shapes"This means rolling each piece under a cupped palm into a tight ball, not rolling flat with a pin. The tension in the surface is what gives the dome its lift.
• Hair pastry brushA soft natural-bristle brush. Silicone works but drags on a proved surface; whatever you use, touch the egg on rather than sweep it, or you will deflate the dome and leave brush lines baked into the crust.
• The buttered tinThe book bakes these free-form on a flat tin, which gives a rounder, flatter roll than the fluted tin most people picture. Fluted brioche molds, well buttered, will give the classic ridged shape at the same temperature.
• The missing proofNo second rise is specified. Shaped brioche needs 45 to 90 minutes at room temperature after shaping, until noticeably puffed, or the crumb comes out dense and the egg wash cracks.
• YieldTwelve rolls, one or two to a person at breakfast. They are at their best fresh, so serve them hot as the recipe says or refresh briefly in the oven.