Brioches or Swiss

How to make brioches .

In all this time that I have been writing and cooking on the blog, in addition to learning, a lot and without rest, what I take with me is the variety and the people who share like me.

Try to cook a little better, that’s what my girlfriend says, who is the one who tries almost all my recipes. But what I liked from the beginning is to investigate the recipe that I publish.

And many times surprise me, about the origin or history of many of the recipes. This is the case of today’s recipe, brioches or Swiss .

I could have sworn that the recipe for those Swiss rolls that I insistently asked my mother every time we passed Felisa’s bakery. It was that, a Swiss recipe. But the truth is another, it seems that not only are they not Swiss but they are homegrown. Of our country, and what is more, what they are is traditional.

Its origin is found in the Madrid cafes of the late 19th century where they were served as part of breakfasts and snacks. We owe its name to those who prepared in the emblematic Café Suizo , on Calle Alcalá. It was so successful that they came to be ordered as the Swiss buns , finally reducing its name to Swiss.

These are traditionally round buns, made with brioche- type dough that are crowned with a superficial layer of crystallized sugar. It is a bun similar to the cristinas , the anise buns or the famous bollicaos .

The result of these Swiss is similar to the previous ones, it is a very tender and slightly sweet dough perfect for breakfasts and snacks.

Preparation of the dough for brioches

1. In a small saucepan we warm the milk and dilute the yeast in it.
2. In a large bowl mix the flour, the milk with yeast, the 3 eggs, the sugar and the pinch of salt.
3. Initially with a fork and then with our hands we begin to knead until it forms a ball.
4. Add the butter to the ball of dough. It is essential that the butter is at room temperature to be able to work it with the rest of the ingredients.
5. At first, when we add the butter, the dough will become very pasty and sticky.
6. It will take about 10 minutes of kneading work to begin to see that the dough begins not to stick to the worktable.
7. We knead a total of no less than 20 minutes until we get a shiny dough that no longer sticks to our hands or to the work table.
8. We spread a bowl with butter and introduce the dough.
9. We will let the dough rest for about 2 hours in a warm place until it has doubled in volume. I usually leave the dough inside the oven warm and off.
10. After this time the dough will have grown considerably. We crush it with our hands to degas.
11. To eliminate air bubbles that have formed during the fermentation process.

Baking and final presentation of brioches

1. We divide the dough into equal portions, about 50 grams in weight.
2. We form a uniform ball with our hands and we are placing them on the final tray that we will use to bake them, on a vegetable paper.
3. We let the portions ferment again until it doubles in volume, about 2 hours more.
4. We preheat the oven to 180º C and paint each bun with beaten egg and a few drops of milk. With a sharp knife we ​​make a deep cut for each one.
5. We sprinkle sugar (blanquilla or pearl sugar, to the taste of each house) on each cut and put in the oven.
6. Bake at 180º C for 12 minutes on the tray in the middle of the oven with heat up and down. Airless so they don’t dry out.
7. We remove the tray with the buns from the oven and move them to a rack until they have completely cooled. At least about 10-15 minutes.

In this way, easy and simple, we can enjoy at home the classic Swiss buns or brioches . 

Tips for Some Swiss Fluffy Buns

• We can enjoy the Swiss classics at any time of the day. But I think your children will thank you as a snack with a glass of milk. 
• If you have a food processor, the recipe will be very simple. Just put the bread hook on it and knead at medium speed until the dough rises and you can do the membrane test.
• A tip to get the buns with a more beautiful color is to brush the egg mixed with a few drops of milk on the Swiss buns before putting them in the oven. You will have a perfect crust.
• And before baking, to give it a sweet touch, I recommend adding a little granulated white sugar or pearl sugar. It will give you a sweet and crunchy point.
• At the time of baking so that the surface does not burn, I recommend covering the brioches with aluminum foil to avoid over-toasting their surface. What I usually do is cook the buns for 5 minutes and cover them with the aluminum foil for the rest of the baking.
• We can tune this candy by adding pieces of chocolate inside when making the balls. Also candied fruit or just alone with a cup of hot chocolate .