Whether for Easter or everyday, brioche is a simple yet versatile bread, perfect for making into different shapes and providing a good base for additional flavours. We've teamed up with Angus McCaig, Head Chef at The Holt, Honiton, to create an authentic brioche baguette recipe. You can make a 'plain' version, but here we've used our Aroma Panettone essential oil together with Candied Orange peel to take it further, and give a distinctly delicious orangey-citrus flavour for our Brilliant Brioche Panettone Baguettes. Osmotolerant Yeast comes in handy when baking brioche, as it is intended specifically for highly enriched dough that normal yeasts can struggle to lift well. This is a soft dough and can be sticky, so make sure you dust your work surface lightly with flour, and because of the sugar content, make sure your oven is at 200°C. If you bake at the usual bread temp of 220-230°C you will get too much colour and an overcooked flavour.

This is an easy recipe, which takes around 25 minutes to bake and serves 8. If you are looking for something else to make, this recipe also makes fantastic doughnuts, or if you leave out the sugar, you can serve the brioches with lightly scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for brunch.

Method

Put the milk and yeast in a large bowl and whisk to remove any lumps, then add all the other ingredients except the butter and peel and work into a dough by hand (or use a mixer with a hook on low speed) until the dough is smooth, then rest it for five minutes.

Add the butter and peel. Knead for a further five minutes or until fully incorporated: the consistency will be very squelchy at first, but persist and it will come together to form a smooth and very soft dough. Leave to prove for one hour or until doubled in volume.

Turn the dough out gently on to a lightly floured work surface. Fold the far side to the middle, and then the near side right over to create a fat sausage shape. With a dough scraper, cut the dough into four even pieces. Dust with flour; this is soft dough to work with, so be gentle.

Repeat the folding technique gently with each piece to make four neat dough baton shapes. Place each dough baton carefully onto a baking tray and allow to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes, until doubled in size. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C. Gently score 12 cuts on each baton with a grignette or sharp knife. Bake for 20-24 minutes. The brioche should be golden brown. Cool slightly in the tray and then remove to a cooling rack.

The brioches will keep well for a few days, remaining really soft. Eat sliced with some really good butter, or if you like, some homemade strawberry jam. The brioches are also good sliced and toasted.