Blackberry Brioche Buns
Here’s my recipe for a brioche bun with a jammy, fruit filling, in this case blackberry, as I picked up a load of them at the market. Any berry would do, and frozen berries will make things easier if it’s not berry season.
The brioche bun recipe is my go-to recipe these days for buns and scrolls, as well as brioche rolls and bread.
Dough
275ml full-fat milk (room temperature)
2 free-range eggs (room temperature)
10g instant yeast
255g plain flour
255g strong flour
50g caster sugar
10g salt
80g unsalted butter in small pieces (softened)
Filling
4 tablespoons butter at room temperature
4 tablespoons brown sugar
150g blackberries, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon blackberry jam
Mix the milk and egg and whisk in the yeast in a jug or bowl. In an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Scatter the butter pieces through the dough. Add the milk, eggs and yeast. Turn the mixer to low and mix to combine the ingredients.
Continue to mix on low until everything is incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes. After this time, check to see if the dough windowpanes. The dough should be lovely and stretchy and pass the windowpane test if you pull and stretch a small section – it should be translucent.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap or a plastic shower cap and leave to prove for 1-2 hours until doubled in size. Press the dough down, and then place the bowl in the fridge for several hours to let the dough firm up - this will help with the next stage of shaping.
Remove the dough from the fridge and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle, as large as you can go, with the dough ending up about 1/2 cm thick. My dough rectangle is usually about 30cm in width by 40-50cm in length.
To make the blackberry filling, combine the softened butter and brown sugar in a food processor or by hand in a bowl. Spread the mixture over the dough rectangle, leaving a centimetre border around the edges. Combine the chopped blackberries and blackberry jam and spoon this over the dough.
With the long edge of the dough facing you, roll the dough as tightly as you can get it. Using a sharp knife trim each end of the dough roll, cutting off a couple of centimetres. This is to neaten the dough. Cut the long dough roll into 10 slices. (Each bun is quite generous).
Place cut sides up in a large baking dish lined with baking paper. Cover with a large plastic bag and leave to prove in a warm place for 1-2 hours until the dough is noticeably risen and passes the proving test: gently poke it with your fingertip, when it’s properly proved the dough should feel soft but stable and slowly return to its former position. Or you could prove overnight in the fridge if you want warm buns for breakfast.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 200°C or 180°C fan.
Place the baking dish place into the preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the buns are risen and they are a deep golden brown.
Serve warm straight from the oven or leave to cool. These buns freeze really well too!