The best brioche breakfast buns

Name: The best brioche breakfast buns
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 9
Ingredients: 175 ml whole milk; 250 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for rolling; 250 g plain flour; 25 g caster sugar; ½ tsp fine salt; 7 g sachet fast action yeast; 4 British Blacktail Free Range Medium Eggs; 100 g butter, cubed, at room temperature, plus a little for greasing

The key to amazing brioche is soft butter, so make sure you’ve got a pack ready before you begin Martha Collison's tasty recipe. This dough is a canvas for all kinds of sweet and savoury fillings – it can be baked plain or with a sprinkle of sugar.

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Vegetarian

Makes9
CourseBreakfast
Prepare45 mins
Cook25 mins
Total time1 hr 10 mins
PlusPreparation time 45 minutes + rising and overnight proving

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Ingredients

For the dough

175ml whole milk
250g strong white bread flour, plus extra for rolling
250g plain flour
25g caster sugar
½ tsp fine salt
7g sachet fast action yeast
4 British Blacktail Free Range Medium Eggs
100g butter, cubed, at room temperature, plus a little for greasing

For the filling and to glaze

50g butter, at room temperature
125g dark brown soft sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 British Blacktail Free Range Medium Egg, beaten

For the topping

75g soft cheese
40g butter, at room temperature
35g natural yogurt
100g icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp vanilla extract, or to taste

Method

For the dough, warm the milk in a small saucepan or in the microwave until hot, but not boiling, then set aside until warm. Combine the flours, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix to combine, then slowly add the milk.
Beat the eggs together in a jug, then add to the dough gradually and knead for 6-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Add the butter to the dough, 1 cube at a time. Knead until fully combined, before adding the next. It may look like the butter will never combine, but keep kneading and it will absorb. Knead for a further minute, then cover the bowl and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Prepare the filling. Beat together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Lightly flour the work surface and tip the risen dough out onto it. Roll into a rectangle of about 30x40cm. Don’t stretch the dough bigger than this, or it will be too thin to stay pillowy once baked.
Spread the top of the dough with the cinnamon sugar paste to create an even layer. Roll tightly into a log. Start from a short end, and squeeze gently to seal. Slice off each end and divide into 9 equal-sized rolls .
Arrange the rolls in a lightly greased 23x23cm square cake tin. Cover with lightly greased clingfilm and chill for at least 8 hours, or preferably overnight.
When ready to bake, remove the rolls from the fridge to come to room temperature for 45 minutes. Near the end of that time, preheat the oven to 200 ºC, gas mark 6.
Brush the top of each roll with beaten egg, then bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and risen. Don’t overbake, or the bread will become dry. Leave in the tin on a rack, until just warm.
While the rolls are baking, combine the soft cheese, 40g butter, yogurt and icing sugar in a small bowl. Beat until smooth, then add the vanilla. Smother the buns (still in the tin) in the icing, and serve warm.