This brioche butter braid made with fresh milled flour is so soft and is customizable for whatever fruit or savory filling you want to put in it! It’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!
Pictured above is a butter braid filled with apple pie filling.
Jump to RecipeI know this is a spin off of the actual butter braid and it isn’t technically a pastry dough, but I notice their dough almost looks a little bready. Not quite pastry, but not full bread either. I have been using this amazing brioche dough and apparently it’s pretty versatile! Not only is it a great bread, but it makes wonderful cinnamon rolls, buns, donuts and now a spin-off of the butter braid!
How To Braid A Butter Braid
I’m not a professional, but I will share what I did for my butter braids. The ends are what get me! If you have any better tips, please leave a comment!
Jump to RecipeFilling Ideas For Your Butter Braid Made With Fresh Milled Flour
You can fill your butter braid with sweet or savory fillings! Here are a few ideas below:
Fruit Pie Filling– Apple, blueberry, peach, cherry, and the list goes on.
Cream Cheese Filling– This would go great with a fruit filling, too! Mix up 8 ounces softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 large egg yolk, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
Cinnamon Sugar– Spread softened butter down the middle and add in brown sugar and cinnamon and braid.
Pizza– Add your favorite pizza sauce and toppings and braid!
Taco– Add your taco meat and favorite toppings.
Your Favorite Meat & Cheese
I’d love to hear other filling ideas if you have any in the comments!
This brioche dough uses 2 techniques to yield the soft, fluffy texture that you won’t believe is 100% fresh milled flour! I know it can seem daunting to add more steps, but the Tangzhong method only adds 2-3 minutes to the whole process and the Autolyse adds as little as 20 minutes if you go with the lower time (which I usually do). I also now love the Autolyse time because I will use those 20 minutes to wash my bread making dishes and clean up my kitchen.
What Is The Tangzhong Method?
The tangzhong method is an Asian technique that is known to create soft, squishy bread. This method of pre-cooking a small amount of flour, milk, and water pre-gelatinizes the starches in the flour, resulting in more moisture in the dough.
This is great! It gives the fluffy, soft texture that we’re used to in store-bought bread. If you want to read more about the tangzhong method, check out this article by King Arthur.
What Is The Autolyse Method?
The autolyse method is resting your dough mixture for 20-60 minutes BEFORE adding the yeast and salt. This will help ensure that your flour is fully hydrated and make your dough more stretchy, resulting in a softer loaf of bread. If you want to read more on the Autolyse Method read this article.
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Butter Braid With Made With Fresh Milled Flour
Ingredients
For Tangzhong
- 18 grams fresh milled hard white wheat flour (2 tbsp)
- 60 grams milk (1/4 cup)
- 30 grams water (2 tbsp)
Dough
- 180 grams milk (3/4 cup)
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 425 grams fresh milled hard white wheat flour (approx. 3 1/2 cups)
- 2 eggs
- 36 grams butter softened (3 tbsp.)
- 9.3 grams instant yeast (1 tbsp) (I use SAF)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp milk
Icing
- 60 grams powdered sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1 tbsp milk or heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Make Tangzhong
- Combine all ingredients for tangzhong into a small saucepan and whisk over medium heat to make sure there are no clumps.
- Stir constantly until thickened. 2-3 minutes. I like to use a spatula after whisking so it doesn't stick to the edges. It will look like a thick roux similar to thick pudding.
Make Dough
- In your mixing bowl add the Tangzhong mixture, milk, sugar, flour, eggs, and softened butter. Remember, DON'T ADD the yeast or salt at this step. Mix until thoroughly combined. We're not fully kneading in this step. Cover and let this mixture Autolyse for 20-60 minutes.
- After you've autolysed, add in your yeast and salt. Knead in your mixer for 6-8 minutes or until windowpane is reached. This will vary depending on your mixer.
- Form the dough into a ball, put it in a greased bowl, cover and rise for about an hour or until doubled in size. This will vary by the temperature in your home.
- Once it's doubled in size, oil your hands and punch the dough down. Separate into 2 equal pieces and roll out on an oiled or floured surface to fill with filling and braid. I used about 1 1/2 cups of canned pie filling. Use the amount that seems right based on your size and cuts for the braid. These will vary. It's not a horrible thing if you accidentally over fill it and the filling oozes out.
- Transfer braids to parchment lined baking sheets, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour or until doubled. Brush with egg wash.
- Bake at 375℉ for 14-17 minutes until the tops are nice and golden. This will vary with different ovens so watch yours to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Make icing by mixing icing ingredients. You can drizzle icing with a spoon or I like to put it in a ziploc bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner to squeeze over my braids.
- Move to a cooling rack and when slightly cooled drizzle icing on. Enjoy warm or cooled!
MORE FRESH MILLED FLOUR RECIPES:
Sara Atoui
This looks delicious! Just wondering- is there a way to partially make them and then either freeze them or chill them until morning- so that breakfast will be easier? Thanks!
Fresh Milled Mama
I haven’t tried it yet. I’m thinking if you shape them and get them in the freezer and then pull them out the next morning to thaw and rise it would work!
Jane
Hi, what dimensions were you rolling your dough out to before cutting the strips? Did you use 1.5 cups of filling in each braid or was that for both?
Fresh Milled Mama
I don’t recall the exact measurements. If I had to guess, it was maybe an 8″X12″ per braid and I used 1.5 cups of filling per braid.