REC: Sausage Brioshe
{It says to start with half of this brioche recipe. I suppose you could get a second sausage and make two loaves or bake second one plain)
Brioche
4+1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. instant yeast
6 Tbs. lukewarm milk
5 large eggs, beaten
1 cup + 2 Tbs. butter, softened
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt
Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix the milk and eggs together. Combine the two mixtures. Beat until it forms a ball. Add more flour a tablespoon at a time, if needed.
Add the butter in small pieces, beating all the time, until the dough again leaves the sides the the bowl. It will be sticky yet kind of firm.
Remove to floured board and shape into a ball. Put into buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1+1/2 to 2 hours until doubled.
Punch the dough down, return to bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. This slow, cold rise makes the dough much easier to handle
Punch the dough down again and divide into two. Butter two brioche molds, bread pans or baking sheets and shape the dough as required. Cover and proof in a warm place for 45 minutes--this is the third rising.
Brush the dough carefully with the beaten egg and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes until dark golden brown. The bases of the brioche should sound hollow when tapped. Cool on wire racks before serving warm.
Sausage Brioche
half of brioche dough
1 piece of cooked or smoked sausage, weighing about 1 pound
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt
When brioche is removed from refrigerator, divide it in half. Roll half of the dough out to size needed to wrap around sausage.
Remove any wrapping or skin from the sausage. Place the meat on the dough and wrap the dough around it to enclose it completely, sealing the ends.
Place the loaf, joint side down on a floured baking sheet. Cover and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes--this is the third rising.
Brush the dough with the egg glaze and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 30 to 35 minutes minutes, until dark golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before eating warm.