Brioche Twists with Coriander Sugar

I wasn’t aware until I started reading about the Brioche Twists with Coriander Sugar that I’d only need half of Claire’s Brioche Dough recipe. This created opportunities to make two brioche desserts in one weekend (I also made Pigs in a Brioche Blanket). As for the Brioche Twists, I think this is a good brioche recipe to start with if you’ve never made the dough before.

The dough itself really only required basic ingredients you likely already have in the fridge and pantry. However, you’ll want to start the dough the night before you need these desserts; it needs at least 8 hours in the fridge. I started by warming up the milk in a saucepan, and once it reached 105° I placed it in a bowl and mixed it with the yeast. I used an instant yeast packet I had, and that worked fine.

While I waited for the yeast to foam, I added the dry ingredients to the mixture. I made a well in the middle and added the eggs and yeast mixture.

Then I let it all mix for about ten minutes; that’s all it took for it to become very sticky. Overall, the recipe for Brioche Dough really breaks the rules for a lot of doughs; typically, everything should be cold, but for this one everything should be at room temperature.

Once I added in the butter slowly as directed, it started getting a little more movement while staying sticky. It was not easy to scrape down the sides of the bowl! I placed it on a floured counter, made it into a big puff ball with more flour all over, and placed it in a bowl. I put plastic over it and let it sit out for 90 minutes, then placed it in the fridge overnight.

I believe my Brioche Dough had about 20 hours in the fridge, and when I took it out, it was bigger in size and very firm. I took out half and placed the rest in the fridge.

To make the Brioche Twists, I first mixed the coriander, salt and demerara sugar. Then I divided the half of dough I was using into eight pieces, and weighed them to be about 2.5 ounces. Most of them didn’t quite reach this weight, but I made sure they were all relatively even in size.

This next part will help you get your steps in for the day. The eight pieces of dough need to stay cold so they’re easier to form into the twists, so I placed it in the fridge and took one. I put a tiny bit of flour on the counter and rolled it to around ten inches. The rest was kind of like preparing breaded chicken; I buttered the pieces of dough, rolled it into the coriander mixture, and gave it a couple twists so it looked like a long fancy pretzel. After I was done, back in the fridge it went, and I repeated those steps another seven times.

You’d think all that time chilling in the fridge would be good enough for baking, but after all the twists were created, I had to proof them for another hour. I realized later, though, that I should have covered them in plastic wrap as directed. It didn’t seem to make that much of a big difference, luckily. I then baked them for about 22 minutes, and they turned into beautiful, golden nugget twists!

Just like Oprah, I love bread, however I’d never really had anything like a Brioche Twist. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the demerara sugar, but wow, were these twists delicious. Knowing I was still going to use the other half of dough, I had to slow myself down in enjoying this baked delicacy. It’s a soft, buttery and sugary texture, almost like a cinnamon roll minus the frosting. Both my husband and I really enjoyed these; they are perfect for giving someone as a gift or making for guests to enjoy over a few days. You may actually want to use the entire Brioche Dough recipe for this one, the twists won’t be around for long!

If Claire shares a video on her YouTube channel for this one I will share it with you!