Next up on my bread baking experiment is this insanely delicious and beautiful Eggless Cheesy Brioche Flower Bread. Ever since I saw it on a TV show, it had been on my mind but my bad I had not caught up on the entire recipe back then. All I knew was the dough looked like pizza dough. All was forgotten soon but recently I got a chance to watch the same show again 😀 I realized that the bread was Brioche, one of the richest and delicious yeast breads.
I had only one issue, the original recipe used eggs – brioche is typically made with lots of butter, eggs and milk which is what makes it one of the richest breads. I decided to modify the recipe making it eggless and cutting off butter by a lot, adding in a little more milk. The Eggless Cheesy Brioche Flower Bread is the resultant of that experiment.
Brioche is usually made as loaf bread but I loved how it was made into a flower bread, making it look really pretty. Isn’t it a bonus when your bread could replace your dining table center piece?! 🙂 This cheesy brioche flower bread has five layers! I used my pizza sauce to fill the bread and the cheese is a combination of both mozzarella and cheddar, making it so cheesy. I served this up with some hot tomato soup and it was huge hit at home. Guess what, this stores well in the fridge for upto two days without losing its freshness. Spice is not your friend? Fret not - this same recipe can be made sweet with Nutella or any choco spread!
How to make Eggless Cheesy Brioche Flower Bread
📖 Recipe
Detailed step by step picture tutorial of making Eggless Cheesy Brioche Flower Bread
In a bowl, add ¼ very warm water (~100° F) along with 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast. Dissolve them completely and set aside for 3-4 mins until the yeast is frothy and bubbles up.
In a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour along with salt and sugar – mix well.
Add the frothy yeast mixture into the flour.
Next add the butter and oil mixture followed by warm milk.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients until the dough comes together.
Knead the dough on a clean kitchen counter for 5-6 mins by stretching the dough with the heel of your palm, away from your body, twisting it by a quarter and folding it bringing closer to you – repeat this until dough is smooth. When the dough is pressed with a finger, it should bounce back and look very smooth. Cover it with cling film.
Leave it in a warm place for 1 hour or so. The dough should double up.
Slightly punch down the dough and knead the dough again for a minute or two until it is smooth.
Meanwhile, in a bowl add both the grated cheeses along with flour, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and red chilli flakes.
Gently mix everything together and set aside.
Roll the dough into a cylinder and then cut it into four equal parts using a sharp knife. Repeat this with rest of the dough.
Take a ball of dough and roll it into a thin circle of 15cm diameter. If required, use a plate to mark and cut along the edges to form a perfect circle.
Add a tbsp. of pizza sauce on the rolled out dough and spread it leaving around a centimeter along the edges.
Sprinkle the cheese mixture evenly on top.
Cover this with another piece of rolled dough, seal the edges and repeat the rest of the process 4 more layers.
Place a small round cutter or small bowl at the center and cut the dough into a cross resulting in 4 equal parts (leaving the center)
Now cut each part again to get 8 parts.
Next cut each part again in half there by getting 16 parts in total.
To begin forming the flower, take two adjacent parts and twist each of them in opposite direction. Finally join their edges. This forms a petal.
Repeat this process for all other petals to form the flower bread.
Apply a coat of milk on top and bake the bread in a preheated oven at 180° C for 20-22 minutes until it is golden brown and cheese is melting. Serve warm with soup of your choice.
Recipe Notes
You can find the pizza sauce recipe here. Depending on the climatic conditions, region and the flour consistency, the liquid content might be needed little less or more. Adjust accordingly. I used a little less than ¼ cup of fat in total – use full butter for a rich version. Don’t let the dough raise up too much as it can fall flat. Replace pizza sauce and cheese for Nutella or any choco spread for sweet version of brioche flower bread.
I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂
