Light Brioche Buns Perfect for Picnics

Our picnic lunch on our Pinnacles National Park hike (previous post) consisted of simple ham sandwiches, fruit and water. Nothing fancy, but homemade bread just elevated the sandwiches to something special fit for a lunch on a spectacular hike.

Our lunch spot was on the High Peaks trail right before we started on the Steep and Narrow section. We found some rocks to sit on and marveled at the view as we ate our lunch. In front of us was the valley with the Condor Gulch Trail that we were going to walk down later on in the hike.The brioche buns were soft, a little spongy, and had that fresh bread smell. Granted we were hungry, but these plain sandwiches were deceptively good. I wasn’t sure how the buns were going to survive considering I just threw them in a ziploc bag and put them in our day pack (I did place them on top of everything though), but they seemed to fare just fine. We split the buns in half with our hands and placed some ham slices in the middle. That’s why they aren’t looking too pretty in the picture below. In retrospect, I could have cut the rolls in half before our hike, but no second takes for this picture.

Bread Machine Light Brioche Buns

Servings: 24 buns
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Slightly Adapted for making in a bread machine using a recipe from the New York Times. In a bread machine these buns were super easy to make, but regardless of how you make the dough, by hand or by machine, the buns are definitely worth making. If you do not have a bread machine, use the recipe from the New York Times.

UPDATE: I now use all-purpose flour only for this bread recipe, same great taste without having to buy the more expensive bread flour. I’ve also increased the flour amounts (given in grams as well) so that the dough is more workable.

Ingredients

3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (500 g)
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons milk
1 large egg
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened

to be added to the yeast dispenser:

1 1/2 teaspoon bread machine instant yeast (Fleischmann’s)

Directions

If you have a bread machine, add the above ingredients (except the yeast) into your bread machine.
Add 1 1/2 tsp yeast to the yeast dispenser.
Start the dough mode or equivalent on your bread machine (dough mode: mix, add yeast, mix/knead, let rise at optimum temperature for rising).
Once the dough has risen until about doubled, turn dough out onto a well floured cutting board and divide dough into 24 pieces. First divide dough into 4 pieces, then divide each of those pieces into 6 pieces.
Shape pieces into balls and arrange onto 2 baking sheets with silpats.
Cover with plastic wrap lightly coated with nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Make egg wash by beating 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water with fork.
Brush the egg wash on top of the buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

The buns are best eaten the same day, but if not possible, they freeze well. Thaw and eat, or lightly toast them and they will taste like they were freshly baked again.

Add ingredients to bread machine and start the dough mode (dough mode: mix, add yeast, mix, let rise).
Once the dough has risen until about doubled, turn dough out onto a well floured cutting board and divide dough into 24 pieces (first divide dough into 4 pieces, then divide each of those pieces into 6 pieces).

Shape pieces into balls and arrange onto 2 baking sheets with silpats. Cover with plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.