Brioche Cruffins, Hand Laminated Brioche Dough Recipe

Yes, it has come to this! We are making cruffins out of brioche dough.

And why not, right? Buttery brioche dough laminated with even more butter. But fat content aside this is the ultimate cruffin. The texture and flavour are unmatched. Moderation is the key here. I would not suggest eating more than two in one go, but I won’t judge if you do.

If you have never made cruffins, brioche, or laminated bread dough, then this will be an information packed lesson. And besides that, we will make a fruit curd which in this case was mango flavour, but you can change it to your favourite flavour because the base of this curd does not change depending on which fruit you use. As always, I give you the tools and encourage you to experiment with your own flavours and fillings.

The brioche dough does require a mixer unlike all my other recipes, but there is just no way of making this by hand. Or at least I have not learned of one yet.

The mango curd and the lime whipped cream are enough for 8 – 9 cruffins which I made using only half of the brioche dough. The reason for making double the dough is that my mixing bowl is quite large, and the mixer would not be able to pick up a smaller piece of dough and knead it properly. And I did not want to make a huge amount of cruffins because brioche dough is the most versatile dough out there, so I used the other half for another project.

I would suggest you do the same and check out my other brioche recipes for inspiration.

Lastly, the dough will take around 25 minutes of total mixing so you must ensure that all the ingredients are stone cold before you begin. The eggs, butter, water, and flour! I even put my flour in the freezer, so it gets really cold alongside the dough hook. And I refrigerated the mixing bowl. Do not even attempt making this without chilling your ingredients because you will fail. To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

500g (1.1lb) strong white bread flour, chilled

45g (1.6oz) water, chilled

250g (8.8oz) eggs, chilled

13g (0.45oz) salt

60g (2.1oz) sugar

8g (0.28oz) instant dry yeast or 9.6g (0.33oz) active dry yeast or 24g (0.84oz) fresh yeast

200g (7oz) cold butter that has been pressed between baking paper to make it soft

To laminate the dough –

120g (4.25oz) butter, flattened to a 15cm (6in) square. See video.

For the mango curd –

90g (3.2oz) mango puree. You can use tinned puree or blend fresh mangoes.

10g (0.35oz) lime juice

100g (3.5oz) eggs

100g (3.5oz) sugar

100g (3.5oz) cold butter, cubed

15g (0.5oz) corn starch

For the lime cream –

200g (7oz) double cream

60g (2.1oz) powdered sugar

Zest of 1 lime

For the sugar syrup –

20g (0.7oz) sugar

20g (0.7oz) water

Bring up to a boil just before the cruffins come out the oven.

To finish –

Toasted coconut flakes

Lime zest

Method

1. Make the dough. In a mixing bowl combine the water, salt, yeast, sugar, eggs, and flour. Switch the mixer on 2nd (slow) speed. Mix for 10 minutes. After the first 10 minutes start adding the butter in chunks. Mix for another 5 minutes scraping the sides of the bowl down if need be. Once the butter has mixed into the dough turn the speed up to medium which on my mixer is the 4th Mix for around 7 minutes or until the dough stops sticking to the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl. Turn the speed back down to the 2nd (slow) setting. Keep mixing for another 3 minutes. The total mixing time should not exceed 25 minutes. *Desired dough temperature 25 – 26C (77-79F).
2. Shape the dough into a ball, place it into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Fold.
4. Refrigerate for 1 more hour.
5. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and shape into balls. Wrap them in clingfilm and cold proof for up to 24 hours. One of the dough balls is for the 8 – 9 cruffins. Use the other one for another project or if you want to make more cruffins, then keep the dough whole and double the amount of ingredients in the lamination, curd, and lime cream to make 16+ cruffins.
6. The next day roll the dough out to a square to fit the butter inside it. The points of the butter square must be placed between the points of the dough square. *It is best you watch the video for clearer instructions. Seal the butter into the dough square by folding the corners of the dough into the centre of the butter square. Press the seams together.
7. Roll the dough out to about three times its length. Fold the two sides to meet in the middle, then fold the dough in half. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
8. Whilst the dough is chilling make the filling and topping. In a large bowl combine the powdered sugar, lime zest and double cream. Whip until thick. Leave in the fridge for later.
9. Make the mango curd. In a small pan combine the sugar, corn starch, eggs, lime juice, and mango puree. Whisk until smooth. Cook on medium heat whisking occasionally until it becomes nice and thick. Take it off the heat and add half of the cubed butter. Whisk until the butter has emulsified and only then add the other half and repeat. Pour the curd in a bowl, cover with cling film so that it is touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until needed.
10. By now 30 minutes should have passed and you can perform the second fold on the dough. Roll it to about twice its length into the direction of the two open ends. This time fold the dough into 3 layers. Again, watch the video for a more detailed look at this. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for another 30 minutes.
11. Now comes the shaping part. You could make various things from here on. Feuilletée, croissants, pastries etc. But to make cruffins roll the dough out to a little longer than 33cm (1.1ft). Trim the top and the bottom and one side. Measure and mark the dough in 4cm (1.6in) increments from the trimmed side. Slice off the remaining side. You can use the trimmings to make an extra cruffin. Slice the dough into strips and roll them up. Place in greased muffin tins or your baking mould of choice.
12. Cover and ferment for around 4 hours. This will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. They must more than double in size. *During the final hour of fermentation preheat your oven to 160C (320F) fan on.
13. Bake the cruffins for 25 – 30 minutes.
14. Brush the cruffins with the hot sugar syrup as soon as they come out the oven. Leave to set for 5 minutes. Take them out of the moulds and leave to cool down completely.
15. Whilst the cruffins are cooling fill you lime cream and curd into piping bags. You may need to give the curd a quick whisking to ensure there are no lumps.
16. Fill the cooled down cruffins generously. The curd will be just enough for all of them. Jam the piping bag nozzle in deep and give it a good squeeze. Top them with the lime cream, toasted coconut flakes, and grate a bit of fresh lime zest to finish.

Enjoy the deliciousness – you earned it! ?

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.