Classic Brioche Loaf, Gluten Free

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the psyllium gel

   Whisk the psyllium husk powder into the lukewarm water and milk in a small bowl and keep whisking for about 20 seconds so it does not clump. Let it sit 5 to 10 minutes, until it thickens to the consistency of loose jelly. This gel is doing the job gluten would: holding gas bubbles and keeping the crumb from crumbling.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, not the dough hook, whisk together the gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the eggs and the psyllium gel and beat on medium for 4 minutes, scraping the bowl twice. You are aiming for a thick, smooth, sticky batter rather than a kneadable dough, and no amount of extra mixing will change that.

3. 3

   Beat in the butter

   With the mixer on low, add the softened butter in 4 or 5 additions, letting each one blend in before the next. Then beat on medium for 3 minutes more, until the mixture is uniform, glossy, and the color of pale custard.

4. 4

   Rest to hydrate the starches

   Cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes. Gluten-free flours absorb liquid slowly, and this rest is what turns a slack, gritty batter into something thick and scoopable. It also keeps the baked loaf from tasting sandy. Skip the overnight chill used for wheat brioche; there is no gluten here that needs the time, and cold only stalls the yeast.

5. 5

   Fill the pan

   Butter a 9 x 5-inch metal loaf pan. Scrape the batter in and smooth the top with a wet spatula or wet fingertips, doming it slightly toward the center. For the look of a traditional four-ball loaf, press shallow grooves across the surface with the side of an oiled spatula.

6. 6

   Proof once

   Cover loosely and proof in a warm spot for 60 to 90 minutes, until the dough has risen about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan. Do not push it further. Gluten-free dough has no elastic network to hold it, so an overproofed loaf collapses in the oven. The surface should look domed and slightly bubbly.

7. 7

   Egg wash and bake

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) with a rack in the lower third. Beat the egg with the milk and brush a thin coat over the top. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, tenting with foil at about 20 minutes once the crust is well browned. Gluten-free loaves need to go hotter inside than wheat ones to set the starches, so bake until an instant-read thermometer in the center reads 205°F (96°C).

8. 8

   Cool completely, no exceptions

   Rest the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack and leave it for at least 3 hours. The crumb of a gluten-free bread finishes setting as it cools, and slicing early gives you a gummy center every time.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  Butter temperature is the whole game. It should be pliable enough to dent with a finger but still cool, around 65°F. Cold butter tears the dough apart; soft, oily butter greases it and the loaf bakes up heavy.

• 2.

  If the dough climbs the hook or the bowl warms up noticeably during mixing, stop and chill everything for 15 minutes, then carry on. Brioche dough that gets above about 78°F starts leaking butter.

• 3.

  Weigh the four dough pieces. Evenly sized balls rise at the same rate and give you that classic even-humped top instead of a lopsided loaf.

• 4.

  Underproofing is the most common reason a home brioche comes out dense. Watch the dough, not the clock, and wait for that inch of rise above the pan rim.

• 5.

  Day-old brioche is the best French toast and bread pudding base there is, so plan on it rather than mourning it.