Browned Butter Brioche Scrolls with Tahini Caramel, Pistachios, Halva, and Dark Chocolate
I own, let’s say, a fair number of cookbooks, and I have spent many many hours joyfully perusing my collection. From most books, though, I’ve probably actually made only three to five recipes. Sweet, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh, is an exception. In the few months I have owned that gem, I’ve baked over a dozen pastries, and they’ve been uniformly delightful. But the star of the book–and the inspiration for these brioche scrolls–is the very first recipe I tried: the Middle Eastern Millionaires Shortbread, with tahini caramel and halva. The tahini adds a bitterness that complements the burnt sugar flavor of the caramel, providing complexity and depth and keeping the confection from being too cloying. As I quipped to one friend, “I could eat these for breakfast!”
Tahini caramel… Breakfast… These thoughts eventually percolated into the brioche scrolls here, which are loosely adapted from a recipe by Claudia Brick on her fabulous blog, The Brick Kitchen. In addition to revamping the filling, I decided to use browned butter in the dough. (It’s subtle, but I think its nuttiness complements the tahini caramel.)
The first time I made these browned butter brioche scrolls, I filled them just with the tahini caramel, pistachios, and halva. The second time, I had part of a bar of dark chocolate hanging around, and, recognizing that I might be gilding the lily, I decided to chop that up and add it to the mix. The result? SO GOOD. I’ve never gone back.
One of the nicest things about this recipe is that the key components can be made–indeed, in the case of the dough, must be made–ahead. The soft dough comes together quickly in a stand mixer, and then you just plop the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. If you make the caramel ahead as well, you can throw these together in an hour next morning. So easy. So scrumptious.
Browned Butter Brioche Scrolls with Tahini Caramel, Pistachios, Halva, and Dark Chocolate
A delicious breakfast treat, loosely adapted from The Brick Kitchen blog.
Ingredients
Browned Butter Brioche Dough
- 187 g (3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 375 ml / (generous 1.5 cups) whole milk lukewarm (approx. 105 F)
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 3 large eggs
- 70 g (3/8 cup) sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 675 g (approx. 4 3/4 cups) bread flour
Tahini Caramel
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 28 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup heavy cream warmed slightly
- a generous pinch of flaky sea salt
- 50 g (3 tbsp) tahini well-stirred
Other Filling Ingredients
- 125 g (a scant cup) pistachios lightly toasted, cooled, and chopped
- 60 g dark chocolate (70%)
- 60 g (1/2 cup) crumbled halva
Egg wash
- 1 egg, mixed with 1 tbsp water or milk
To finish
- 2 tsp powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
Browned Butter Brioche Dough
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Brown the butter: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat, and then cook gently just until the milk solids at the bottom of the pan start to turn a light golden color. When that happens, immediately remove the pan from the heat. Set the browned butter aside to cool slightly.
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Activate the yeast: Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm milk, and set it aside for 10 minutes or so, to allow it to proof a bit.
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Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt.
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Whisk in the browned butter (including the browned bits from the bottom of the saucepan), then the yeast/milk mixture.
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Add the bread flour, and, using the dough hook attachment, mix at low speed for 8 minutes or so, until the dough is smooth and slightly shiny. The dough will be very soft, but towards the end of the 8 minutes, it should start to occasionally pull away from the sides of the bowl slightly. If it isn't pulling away at all, you can add another tablespoon of flour.
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Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator overnight to rise.
Tahini Caramel Sauce
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Have all your ingredients ready to go, as you'll need to work quickly once the sugar melts.
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In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the sugar over medium to medium-high heat, until it completely melts and is a deep amber color. You can swirl the pan frequently to move the sugar around, but resist the urge to stir! (Stirring tends to cause sugar crystals.)
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As soon as all the sugar has melted, whisk in the butter, followed by the heavy cream. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the sea salt and tahini.
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Pour the caramel into a Pyrex or similar bowl, and set aside to cool. (The caramel can be made ahead: Once it is cool enough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When you're ready to form the brioche scrolls, you can reheat the caramel gently so that it returns to a spreadable consistency.)
Assembling and Baking the Brioche Scrolls
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Preheat the oven to 350 F.
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Line 12 jumbo muffin cups with squares of baking parchment. (It helps to crumple up the parchment first.) Set aside.
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Divide the refrigerated dough in half. Leave half in the bowl in the refrigerator. Place the other half on a lightly floured surface and roll it into a 10 inch by 12 inch rectangle, with the longer side facing you.
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Spread half the the tahini caramel evenly over the rolled out dough, leaving a narrow border around then edges, then sprinkle the pistachios, halva, and dark chocolate over the caramel, pressing the filling down slightly to help it adhere.
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Starting with the long end of the rectangle that is farther away from you, roll the dough into a 12 inch log. (If the dough is sticking to the work surface, use a bench scraper to help this along.)
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Using a sharp, serrated knife, with a gentle sawing motion, cut the log into six equal-sized scrolls. Place the scrolls in the parchment-lined jumbo muffin cups.
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Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.
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Cover the muffin pans lightly with plastic wrap and allow them to proof in a warm place for 20 minutes. (The scrolls will get just a bit puffy. Don't fret if they don't seem to rise much.)
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After the scrolls have proofed, brush the tops and sides with the egg wash mixture.
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Bake the scrolls for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
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Remove the muffin pans to a wire rack to cool slightly. After 10 minutes, carefully remove the scrolls from the pan and place them back on the wire rack to continue cooling. (The parchment should help with removing the scrolls from the pans.)
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If desired, dust the scrolls with a bit of powdered sugar.
After I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now Com SB each time a comment is added I get 4 emails with the identical comment. Is there any way you’ll be able to take away me from that service? Thanks!
Hmm. I’m not sure! It’s a WordPress function, I think. Maybe unsubscribe?