Yummy French Brioche

Missing my favorite person who is attending an out-of-state conference and making melt-in-your-mouth brioche, a special treat for him!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup warm water
3 eggs and 2 egg yolks (you can use 4 eggs but dough won't be as rich)
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 1/3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp dry yeast

Directions:

• Place all ingredients in bread machine in order suggested by your manufacturer (usually, liquids are added first and yeast last).
• Set on Dough cycle.
• Separate finished dough into 12 pieces/rolls.  You can add chocolate chips (used white chocolate and dried figs today), dried fruit, nuts, etc.
• Traditionally, brioche is made in a brioche mold.  Also, tradition calls for reserving a small ball of brioche and putting it on top as a topknot.  If you don't have brioche molds, just use muffin pans.  You can also make braids or roll each piece into a rectangle, spread with Nutella, and roll up to create pain au chocolat.
• Let rise for about an hour or until doubled.  I usually cover molds/pans with large bowls to prevent drying.
• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Brush rolls with egg white/water mixture (1 egg white plus 2 tbsp water).
• Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve immediately if possible or cool slightly and then place in a plastic bag to keep moist (bread bags are the best).  Reheat for a few seconds if you want warm rolls later. 
• We love brioche rolls with freshly brewed Earl Grey tea.