Tender, and slow#
Brioche at 60% butter. Challah with oil and egg. Week 4 was 5%.
Fat lets the strands slide#
Butter films the gluten as it forms, so the network stops bonding end to end.
- the crumb tears short and stays soft for days
- the same lubrication slows development — two to three times the mixing
- past roughly 10% fat, the lean method stops working
Sugar dehydrates the yeast#
12% sugar on flour weight raises the osmotic pressure of the dough water.
Water leaves the yeast cells through their membranes. Fermentation slows. You pay it back with 2% yeast instead of 0.7%, with hours, or with both.
Osmotolerant strains exist for exactly this — and drag their feet in a lean dough.
Egg is two ingredients#
| Part | Brings | Does |
|---|---|---|
| Yolk | fat, lecithin | tenderness, and keeps the fat emulsified |
| White | ~90% water, 10% protein | hydrates the flour, sets in the oven |
All yolks, no whites: richer, shorter, and it falls apart in your hands.
Gluten first. Butter last.#
Butter in at the start coats the proteins before they link. That dough never comes together — and nothing later fixes it.
20 g at a time, under 24°C#
Windowpane, then butter. Fifteen pieces, each one in when the last has gone.
- it looks curdled after every addition, then comes back
- probe every five minutes; at 24°C the bowl goes in the fridge
- past 26°C the butter renders out and pools greasy
The fridge is a shaping tool#
12–16 hours at 4°C. At 20°C a 60% butter dough is a smear you cannot divide.
Braids that tear at the seams were shaped straight from the mixer.
Braid from the centre out#
Six strands, 160 g each, rolled fat in the middle and tapered at the ends.
Braid to one end, turn the whole thing around, braid to the other. Start at one end and you push dough ahead of you — one bloated end, one starved.
Three ways it fails#
| What you see | What happened |
|---|---|
| Greasy, split dough | Butter too fast, or dough over 26°C |
| Torn seams on the braid | Shaped warm, straight from the mixer |
| Dark crust, raw centre | Oven above 180°C — sugar browns early |