Pâte à Brioche

Pâte à brioche is another viennoiserie that is a type of pâte levée and, therefore, falls into the category of pastry-bread hybrid. Like pâte à croissant, pâte à brioche is a yeast dough but it differs from its cousin in fundamental ways: Unlike croissants, brioche is not laminated and it has a finished texture that can be described as being slightly more resistant than that of a croissant—a resistance or ‘plasticity” that is due mainly to the coagulation of egg proteins and the binding of flour proteins. Brioches come in a variety of shapes with or without fillings. Brioche à tête, brioche coulante, and braided brioche are examples of this diversity.