Instructions: Dissolve yeast in milk with sugar till foamy.Blend in 2 beaten eggs and 3/4 cup flour to make a smooth mixture. Then blend in 2 more eggs, salt, melted butter and 2 cups of flour. beat vigourously with wooden spoon until dough is stiff and hard to stir. Let dough rest 5 minutes. Knead on floured surface with heel of hands ( not warm palms ) until smooth and elastic.

Place dough in oiled bowl and cover and let rise in a warm place triple, about 3 hours or let cool rise in refrigerator overnight. Pat dough into a rectangle 12 inches long.Flip right side over to middle and left side over to cover.Pat dough back into a rectangle and repeat the folding again ( this redistributes the yeast cells to produce a fine grain texture ) Return dough to bowl and let rise again a minimum of 1 1/2 hours. Punch down dough and place in pan or pans and let rise slightly more than double. whatever pan you use just fill 1/3 to 2/5 full. bake in a preheated 425 oven for 30 minutes or lightly browned. for coffeecake: roll out dough and cover with sugar, cinnamon, nuts and reroll jelly roll style, forming into a ring and cutting sections with a scissors and forming alternate pieces into a petal design. Let rise double and bake in middle oven rack at 375 until lightly brown.

Yield: 1 brioche loaf or 2 , 12 inch coffeecake rings.

Note: the trick for perfect brioche dough is never let the temperature of ingredients get to hot or to cold.

Since there are so many risings with this dough, I prefer to let the first rise occur in the refrigerator.It really helps with the yeast cell buildup.

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