Brown Butter Apple-Cinnamon Brioche Buns

Deeply bronzed at the edges, soft and buttery within, with cinnamon, brown butter and apple folded through every knot.

© Joanna Colomas Magazine

© Joanna Colomas Magazine

© Joanna Colomas Magazine

These are the buns we want on a cool, rainy afternoon: richly cinnamon-scented, bronzed at the edges and exceptionally soft inside.

The apple is grated and cooked down with brown butter, dark sugar and spice until almost invisible. It brings moisture and a gentle autumn sharpness without turning the buns into apple pastries.

Instead of making neat spirals, the dough is folded, cut and twisted into loose knots. The exposed ridges become crisp and caramelized in the oven, while the tucked-in layers remain tender and buttery.

A light brush of brown butter, maple and flaky salt finishes them while they are still warm. There is no heavy frosting and no excessive sweetness—just soft brioche, fragrant cinnamon-apple folds and those wonderful golden edges.

© Joanna Colomas Magazine

The recipe

Brown Butter Apple-Cinnamon Brioche Buns

Deeply bronzed at the edges, soft and buttery within, with cinnamon, brown butter and apple folded through every knot.

Makes

10–12 buns

Preparation

30 minutes + proving

Baking

18–23 minutes

Best for

Rainy fall afternoons

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The secret is in the folds

The apple is cooked down until almost invisible, keeping the brioche moist without turning it into an apple pastry. Twisting rather than rolling the dough exposes more buttery cinnamon edges to the heat. The folding, cutting and knotting are explained step by step in the images below.

I

Ingredients

The brioche

• 500 gstrong white bread flour
• 7 ginstant yeast
• 55 glight brown sugar
• 8 gfine sea salt
• 180 gwhole milk, lukewarm
• 2large eggs
• 1egg yolk
• 1 tspvanilla
• 100 gunsalted butter, very soft

The apple-cinnamon filling

• 2 mediumcrisp apples, peeled
• 35 gunsalted butter
• 65 gdark brown sugar
• 2½ tspground cinnamon
• ¼ tspground cardamom
• Tiny pinchground nutmeg
• Good pinchfine sea salt
• 1 tspvanilla
• 1 tsplemon juice
• 25 gunsalted butter, softened, for spreading

To finish

• 1 eggbeaten with 1 tbsp milk and a pinch of salt
• A littledemerara sugar
• 30 gunsalted butter
• 1 tbspmaple syrup
• 1 tbspapple juice or water
• A pinchground cinnamon
• Tiny pinchflaky salt
• Optionalpowdered sugar

II

Method

1. 01

   Cook the apple filling

   Finely grate the apples. Brown the 35 g butter until nutty, then add the apple, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and salt. Cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until thick and glossy. Stir in the vanilla and lemon juice, then cool completely.

2. 02

   Begin the brioche

   Mix the flour, yeast, light brown sugar and salt. Add the lukewarm milk, eggs, egg yolk and vanilla, then knead for 6–8 minutes, until the dough begins to look smooth.

3. 03

   Work in the butter

   Add the 100 g soft butter gradually, kneading between additions. Continue for another 8–12 minutes, until glossy, elastic and stretchy. The dough will seem sticky at first; resist adding extra flour.

4. 04

   Let the dough rise

   Cover and leave until roughly doubled, about 1½–2 hours depending on the room. For the best flavor and easier shaping, refrigerate overnight after this first rise.

5. 05

   Layer and fold

   Roll the cold dough to approximately 45 × 35 cm. Spread lightly with the remaining 25 g soft butter, followed by the cooled filling. Fold into thirds like a letter and roll very gently to flatten slightly.

6. 06

   Twist the buns

   Cut into strips approximately 3 cm wide. Twist each strip several times, wrap loosely around two fingers and tuck the end underneath. Arrange fairly close together in a buttered heavy baking dish.

7. 07

   Proof until pillowy

   Cover and proof for 45–75 minutes, until noticeably light and pillowy. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 190°C conventional / 170°C fan.

8. 08

   Brush and bake

   Brush the exposed dough lightly with the egg wash and scatter each bun with a tiny pinch of demerara sugar. Bake for 18–23 minutes, until properly deep golden brown.

9. 09

   Finish with brown butter

   Lightly brown the 30 g butter. Remove from the heat and stir in the maple syrup, apple juice or water, cinnamon and flaky salt. Brush sparingly over the hot buns—it should perfume them, not glaze them.

10. 10

    Rest before serving

    Leave for 15 minutes. If desired, finish with the faintest, uneven dusting of powdered sugar.

At the table

Serve while still gently warm, when the ridges are crisp and the apple-cinnamon folds are exceptionally soft. They need little more than strong coffee, hot tea or a quiet, rainy afternoon.

A kitchen note

These are best on the day they are baked, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Warm them gently before serving. To freeze, let the baked buns cool completely, wrap them well and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature, then refresh in a 160°C oven for 5–8 minutes. The unbaked shaped buns may also be refrigerated overnight; let them become pillowy at room temperature before brushing and baking.

© Joanna Colomas Magazine

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