Swiss Brioche with Chocolate Chips (Brioches suisses)

For the brioche dough: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Place the fresh baker's yeast in the stand mixer recipient.

Add the flour...

... castor sugar...

... and salt. The salt should not come into direct contact with the yeast. Place both on either side of the flour.

Add the eggs, beaten beforehand...

... and start mixing with the dough hook for about 4 minutes, until homogeneous.

Add the soft butter...

... and continue mixing until homogeneous.

Beat at high speed, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. This should take between 8 and 10 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl to gather the ingredients in the centre. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for one hour at room temperature on your workbench.

For the crème pâtissière: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

In a saucepan, place the milk, vanilla and butter. Bring to a boil.

In the meantime, place the egg yolks in a bowl.

Add the castor sugar...

... and blanch with a whisk.

Add the crème pâtissière powder and combine...

... until smooth and homogeneous.

When the milk starts to boil, pour over the preparation while whisking.

Transfer the preparation into the recipient used to boil the milk...

... and cook the cream over medium heat, whisking constantly...

... until thick.

Once the cream has thickened, continue cooking for a couple of minutes.

When cooked, transfer the cream in a food tray.

Cover the surface with cling film to prevent the formation of a crust. Reserve in the fridge.

One hour later, the brioche dough should have risen a little. Remove the cloth.

Using a dough scraper, transfer onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper.

Shape the dough into a rectangle...

... then cover with cling film and refrigerate for one hour.

When the cream is cold, transfer into a mixing bowl.

Mix with a whisk until smooth.

Add a dash of dark rum.

One hour later, flour your worktop surface.

Flip the baking parchment over the workbench...

... and carefully detach the paper from the dough.

The dough should be firm at this stage. Start rolling out with a rolling pin, making sure to sprinkle with flour regularly.

Create a rectangle shape...

... to a length of 40 cm and a width of 20 cm (as shown here in the photo).

Pour the cream over half of the dough and spread to a thin layer, using a cranked spatula.

Spread evenly, making sure to go right into the corners.

Scatter the chocolate chips over the cream.

Fold the bare dough over the cream...

... and press gently with your hands.

Cut the brioche with a knife to create regular strips.

Lift the Swiss brioches carefully and arrange them over a Silichef® perforated baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper.

Leave to rise for 2 hours in a proofing chamber or an oven preheated to 28°C and turned off.

Once they have risen, glaze the surface of the brioches with egg wash.

Bake in a fan-assisted oven preheated to 180°C (gas 4) between 15 and 20 minutes.

In the meantime, place 50 grams of water and 50 grams of castor sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. The syrup is ready when the sugar has melted completely.

Add the orange blossom water.

When cooked, remove from the oven.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Using a pastry brush, glaze the surface of the brioches with the warm syrup. Set aside to cool.

This is what the result should look like. These delicious Swiss brioches are now ready. Enjoy warm or cold.