Raspberry Brioche Buns with Cream Cheese

How to Make Raspberry Brioche Buns:

What are raspberry brioche buns made out of?

These raspberry brioche buns with jam are made using a brioche bread dough which is a sweetened (sugar) and enriched (fat from eggs and butter) dough. It’s filled with raspberry cheese, a light cream cheese filling, and topped with fresh raspberries. It’s a great sweet breakfast idea perfect for spring or summer brunches. Protip: Since there is a lot of waiting time while the dough proofs, you can make and compose the day before, wrap, and place in the fridge overnight. This way you can bake in the morning without all the work.

Make the brioche dough:

First step, and the most important, is mixing the yeast with the warm milk. Since active dry yeast needs to be activated with warmth to work, and the liquid ingredients are cold, it needs to be mixed with the warm milk first to allow for proofing. The milk can’t be too hot or else you’ll kill the yeast which occurs at 120*F. I start with a paddle to incorporate all the ingredients first as a dough hook doesn’t really do the trick. Slowly add in the softened butter as not to shock the dough with all of the extra fat coming in. Make sure to mix until fully incorporated before adding the next addition of butter.

Once all of the butter is fully incorporated, switch to a dough hook to mix until you pass the windowpane test. It may look more like cookie dough than smooth bread dough before the gluten has developed, and you may need to scrape down the bowl a few times. The windowpane test demonstrates that the gluten in the dough has developed enough (explained more below). Once mixed enough, cover, and allow to proof until it has doubled in size.

The science of kneading:

Flour is composed of starch and proteins and the proteins are called glutenin and gliadin which are long and tangled. Together, glutenin and gliadin form gluten. Kneading rubs these “subproteins” together to stretch them out, line them up, and cross-link themselves to create a net that helps retain gasses during the proofing stage. Kneading also incorporates oxygen in the dough which helps yeast breath and produce carbon dioxide. The windowpane test proves if you have developed enough gluten strands for proper structure to help retain those gasses for the final rise. 

Test for the windowpane by taking a small portion of dough and roll into a ball. Stretch it out gently starting in the middle. Stretch it into a square and until the center is a thin film. If your dough easily stretches thinly without tearing, then the dough is strong enough and enough gas can be retained in the network of gluten strands. If it rips easily, then you need to develop more gluten strands by more kneading/mixing. You should also see the network of gluten strands. It’s called the windowpane test because light should be able to pass through like through a window.

Proof the dough, twice:

After all that work of mixing and providing a GREAT net of gluten strands, the dough needs a break. During that break the yeast activates, eats the carbohydrates, and releases carbon dioxide which leads to proofing. That net you just weaved kneading is now doing its job. The amount of time it takes to proof will depend on your environment. The warmer and more humid it is, the faster it will proof. The colder and drier, the longer. See my tips for speeding up proofing times if you’re tight on time or if it’s cold in your dwelling. We want this to proof until it is 2x its original size.

Once it has doubled in size, divide into nine equal pieces using a kitchen scale. Roll into tight balls and place equally spaced on a sheet pan prepared with either a silicone baking mat or piece of parchment sprayed with pan spray. With your fingers, create a small indent in the center of the ball. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof one final time until 1.5x their size. In the meantime, make the cream cheese filling.

Whip up the cream cheese filling

The first thing I do for this recipe before anything is pull my cream cheese from the fridge so it has hours to soften and come to room temperature. You never want to work with cold cream cheese, otherwise you will have lumps and hard time mixing smoothly. If you forgot, you can microwave in blasts of 10 seconds and mix in between until smooth. I make this during the final proofing, and it is just a matter of mixing the ingredients in order until smooth. Do not refrigerate before using.

Compose the raspberry brioche buns and bake

Preheat the oven while you compose the buns. Using a small glass or measuring cup, create a larger indent by pressing your vessel firmly in the dough and wiggling it around a little. Make sure to either spray your indenter or dip in flour to prevent sticking. You want to make sure there’s enough dough on the bottom and sides to hold the filling but a large enough indent so there is enough filling. Spread about a tablespoon of jam on the bottom, top with another tablespoon-ish of the cream cheese filling, and top with the fresh raspberries.

Brush the exposed bread dough with an egg wash (scrambled up egg) and bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through. The bread should be a golden brown. Once cooled, you can add more fresh raspberries on top and dust with powdered sugar before serving. I recommend serving the same day they’re baked especially with a cup of coffee!