These cheesy bread is a flavour bomb and a real crowd-pleaser. You can (and I have!) make any of my brioche recipes by hand, but yes it will take a while and yes you will have sticky fingers but it is worth it.
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast (7.5g)
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
150g butter, melted
2 3/4 cups flour
100g butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped parsley or basil
3 cups grated cheese (I use a mix of Tasty & Parmesan for great flavour!)
Place milk in a heat-proof bowl and put in the microwave for 20 seconds. Touch it with your finger, it should be lukewarm (not hot!) if too hot, allow to cool for a minute. Stir in sugar and yeast and set aside for 10 minutes to activate.
Place eggs in a large bowl or bowl of your stand mixer and whisk together. Add salt, melted butter (make sure it's not hot or it will scramble your eggs) and milk mixture and whisk to combine.
Place the dough hook on your mixer and add the flour to the bowl. Mix very slowly so the flour doesn't go everywhere and then once combined, increase speed and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is no longer sticking to the edges of the bowl. If you're doing this by hand, tip the dough onto the bench and use a little flour to flour the bench and your hands, you will need to knead the dough for 10-15 minutes, until it is no longer sticking to your hands or the bench.
Leave the dough in the bowl (I never worry about oiling it but you can if you want) and cover with cling film. I always take a picture here so I can confirm with myself that it's risen as sometimes it's hard to tell! You want it to double in size, leave it in a warm place for an hour or if it's winter it might take 2 hours. I will often make my dough the day before and leave it to prove overnight in the fridge.
Meanwhile, make your garlic butter. Use softened butter (but not melted) and mix with crushed garlic and parsley or basil. You could also do pesto instead of garlic butter.
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When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 160°C and line a loaf tin with baking paper. Dust your work surface and roll out the dough to 0.5cm thick.
Spread the garlic butter over the dough, then top with 2 1/2 cups grated cheese. Cut the dough into strips that are just a little bit smaller in width than your loaf tin. Then cut the dough horizontally into squares.
Pile the squares on top of each other and stack them in the loaf tin so they are basically standing upright. Cram them all in there, then top with remaining cheese and cover the tin with a tea towel. Leave it to proof for 30 minutes.
Bake the loaf for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is golden and dough is cooked through.
