Now you can enjoy your authentic Sicilian Brioche, just like you enjoyed in Sicily, at home! Serve with gelato, granita or as is!
My first brioche
Picture it. Sicily 1991. A young woman visits her parents’ hometown in Sicily for the first time. She is at her nonna’s home in the outskirts of a tiny medieval village located high on a hilltop.
The young woman is sleeping in her nonna’s bedroom with the shutters drawn tight to keep out the morning sun. Suddenly, she is awakened by the sounds of a man shouting unintelligible words into a megaphone in a heavy Sicilian accent. This was the Sicilian Brioche man making his morning deliveries. That morning, she has her first taste of brioche for breakfast and falls in love.
My dear friends, that young woman was me!
Fast forward 25 years later. I am back in Sicily, once again enjoying my brioche, this time with my husband and children. Since we are not staying up in the hilltop village as last time, I’m not sure if the morning brioche man is still making his rounds. I obtain the recipe for brioche by a local cook. When I return home, I finally attempt to make them for the first time.
What makes these brioche Sicilian?
I am frequently asked what makes these brioche distinctly Sicilian. That is because they are found mainly in Sicily. For the most part, because on this recent trip I saw similar ones referred to as Sicilian brioche in different parts of Italy. The tuppo on top is characteristic of these brioche.
How to eat brioche
Now let’s talk a about how you eat brioche when you’re in Sicily. You can have one for breakfast; at snack time around 10:00 am sitting at the bar with your friends; or as a late night snack sitting at the bar with your friends! So basically, all day long.
The first step is to remove the tuppo, the cute little bun on top, and pop it into your mouth.
You do not eat one on it’s own. A brioche is often accompanied by granita available in various flavors such as traditional lemon, coffee, strawberry, pistachio, and so on. You can also top your granita with fresh whipped cream. Are you drooling now?
The other way to eat brioche, which I learned from my cousin, is split it in half and stuffed with gelato. But unfortunately we are not in Sicily and do not visit the bar on a daily basis with friends on a hot blistery day. Therefore, we (particularly my children) enjoy them cut in half and spread with Nutella. Oh well, we gotta make do!
Watch my step by step video on how to make Sicilian Brioche!
After some experimenting with this recipe, here are some tips for making brioche:
-The recipe calls for brewer’s yeast, which is sold in bakeries by the pound. You can also replace it with 1 envelope of traditional dry yeast.
-I purchased 00 flour in my local Italian grocery store. 00 flour is an extra fine flour and is ideal for making bread, pizza and focaccia as well. Unfortunately it costs twice as much as regular four, but is well worth it. You can replace it with regular all-purpose flour.
-For best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the base and the tuppo of the brioche in order to have equally shaped brioche.
-In order to nestle the tuppo deep within the base of the brioche, brush the brioche with egg wash before placing the tuppo on top. The egg will act as a glue and prevent the tuppo from falling out.
-After they have risen you may notice some of the tuppo may be off centered and lopsided. Resist the urge to nudge them back in the centre of the brioche as they will deflate. Trust me, I know. You will simply have a brioche with an off center tuppo.
-The original recipe also called for placing the brioche in the oven with the light while they rise. The heat from the light helps them to rise. It does make a difference!
-If you don’t plan to eat them the same day, or at most the next morning, I recommend you freeze the brioche. Take them out of the freezer the night before you plan to eat them. In Sicily, they are only eaten the day that they are purchased, you will never have leftover brioche the next day. That’s why you have the delivery man making his morning rounds!
If you try out this recipe, please tag me with your lovely photos with @mangiabedda or #mangiabedda on Facebook or Instagram. Feel free to share this recipe with your friends by clicking on the social media buttons on this page. Buon appetito!
Here are a few other Sicilian favorites inspired by my travels:
Trapani Style Potatoes Vastase
Sicilian Involtini with Maccaruna
Sicilian Rosticceria Small Bites
Panelle (Sicilian Chickpea Fritters)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup milk preferably whole milk
- 20 grams brewer's yeast, or 1 envelope traditional dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups 00 flour, or replace with all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp. sugar
- 2 eggs, plus one extra for the eggwash
- 3 tsp honey
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- grated zest of 1/2 lemon
- grated zest of 1/2 orange
Instructions
- Warm the milk, transfer to a bowl and crumble the cube of yeast over the milk. Allow the yeast to dissolve in the milk while you prepare the remaining ingredients. It will not completely dissolve in the milk as traditional dry yeast will.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of your mixer with a dough hook attached, add the sifted flours, salt, and sugar.
- Add the eggs, lightly beaten, butter, honey and orange and lemon zest and mix on the low setting until just combined.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the milk/yeast mixture. When the dough has come together, increase the mixer to the next speed for about 5 more minutes.
- The dough is slightly sticky but do not add more flour to it. When the dough is soft and elastic, transfer to a bowl and cover.
- Place in the oven with the light on and let sit for an hour.
- After an hour, divide the dough into 12 -90 gram balls. Remove a 15gram portion from each ball in order to form the "tuppo". Brush with egg wash (mix 1 beaten egg with 1 tbsp of milk) then make a deep indentation in each ball using your thumb and nestle the "tuppo" in the base of the brioche. Brush the tuppo with egg wash as well.
- Transfer to a parchment paper covered baking sheet and continue with the remaining dough.
- Place in oven with the light on and allow to rise for 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes or until the brioche are golden in color. Cool before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can you prepare them and let rise overnight so you can bake them in the morning?
Hello Carol, someone asked me the same question and I actually verified with my contact in Sicily who shared the recipe with me. Once they are shaped the brioche are very delicate and can deflate quite easily so you can not let them rest overnight at this point. However, something I’d like to test is making the dough and letting it rest overnight and then shaping them the following day. But of course at that point the brioche will need to rise before popping them in the oven. It is indeed a delicate process! Hope this helps and thanks for your question.
Hello!! Your story is very familiar, I spent my summers in Sicily and my mother would buy a brioche con panna for me every morning from a an with a whistle I can still hear in my head. Anyway-I really want to perfect these. My first was a bust-very dense and not fluffy like Sicily. What can I do do make them more light and airy inside? All suggestions appreciated. I did use the AP and 00 flour
Hi Maria, you also experienced the car delivering the brioche? I wish we had that here! That said, with the regards to the texture of the brioche, I have a couple of suggestions: did you knead the dough enough the first time? And most importantly, once you shape the brioche and put them in the oven to proof the second time, you must not touch them at all or they will deflate. Even if the tuppo falls off to the side (which does happen) it is best not to try and place it back. Also, if you pass the suggested second rising time, they may also deflate after a while. I do hope this helps Maria, of course sometimes it also just takes practice and a couple of trials to get them right. Thanks for your question!
Hi! I tried the brioche and it came out firm and very dense. The flavor was amazing though! Does that mean I didn’t knead it enough? It didn’t really rise either.. I used active quick rise yeast. Would you be able to tell me some pointers on how to fix it do I can attempt again for New Years?
Hello Sarina, if the dough was dense it can be due to a number of issues. Perhaps, as you mentioned, you did not knead it enough. Did you use a stand mixer or your hands? If you kneaded it by hand it needs to be kneaded for longer than if you use a stand mixer, at least 10 minutes. I let my dough rise in an unlit oven with the light on to add some warmth. It also very important that it is an are free of drafts as I find it to be a delicate dough. Also very important, after you’ve shaped the brioche with the “tuppo” on top, you must not touch them as they are rising as they will deflate. Hope these tips help Sarina and please let me know if they turn out right next time. Thanks for your question and happy holidays to you!
Thank you! I truly appreciate the quick reply! I use a stand mixer. And I did let it rise in my oven! I’ll try kneading it more next time! Thank you!
You’re quite welcome!
Hello Nadia,
Happy Easter 🐣
I just made the brioche just waiting for 2nd rise I,love publish the picture as soon as they’re ready
🙏
Hi Rosa, happy belated Easter! I saw your brioche and I think they look gorgeous! I hope you enjoyed them and thanks for sharing your lovely photos with me.
I will have to give this recipe a go, I love brioche !! 🙂
So do I, especially when eaten by the sea in Sicily!
Thank you so much always appreciated your fabulous recipe God bless you
Thanks so much Rosa!
Your post brought me back to the time when I was eating these brioches filled with gelato for breakfast when I was in Sicily. Happy times!
Thanks for sharing your recipe! Did you purchase the yeast in Laval?
Yes indeed they were happy times! Such great memories associated with food! Yes I bought the yeast at a local bakery in Laval. Not expensive at all.