Sicilian Brioche (Brioche col Tuppo)

Bring a piece of Sicily into your home with this traditional Italian bread.  Delicious and easy to make, Sicilian Brioche (Brioche col Tuppo) will surely become one of your favorites for breakfast or snacks!  The easiest brioche recipe you can find! 

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As promised in my post for Sicilian Almond Granita, the other half of the combo is Sicilian Brioche.  It does not matter what part of Sicily when you ask for almond granita, they always ask if you want a brioche with it – it’s a match made in heaven. 

The locals call it ”brioche col tuppo” because of the bun on top — or chignon as its literal translation in Sicilian.

Sometimes called Italian brioche, this brioche is not as buttery as the French one, and it’s slightly sweeter because of the honey added to the dough.  

But the best part is that there is no need to rest the dough overnight, so you do not need to plan too much in advance to enjoy it.

IF YOU WANT MORE TRADITIONAL SICILIAN RECIPES, THEN YOU WILL LIKE THESE POSTS!

Ingredients

• Milk – full cream milk, if possible.
• Yeast – I always use active dry yeast for this Italian bread.
• Butter – melted, unsalted butter.
• Salt – you need to use less if you are using salted butter.
• Sugar – regular white sugar.
• Honey – just use your favorite brand.
• Eggs – you would need this for the dough, as well as for egg wash.
• Bread flour – this type of flour is excellent for this Sicilian brioche recipe.

Preparation

Start by mixing three-quarters of a cup of warm milk with yeast, then set aside until foamy (photo 1).

Using a stand mixer’s bowl, combine and mix three and a half cups of flour, salt, and sugar.

Add yeast mixture, two eggs, melted butter, and honey into the bowl (photo 2).

Mix until the dough becomes smooth but slightly sticky.  If the dough is too wet, slowly add the remaining half cup of flour.

Form Italian brioche dough into a ball and place it into an oiled bowl (photo 3).

Cover with a clean kitchen cloth and set aside until it doubles in size. It usually takes at least 90 minutes for me.

Uncover the dough, transfer it to a flat surface and divide it into twelve portions (photo 4).

Form each part into a Sicilian brioche by taking a smaller piece of dough, form it into a ball and place it on top of each bigger ball of dough.

Place each brioche on a baking tray lined with baking paper (photo 5).

Cover the tray with a clean kitchen cloth and set it aside until puffy and almost doubled in size.

Once the brioche is ready, heat the oven to 180°C (375°F).

Combine the remaining egg with two tablespoons of milk for the egg wash.

Brush each piece of brioche with the egg wash using a pastry brush (photo 6).

Place the tray in the lower half of the oven for the first twelve minutes and move the baking tray in the center for the remaining seven to eight minutes.

Remove the tray of Sicilian brioche from the oven and set it aside for about ten minutes to cool.  

Serve with sprinkled icing sugar on top, if desired.

Helpful tips

• Do not add all the flour at once.  Leave half a cup and then add it slowly (a tablespoon at a time) if you feel that the dough is too wet.

• Manually kneading the dough is feasible if you don’t have a stand mixer — but it will take considerable effort and time.

• Do not forget to place the tray of Italian brioche on the lower part of the oven first to avoid getting the ”tuppo” too dark.

Recipe variation

• All-purpose flour. You can use it instead of bread flour, but do not expect the result to be as fluffy.  Also, since bread flour needs more moisture, the dough will be wetter when using all-purpose flour.

• Honey substitute.  As raised by one of the readers in the comment section, yes, molasses is an excellent alternative to honey. No difference in the finished product at all.

FAQs