Berry and Ricotta Brioche Buns
 
 
Berry and ricotta brioche buns make for a lovely breakfast treat! A light brioche dough is filled with streusel, vanilla-sweetened ricotta, and berries, then baked into a decadent pastry.
Yield: 8 buns
Ingredients
For the light brioche
  • 9 tbsp butter (6 tbsp should be at room temperature)
  • 150 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) lukewarm water
  • 2½ tsp active dry yeast
  • 500 g (4 cups) all purpose flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 50 g (1/4 cup) sugar
  • 10 g (2 tsp) kosher salt
For the buns
  • 200 g (7 oz) ricotta cheese
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or ½ vanilla bean
  • ½ recipe light brioche dough (recipe above)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp water
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 recipe streusel topping (recipe below)
  • fresh berries
For the streusel
  • 75 g (1/3 cup) sugar
  • 170 g (1⅔ cup) cake flour
  • 120 g (8 tbsp) cold unsalted butter
Instructions
For the light brioche
  1. Freeze 3 tbsp of the unsalted butter for at least 20 minutes. Grate the butter using the large holes of a box grater. Return to the freezer while you prepare the rest of the dough.
  2. Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and whisk until combined. Add in the flour, egg, sugar, salt, and the remaining 6 tbsp butter. Mix the dough on low speed until combined, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes.
  3. Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 4 minutes, or until a smooth dough forms. Reduce the speed to low and add in the frozen grated butter a tbsp at at time. Mix until it is all added, about 30 seconds.
  4. Dust a bowl with flour. Shape the dough into a loose ball and transfer it to the floured bowl. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Top the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm, draft-free area for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
  5. Divide the dough in half, using one half for the berry and ricotta brioche buns. You can use the second half to make a simple loaf of brioche bread, for cinnamon rolls, or freeze it for future use.
For the buns
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the ricotta, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla. Set aside.
  2. Divide the brioche dough into 8 pieces, gently folding the corners into the middle of each piece to form a ball. Return to the first piece and use a cupped hand to gently roll it and form it into a nicer ball shape. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, water, and salt to form an egg wash. Brush each dough ball with the egg wash. Press your fingers down into the middle of each dough ball to form a deep depression, spreading it out to within ½ inch of the sides of the dough ball. Repeat with the remaining dough balls, then return to the first piece of dough and do it again. Sprinkle the streusel into the depressions in each bun and then spoon the ricotta over the streusel. Top each with 3 berries and sprinkle with any remaining streusel.
  4. Cover the buns with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat oven to 325F.
  5. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.
For the streusel
  1. Whisk together the sugar and flour in a medium bowl. Cut the cold butter into thin slivers and cut it into the dough with your fingers or a pastry cutter. Do this until the dough looks like small pebbles and all of the butter has been worked into the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
Recipe from Breaking Breads
Recipe by Joanne Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2020/04/berry-ricotta-brioche-buns.html