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(Adapted from Nancy Silverton’s brioche dough in Baking with Julia)
Makes 12 large buns or 24 smaller buns for mini burgers

Sponge

In the bowl of the stand mixer, mix together one beaten large egg, 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast, 1 cup of all-purpose flour, and 1/3 cup of warm milk. Sprinkle another cup of all-purpose flour on top of the sponge mixture. Let it rest, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes. When the sponge is ready, you will see that the flour coating has cracked.

Dough

Add 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 4 beaten large eggs to the sponge. Set the bowl into the mixer. With the dough hook, mix on low for 2 minutes until the dough starts to come together. Add another 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and mix on medium for 15 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.

During this time, the dough will be very sticky. If it appears too wet and soft, you can add more flour to it, up to 3-4 tablespoons. If the dough wraps itself around the dough hook and slaps the sides of the bowl quite loudly, you’re doing it right.

After 15 minutes have elapsed, the dough should look like a napping caterpillar. Continue to mix on medium speed while gradually adding 1 1/2 sticks of butter to the dough, 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Allow about 1 minute or so between each addition. The smooth dough may look like it is on a verge of falling apart, but pretend you’re not concerned and continue to mix. Everything will be okay once all the butter is fully incorporated. You will again see a soft smooth dough that clings to the dough hook and slaps the sides of the bowl passionately. Let it mix a couple of more minutes.

Transfer the dough from the mixing bowl to a greased bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

After the first rising, deflate the dough gently. Replace the plastic wrap and chill the dough 6 hours or overnight. After the chill, the dough is ready to be shaped.

With lightly-floured hands, shape the dough into 12 balls. (You want to work quickly as the dough is the easiest to handle when it’s still cold.) Place the balls on two large parchment-lined baking sheets, allowing 1 inch space between the balls. Flatten them with your palm until they become 1/4-inch thick discs that are about 4-4.5 inches in diameter. Cover the dough discs with kitchen towels and let them rise once again for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Glaze the dough balls with one beaten whole egg. You can sprinkle some poppy or sesame seeds on the glazed buns, if desired. To keep the seeds in place, reglaze the buns with the egg wash after the seeds have been sprinkled.

Bake the buns for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, rotating the sheets once to ensure even browning. When the buns are done, they should feel hollow when tapped. Transfer the finished buns to a cooling rack and let them cool under kitchen towels. Use right away or freeze for later. These buns freeze beautifully.

Tips

• Use the highest quality all-purpose flour you can find. King Arthur works well.
• Make sure the eggs are at room temperature before you start the recipe.
• The butter should be soft, but not oily.
• The dough may look disturbingly soft, but do not be tempted to add more flour to it.
• Towards the first 15-minute round of mixing, it will come together and form a smooth, albeit wet, dough.
• Do not skimp on the mixing time. Mix for a full 15 minutes.
• Add no more than a couple of tablespoons of butter at a time.
• If you’re not going to use the dough right away, you can freeze it after the second rise. Just deflate it, wrap it well in a piece of plastic wrap, put it in a ziplock bag, and freeze up to one month. The frozen dough can be thawed in the refrigerator overnight and used directly out of the fridge.