lemon curd brioche bun

Growing up, my breakfast wasn't the typical cereal and juice. Instead, I had pineapple buns and red bean swirl bread. I think my love for bread started out very young. Finding a left over bag of lemons, I began googling anything lemon and bread related. Finally deciding to take a stab at making a filled bread bun. Luckily, my Cooks Illustrated cookbook has a recipe for a quick brioche dough, perfect for turning into buns rather than the typical brioche a tete.

The brioche recipe was probably one of the more simply and less time consuming bread recipes I've experimented with over the last year. The original recipe only required one rise! Unheard of in bread baking, I thought, but how could Cooks Illustrated do me wrong? And of course, Cooks Illustrated is virtually never wrong, since the bread did come out super soft and texturally authentic to is French heritage.

The lemon curd was just a bit tangy for the barely sweet bread. Tasting the curd alone was fine, but when paired with the brioche, it overpowered the subtle buttery flavor. I would suggest adding a bit more sugar to the curd to ensure a better balanced bread bun. For a first try in filled buns, it was still a delightful breakfast item with a perky tangy bite.

Lemon Curd from Cooks Illustrated


1/4 cup lemon juice
3/8 cup sugar
small pinch of salt
1 large egg plus 1 1/2 large yolks
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled

Heat lemon juice, sugar, and salt in small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot but not boiling, about 1 minute.

Whisk egg and egg yolks together in a medium bowl, then slowly whisk in hot lemon mixture to temper. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and 170 degrees.

Off heat, stir in butter until melted and incorporated. Press plastic wrap to surface and chill.

Quick Brioche adapted from Cooks Illustrated


1/2 cup milk, heated to 110 degrees
2 1/4 tsp rapid-rise yeast
2 1/4 cups AP flour
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs

Whisk milk and yeast together in medium bowl, then stir in 1 cup flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Pulse butter, sugar, and salt in food processor until mixture is soft and smooth, about 5 pulses, scraping down bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, and process after each addition until fully incorporated. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and yeast-flour mixture, pulse until mixture forms soft, smooth dough, then process continuously for 15 seconds. Transfer dough to well-floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth and elastic ball. Transfer to oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until about doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Assemble and Bake


Scrape out dough and cut into six pieces. Form a piece into a ball and flatten slight to prepare for filling. Spoon about a tbsp of the chilled curd in the center and wrap dough around to form a filled ball. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover lightly for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through.