Lard Brioche Buns

Lard Brioche Buns

Recipe type: entree Yield: 8 Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins Total time: 1 hour 50 mins

A flavorful bun that goes perfect with the Southern California-inspired Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:

2½ tsp Yeast, dry, active
⅓ Cup Milk, whole, room temperature
2 Tbsp Sugar, granulated
3 ea Eggs, large, room temperature
½ Cup VIVA lard, room temperature (plus additional lard for greasing)
10½ oz Flour, all purpose
1¼ tsp Salt, kosher

Directions:

1. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to combine yeast, sugar, and milk. Proof yeast by letting mixture stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. In a small mixing bowl, lightly beat two eggs. Reserve third egg for egg wash.
3. Remove whisk attachment of stand mixer and replace with dough hook.
4. Add beaten eggs and VIVA lard and mix well with the dough hook.
5. Add flour and salt, mixing and kneading at medium speed until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
6. Continue to knead for 20 minutes until the dough is smooth and tacky, but not too sticky.
7. Grease a clean mixing bowl with lard. Remove dough from mixer and shape loosely into a ball. Place in the bowl and turn once to coat with lard on all sides.
8. Top loosely with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and leave in a warm spot to rise for 90 minutes or until doubled in volume.
9. Once it has risen, refrigerate the dough for at least two hours so it will be easier to work with.
10. Once the dough is chilled, working quickly, punch it down and turn over onto a floured surface. Knead gently by hand for 2 minutes, form into a ball and cut the ball into 8 portions.
11. Roll and form each portion into a ball. Brioche has a tendency to spread (or slack), so you will need to use bun molds or something similar (plans for making bun molds from foil are available on the internet).
12. Grease a baking sheet with lard (or use a non-stick lining) and place buns in molds.
13. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and allow to rise a second time in a warm spot for 30-60 minutes or until doubled in volume.
14. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375℉.
15. In a small mixing bowl, whisk remaining egg with one tablespoon of water and use a pastry brush to gently cover the top of each bun with egg wash.
16. Turn oven to 400℉ and bake buns for 10 minutes.
17. Reduce heat to 350℉ and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until buns are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool to room temperature.

Published on June 7, 2017 by Teri Williams