Sugar and Butter Brioche Tart (Brioche Galette)

Sugar and butter brioche tart (aka brioche galette) is heavenly in all its buttery goodness when served hot. Part bread-like cake and part pastry, it starts with the rich brioche dough and end with crunchy sweet sugar coating. These rustic brioche buns maintains its soft, fluffy texture inside.

When my family lived in Hong Kong over 10 years ago, I often did my grocery shopping at a shopping mall called Pacific Place. Across from the grocery store, there was a small bakery shop (I forgot the name, but it was something with “Harvest”) where I always went when I finished my shopping.

They had these delicious flat sugar brioche buns, also known as brioche tart or brioche galette, and I just loved them. I always brought a few pieces home to give to my children as an afternoon snack when they came home from school.

I microwaved the galette for a few seconds to warm them up and served them with a glass of cold milk to my children. For me, I enjoyed them with a cup of peppermint tea. What a treat! These crunchy sugar coated sweet brioche cakes were always well received in my family. If you love sweet breads, this recipe is a keeper!

Sugar and Butter Brioche Tart

Simple sugar and butter brioche tart galette (or brioche galette) is a popular treat in the North-East of France, particularly in the Ardennes. There are many variety of brioche tarts with a variety of fruits and custard. But I like this plain sugar cake version as a simple treat.

The main component of the recipe is;

• the brioche dough.

It is a cross between bread and cake, so it’s particularly rich. The dough is very soft and fluffy, it makes a perfect pillowy bed for cream and fruit tarts.

They are part bread-like cake, part pastry and not overly sweet, which I love. These flat brioche have several indentations on the surface that hold melted butter, which makes them so buttery delicious. The crunchy sugar coating outside accentuates the soft, fluffy texture inside.

These buttery brioche tart remain as one of my fond food memories of Hong Kong. Because these tart-like buns were easily found at Hong Kong local bakery, I never bothered to make them at home.

There are sweet brioche available everywhere in the U.S. but I haven’t seen this type of flat brioche. So here I am reminiscing, trying to recreate the sugar brioche tart that my kids and I enjoyed in Hong Kong, and I am glad that I did. They are delicious!

How to make Brioche tart

1. Make the basic Brioche dough

Combine bread flour, sugar, milk powder, yeast, and salt in a mixing bowl (use your stand mixer bowl) and stir with a wooden spoon to mix. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together water and eggs.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to form a scraggly dough. Place the bowl on your mixer with the dough hook attached. Start kneading the dough on low speed (1) for about 3 minutes. Raise the speed to low-medium (2-3) and knead for another 5 minutes until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.

2. Adding the butter

Add the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing about 2 minutes in between each addition, to make sure the butter is completely incorporated every time. The dough will be a sticky mass after the butter pieces are added. However, it will become smooth as you continue kneading the dough.

3. Developing the gluten

Increase the speed to medium speed (4-5). Knead the dough for a further 8-10 minutes or so. As the gluten matrix develops, the dough will become satiny and smooth. It will stick less to the sides of the mixer bowl.

The kneading time will vary from 8-15 minutes depending on the speed of your mixer. One way to check when to stop kneading is the windowpane test:

• Hold a small piece of dough between your thumb and first two fingers. Gently stretch the dough into a thin translucent membrane (like a windowpane).
• If you can stretch the dough without it breaking, that means the gluten is well developed and your dough is ready to rise.

4. First Proofing

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a bowl. Put the shaped dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough at least double in size in a warm place, about 1 hr or so.

5. Shaping the brioche galette

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a working surface. Cut the dough into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball. Roll out each ball into a 5 1/2 to 6 inch flat round. Place them on half sheet baking pans lined with parchment paper.

6. Second Proofing

Cover with the towel and let it rise again, about 45 minutes until double in size.

7. Making Indentation and Baking

Brush the flat rounds with cream. Using a finger, make 4-5 indentations on the dough. Fill the indentation with tiny butter pieces. Sprinkle with sugar (total of 3 tablespoons for 6 buns).

Bake the buns in a preheated 375˚F oven for 6 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 300˚F and continue to bake 10-12 minutes until nice and golden.

How to Serve and Store

These buns taste best when they are hot right out of oven. Once cooled, keep them in an airtight container. You can reheat the buns in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up.