1 loaf
Brioche is a French recipe that sits between cake and bread. It's the ideal breakfast bread but acts remarkably well as an afternoon snack. Though slightly sweet I love to spread salted butter on it and I do not ever toast it. What makes brioche so fantastic is the use of "Fleur d'oranger" extract or Orange Flower Water in the USA. This extract provides a tonic and pleasant aroma to the brioche that makes you go for more every time.
If you have a bread machine just put all the ingredients in except from the butter. Put it on dough setting and 10 minutes in (or whenever it alerts you to add nuts or other ingredients) add the softened butter.
If you don't have a bread machine you have to do knead everything (I do it in a bowl and add the butter one cube at a time to ensure the dough does not stick on the walls). Knead for a good 20 minutes at least. Let it sit 20 minutes and knead another 20 minutes.
Preheat oven at 350F with a pan of water on the lowest rack. Close the vent with a metal bowl (usually the back rightmost one).
Butter the loaf pan and shake the sugar around so that it is well coated.
Drop the dough in the pan and let it sit in a warm area (with aluminum foil on top) for 20-30 minutes.
Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. It should come out golden brown and double in size.