Cheddar lamb brioche

Cheddar lamb brioche 

Some dishes are made simply because of leftovers and sometimes it so happens that the dish which is made as a result of leftovers turn out even better than the original dish.

Such is the case with this lamb cheddar brioche. I had a slumber party where Urni , Tori and I watched Bridget Jones Diary followed by a Wes Anderson movie while we enjoyed my homemade stuffed pasta  and then there was the roast leg of lamb which was full of flavour but it was too much of meat for all of us including my parents so I had a ton of leftover meat. The roast was amde with minimum flavouring so by the next day it had this amazing flavour of meat but there was little interference from any other flavouring so I had a number of options when I suddenly realized some rich brioche stuffed lamb with a bit of cheddar would work out really well to make a happy Sunday.

Basically I had made these chocolate filled brioche Brioche au Chocolat  last August and it was met with considerable appreciation hence I stuck tot he dough left out the sugar since these were savoury brioche and my Suunday started on a very very happy note.

If you do not have leftover lamb meat you can always use lamb mince

Makes 10 brioche buns

For the brioche dough :-

250gm all purpose flour
90gm unsalted butter
3 small eggs
5 gm salt (In case you use salted butter leave out the salt)
15gm fresh yeast


Proof your yeast with a pinch of sugar and 2 tsp lukewarm water. If it becomes frothy in 10 minutes it is good to be used. Make a dough with all the ingredients and leave it rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Filling :-

Cup holds 210ml liquid

140gm mild cheddar cheese (You can also use sharp cheddar cheese)
2.5 cups of lamb cubes which are minced well or 2.5 cups of raw lamb mince which would roughly be 100gm to 150gm meat
1 heaped tsp finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
Butter to saute the meat in
1 tsp black peppercorn crushed well to a powder

Yolk from 1 egg to brush the buns

The next day if using leftover meat mince it heat the butter till it foams but does not brown and add the meat and then the garlic and the vinegar keep stirring till the beautiful smell of garlic fills your kitchen and add the thyme and black pepper and then keep aside.

If you are using raw lamb mince. Heat the butter and add the meat and the garlic , vinegar and salt and then cook on low heat stirring every now and then and sprinkling a bit of water if required till it cooks through.

Take the risen brioche dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 10 equal parts and spread out each part gently with your fingers making sure you do not tear the dough on a floured work board and put some chopped cheddar and lamb in the center and seal from all sides and shape it into a round ball and let all these balls proof on a tray which will go straight in the oven and has been brushed with clarified butter and floured.

Your time for proofing will depend on the temperature where you stay. I stay in a tropical country and it being the summers it took me 1 hour.  Finally brush the buns with egg yolk which you have whisked with a fork.

Preheat oven to 180C and bake for 20 minutes and then turn down the heat to 160C and bake for another 10 minutes till the brioche reaches a brownish colour and then cool for 5 minutes in the tray and then transfer to a rack and cool down completely and enjoy these delightful buttery rich meaty cheesy buns.

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