Leavened products are always a little intimidating because they seem complicated. Some are really difficult to make, others are instead made complex by the recipes of pastry chefs.
The recipes of the Simili Sisters, collected in the book “Bread and other sweet stuff,” have this advantage: they are simple and always turn out well.
This brioche is perfect for breakfast or a delicious afternoon snack.

Angelica from Simili Sisters

  • Preparation time: 4 hours
  • Ingredients for two 24 cm angelicas or one 32 cm
  • Difficulty: Average difficult recipe

  • Ingredients
  • For the pre-ferment:
  • 4 ½ oz (135 grams) of bread flour
  • 3 oz (75 grams) of water
  • 1 tablespoon (13 grams) of fresh brewer’s yeast
  • For the dough:
  • 14 oz (400 grams) of bread flour
  • 3 oz (75 grams) of sugar
  • 4 ½ oz (120 grams) of warm milk
  • 3 yolks
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 4 ½ oz (120 grams) of butter
  • For the stuffing:
  • 2 oz (50 grams) of melted butter
  • 4 oz (100 grams) of raisins
  • 4 oz (100 grams) of candied oranges
  • 2 oz (50 grams) of chocolate chips (my addition)
  • For the glaze:
  • 1 egg white
  • 4 tablespoons of icing sugar
  1. Instructions
  2. In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and then add the flour. Mix well. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for thirty minutes – one hour.
  3. After the maturation hours, prepare the dough. In a planetary mixer, mix the sugar with the egg yolks and the milk. Add enough flour to start stringing the dough (you can see why it starts to cling to the leaf/hook of the mixer). At this point, add the pre-ferment.
  4. Knead until the dough becomes totally strung, well elastic, and smooth.
  5. Now introduce the salt and butter. Work long enough to combine them perfectly.
  6. Leave to rise for about one hour and a half – two hours, covered at room temperature.
  7. Put the raisins to soak in a bowl of boiling water. Then squeeze well. Cut the candied fruit into cubes.
  8. Take the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin, forming a rectangle 3 mm thick.
  9. Brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with sultanas, candied orange, and chocolate chips.
  10. Tightly roll the dough up lengthwise. Using a very sharp knife, slice the roll down the middle lengthwise in two ropes. Gently separate the two pieces and turn them, keeping the cut side upwards, then crisscross the two ropes one over the other like a braid. Form into a circle and place on parchment paper. Brush with the melted butter. Leave to rise, covered, until doubled in size (about an hour).
  11. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake the cake for twenty to twenty-five minutes.
  12. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the egg white with the icing sugar with a whisk until it becomes very white. As soon as the angelica comes out of the oven, brush it with the glaze (I drop it off a fork) and put it back in the oven to dry for 2-3 minutes.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  •  Before adding the butter, the dough must be elastic. You have to do the veil test by taking a piece of dough and pulling it between your hands. If it doesn’t break but stretches to form a veil, it’s ready for the fat to be added.
  • The rising time depends on many factors, especially the room temperature.
  • The timing of cooking in the oven depends a lot on your particular oven.
  • This brioche does not stay fragrant for long. It should be consumed shortly after being cooked. For this reason, I always make two smaller ones and give one as a gift.