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1
Warm milk to medium heat, add sugar and yeast.
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2
Stir until yeast has dissolved.
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3
Add lemon cest, if using, and 1 egg to the warm milk/yeast/sugar mixture.
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4
Sift 500g flour into a bowl and pour in milk mixture, salt and melted butter.
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5
Knead to a soft and shiny dough using a mixer or kitchen machine/food processor. The longer you knead, the better/fluffier the result.
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6
Form a ball out of dough and let rest covered with a kitchen towel until its volume has doubled (up to 1 hour guesstimate).
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7
Separate dough into 3 equal portions, knead again and form long, inch thick rounds.
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8
Braid/shape the three dough rolls like you would a pig tail.
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9
Mix the second egg with a dash of salt and 1 tsp sugar.
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10
Brush surface of dough with this mixture (keep a bit of this mixture for later) and let rest again for 30 minutes.
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11
Then bake brioche at 180u00b0C for about 30-45 minutes. In case the surface darkens too soon, cover with aluminium foil.
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12
Take brioche out about 5 minutes before it is done and brush with the rest of the egg glaze.
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13
Sprinkle with almonds and return brioche (uncovered) to oven.
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14
Bake until done.
